A highly decorated former Bermuda Police officer, P.c. Ian Davies, died on Monday at his home in Cambridge, England.

Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith said yesterday that he was saddened to learn of the death of Mr. Davies.

?His life was forever changed as a result of his decision to become a Police Officer in Bermuda. Where Bermudians at the time chose not to join the Service he did and paid a terrible price as he suffered a diminished quality of life for the past 40 years as a result of the serious head injuries he sustained in the Belco riots of 1965,? he said.

He said it was his wish that Bermudians did not forget the sacrifice Mr. Davies made to make Bermuda safer.

?The Bermuda Police Service has not forgotten. We owed him a great deal and our condolences will be passed to his surviving family in Cambridge,? he said.

Commissioner Smith said his thoughts went out to retired Supt. Andrew Bermingham, a close friend, who was working with Mr. Davies on that fateful day.

?I know that Andy was very saddened to learn of Ian?s death. The fact that all of this has an impact some 40 years later is a testament to the strength and resolve of the Bermuda Police Service and those who have served us in the past,? he said.

Mr. Davies was awarded the Colonial Police Medal for Gallantry after he was assaulted with a golf club and his skull was fractured during the Belco riots.

He spent almost a month in the hospital and left the Police Force with a small pension and returned to England. He lived in a run-down part of South London for many years before moving to sheltered housing near his family. In an interview a few years ago, his nephew, Richard Gray, said despite the brain damage he suffered, his uncle was still very active and had earned his aviation licence for ballooning and spent hours in the garden. His cremation will be held at the Cambridge Crematorium on June 28 and a memorial service is being organised sometime in the near future for his friends from overseas.