Police want public help in memorial appeal

The appeal, launched today by the UK Police Memorial Trust, is aiming to raise the final £1.5m for a £4m project which will pay tribute to more than 1,400 men and women who have been killed on duty.

The launch is exactly eight weeks to the day since PC Keith Palmer was killed in Westminster.

If the campaign is successful a physical memorial, inscribed with the more than 1,400 names, will be built at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

The project will also include a digital memorial that will be accessible all over the world, an educational programme for use by schools and colleges and a ‘living memorial fund’ which will support the families of those killed on duty in the future.

Lancashire Police is one of many forces which is now backing the national campaign – and we are encouraging residents across the county to get fundraising.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Bates, of Lancashire Constabulary, said: “Every single day, in forces up and down the country, officers put themselves on the line in order to keep the public safe.

“They do this assuming that they will be able to go home to their families at the end of their shift. Sadly, for some, this isn’t the case.

“We at Lancashire Police are proud to be lending our support to this national campaign, which will honour the dedication, courage and sacrifice which has been made by so many of our colleagues.

“Over the coming weeks and months we will be encouraging our own officers and staff to run fundraising events to support the appeal, and we would be delighted if members of the public would consider doing the same.

“The UK Police Memorial Trust is on the home stretch in terms of funding, as £2.5m has already been found, so every penny really will make a huge difference.”

Since 1749 and the creation of the Bow Street Runners more than 4,000 men and women have given their lives to serve and protect our communities in the UK.

Losses in British Colonial and other UK administered forces overseas number as many as a further 1,000.

A memorial in Lancashire, at police headquarters in Hutton, is also in the process of being built to celebrate our own officers who have died on duty.

The memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum will be designed only after an extensive consultation process with police and members of the public and construction is expected to be completed in late 2018/early 2019.

Anyone who wants to know more about the UK Police Memorial, make a donation or get involved in fundraising activity should visit www.ukpolicememorial.org