Gregory Malcolm ASHWORTH

NSW Police Academy Class # 223

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. # 23153

Rank:  Commenced training at Goulburn Police Academy on 29 September 1986 ( aged 20 years, 3 months, 4 days )

Probationary Constable – appointed19 December 1986

Constable – appointed 7 March 1988 ( lost 3.5 months Seniority )

Final Rank:  Constable

Stations:  Pennant Hills

Service:  From  29 September 1986  to  29 August 1988 = 1+ year Service

Awards:  nil

Born:  Saturday  25 June 1966

Died on:  Monday  29 August 1988

Cause:  Motor Vehicle Accident – Urgent Duty – Driver

Event location:  Corner of Pennant Hills Rd & Stuart Ave, Pennant Hills

Age:  22 years, 2 months, 4 days

Funeral date:  2 September 1988

Funeral location:  ?

Buried at:  Macquarie Park Cemetery & Crematorium, Plassey Rd, Macquarie Park, 2113

Grave location:  General Lawn, Row 0, Plot 0531

GPS of Grave:  -33.789315       151.137817

Touch Plate at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra

GREG IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

About 4.20pm on 29 August, 1988 Constable Ashworth and Probationary Constable Currie left the Hornsby Police Station to attend an armed holdup at the West Pennant Hills branch of the National Bank. Whilst travelling along Pennant Hills Road Constable Ashworth swerved to avoid a stationary semi-trailer at the intersection of Stuart Avenue and collided with a median strip, causing the police vehicle to overturn onto the incorrect side of the roadway and hit an oncoming vehicle. As a result Constable Ashworth sustained severe head and internal injuries and although quickly attended to by Constable Currie, he died a short time later.

The constable was born in 1966 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 29 September, 1986. At the time of his death he was stationed at Pennant Hills.

Event location: 

The Holdup alarm, mentioned above, was a ‘false alarm‘.

Greg was aspiring to join the Pennant Hills Police Rescue Squad and, had he not died so early in his career, he was on his way to being nicknames ‘Bluey’ – no doubt a reference to him having red hair.

The accident happened on an uphill left hand curve near the Thornleigh tip.

As was the custom of the day, the vehicle was returned to the police station and was placed outside of the Meal Room at Hornsby Police Station where it was visible through the meal room window – awaiting Mechanical examination, and was visibly stained with blood.

Death Notice was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 31 August 1988.