Today marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Tom Fallon, the Tolworth man who invented the 999 call.
Mr Fallon, who retired from the Metropolitan Police with the rank of chief superintendent, joined as a constable in the East End after serving at sea in World War I. Just a few years after transferring to Scotland Yard in 1934 he commanded the Information Room organisation, and introduced the 999 emergency phone system - based on his old badge number. He retired in 1948 and took a security job in Tanganyika, now part of Tanzania, where he also helped found a local police force. Returning to Britain due to ill health he settled in Tolworth and made a living as a writer and lecturer.
He wrote a crime series for radio and lectured in townswomen's guilds, Rotary clubs and church groups. The keen amateur photographer also played at Surbiton Golf Club for 10 years. Mr Fallon, who lived in Elgar Avenue, died on Sunday, June 21, 1964. His funeral was held at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Wimbledon.
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