Geoffrey J. Morton
British police officer
Geoffrey J. Morton, BEM (1907–1996) was a member of the Palestine Police, who, in two separate incidents, shot five people, three of them fatally. All five people were members of Lehi, a militant Zionist group which attempted to form an anti-British alliance with Nazi Germany and staged an insurgency against British rule in what was then called Mandatory Palestine (now Israel) during World War II, with the aim of creating an independent Jewish state. Among those killed was Avraham Stern, the leader of Lehi. The circumstances under which Morton killed Stern were disputed, and the controversy effectively ended his active police work in Palestine.
Early life and career
Geoffrey Jackson Morton grew up in South London, following grammar school he began work in a dairy firm where his father was managing director, but after becoming a special constable during the General Strike of 1926 he decided on a career in law enforcement. Despite lacking the military background which recruiters preferred, Morton succeeded in joining the Palestine Police in 1930, but after passing through the army-style basic training he was assigned to a transport unit. Frustrated at the lack of opportunity for police work he left the force in 1932, rejoining six months later on hearing about changes made by Inspector General Roy Spicer.
Once Morton had passed his higher language examination in Arabic he received accelerated promotion under Spicer's patronage, reaching the (sergeant-major equivalent) rank of Head Constable at the beginning of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, only his steel helmet prevented a coping stone from smashing his skull during one riot in Haifa. In 1936 he was awarded the British Empire Medal, he married in 1939. By April 1938 he was an Assistant Superintendent in charge of the Jenin Division.
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