Descendants of a trailblazing Bermudian police officer have donated a plethora of documents including his notebooks to the Bermuda National Archives.

Charles Edward “DO” Simons became the island’s first “detective officer” in May 1919, tackling crimes ranging from petty thefts to murder.

While historical documents from that period were destroyed in 1955 in the Hamilton Hotel fire, last year one of his descendants, Ralph Simons, uncovered a series of notebooks written by Mr Simons during his time as an officer.

Major Marc Telemaque, Mr Simons’ great-grandson, said the family wanted to donate the items to ensure that they were preserved, protected and transcribed so that future generations could learn more about the island’s past.

“It provides a treasure trove of insight into not just policing but life in Bermuda at that time,” he said.

Mr Simons became a full-time constable in 1905 and served in Warwick until he was transferred to the police headquarters in 1916, where he worked as a plain-clothes policeman.

He quickly developed a reputation as a thorough and conscientious police officer and became the first detective officer known to travel to crime scenes across the island on a pedal bike.

Mr Simons retired in 1935, by which time he headed the Criminal Investigation Department. He became the first person in Bermuda to receive the Colonial Police Long Service Medal.

At his retirement, he was described as a fearless officer with an enviable reputation who had “many narrow escapes from death”.

Major Telemaque said that in addition to the collection of police notebooks, the documents included Mr Simons’s personal diaries dating back as far as 1899.

“Some of the highlights in it include a reference to a hurricane in September 1899,” he said.

“A few days after the hurricane he records that he walked to Southampton to see the damage. Just think about walking from Cobbs Hill to Southampton today.”

The diaries also include what appeared to be a marriage proposal to his wife in which he pledged his love to his beloved and reflections on the death of his younger sister.

Major Telemaque said that his great-grandparents were also deeply involved in St Paul AME Church, where Mr Simons served as a trustee and sang in the church choir.

Roger Sherratt, a retired chief inspector, said he had heard stories of Mr Simons from his son, Leroy Simons, and two former officers who spoke highly of him.

He said that in 2014 he worked with Mr Simons’ granddaughter, Marilyn Simmons, who provided him with a variety of photographs and historical documents for an article on the Bermuda Ex-Police Officers Association website.

Mr Sherratt said he was astonished by the discovery of the notebooks, the first of which was dated to the same day that Mr Simons became a detective.

He said: “The notebooks are generally in immaculate condition and are an absolute treasure for future research into the life of Charles Edward Simons.

“They are ideal because they should provide the dates and brief details of investigations he conducted and these would be ideal when searching for more information in old newspaper reports and court documents.

“It’s remarkable that they’ve finally come to light more than 100 years after they were started way back in 1919.”

Dorian Hurdle, Mr Simons’ grandson, recalled his grandfather telling him stories of his time with the police when he was about 10 years old.

“He would get a phone call and have to go to St George’s, get on his push bike and had to ride,” Mr Hurdle said.

“They had the only telephone in the neighbourhood, so neighbours would come over when they wanted to use the phone.”