He served in the Royal Navy, resigning with the rank of Petty Officer, and joined the Metropolitan Police.

[1] On 14 September 1989, Codling, aged 49, together with Sergeant James Bowden, 45, stopped at Birch motorway services on the M62, looking for a white van.

They approached a motorcyclist, later identified as Anthony Hughes, who produced a pistol and began firing at the officers.

[2] A manhunt for Hughes, who had previous convictions for serious offences including robbery and rape, ended at a garage in Kendray, South Yorkshire, where Hughes had killed himself.

[2] In 1991, a memorial to Codling was unveiled at the place of his death by Michael Winner, founder of the Police Memorial Trust, and the Home Secretary, Kenneth Baker.