The policeman on duty at Government House the night the Governor and his aide-de-camp were murdered in 1973 has died.

Franklyn DeAllie, known as Frank, who was 74, was also one of the founding members of British soul band Hot Chocolate, but left just as they hit the big time when he married and moved from London to Bermuda.

Mr DeAllie joined the police in 1972, served for 27 years and retired as a detective in 1999.

But Mr DeAllie, originally from Grenada, was for ever linked to the murders on the night of March 10, 1973, when Sir Richard Sharples, the Governor, and Captain Hugh Sayers, his Welsh Guards ADC, were shot dead.

He was only one year into his career with the Bermuda Police Service when he was posted to security duty at Government House on the night of the killings.

The double murder as Sir Richard and Captain Sayers strolled in the Government House gardens shocked the world and sparked a national emergency.

Mr DeAllie, the only officer on duty at Government House, was at his desk just inside the main door when the men were shot, along with Horsa, the Governor’s Great Dane.

Mr DeAllie raised the alarm before he ran to the scene.

Sir Richard died in the young officer’s arms and Captain Sayers was already dead.

Ian DeAllie, his son, a retired police sergeant who served alongside his father for many years, said his father rarely spoke of the incident.

He added: “He was the only one left — he came home after the briefing and we were told as a family to move house and live with other people.”

Mr DeAllie was the only witness and the family were ordered to sleep on the floor in case they were targeted.

In 1976, Erskine “Buck” Burrows was convicted of the murders.

Co-accused Larry Tacklyn, was acquitted, but both men were found guilty and sentenced to death for the killing of Victor Rego and Mark Doe in the Shopping Centre murders of April 1973.

The executions of Burrows and Tacklyn in 1977 sparked the worst riots in Bermuda’s history.

Mr DeAllie, who was guitarist with Hot Chocolate, continued to play after he left the band and was known to entertain his police colleagues.

Hot Chocolate formed in 1968 and Mr DeAllie was replaced two years later by Harvey Hinsley. Ian said: “They were founded in my grandmother’s basement council flat in Stockwell, South London. My father did a lot of touring with them in Europe in the early days.

“He met my mother, Winifred, who was training to be a nurse and was from Bermuda. He fell in love with her and left the group.

“It was a life he loved, but he gave it up to be a policeman and he was happy doing that job.”

Father and son solved an armed robbery at the Southampton Princess together when they both worked in the Criminal Investigation Department and were given a joint commendation for their work.

Ian said his father was “humble, outgoing and friendly to everybody that he came across”.

He added: “He had a serious heart attack in the service. Prior to that, his most enjoyable work was with Western CID.”

Among the guests who spoke at his retirement party was the now Dame Pamela Gordon-Banks, a former United Bermuda Party premier.

Ian said: “He had that kind of draw — he always had time for the community.”

Mr DeAllie’s son and his wife, Fabiola, cared for both his parents as their health declined.

Mr DeAllie, who suffered a serious stroke two years ago, died last Sunday.

Mr DeAllie moved to Britain from Grenada as a young man and became popular figure in the West Indian community after he moved to Bermuda.

Cal Smith, a former chief inspector, said Mr DeAllie was “a policeman’s policeman”.

Mr Smith said: “When I joined in 1984, Frank was well established in the CID and his teaching style was in his smile and sense of humour.

“Frank wanted to teach people to do CID work and also how to be decent and generous to people, as well as how to dress — all the things you don’t get in the classroom.

“He told us no matter what people say to you, you just keep on with a smile. Frank always had a nice word about everybody.”

Mr Smith added that Mr DeAllie was a mentor to young officers at a time when “the service was quite different to today”.

He said: “Frank was well respected and loved in the community. He was someone to look up to, that you aspired to be like in the CID. He would teach you an abundance of things.

“More so, he taught you how to be a human being.”