Jack William Avery (5 November 1911 – 6 July 1940) was a British War Reserve Constable who was murdered in Hyde Park, London, having served less than one year with the Metropolitan Police Service.
Avery was advised by a member of the public that Frank Stephen Cobbett was acting suspiciously.
Avery returned the paper to Cobbett, who stabbed the officer in the groin or upper thigh with a carving knife.
[2] Cobbett, a 42-year-old homeless labourer, was originally sentenced to death by Mr. Justice Atkinson, even though the jury strongly recommended mercy because of his "low mentality.
[4][5] In 2007, Ian Blair, then Metropolitan Police Commissioner, unveiled a memorial to Avery in Hyde Park, close to the place where he was attacked.