Federation branch chair Phil Walker says officers who took part in the Police Unity Tour (PUT) in memory of fallen colleagues should be proud of their efforts.
South Wales Police officers were among more than 500 riders who took part in this year’s PUT in honour of officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
The PUT honours officers who have died in the line of duty and raises money for the Care of Police Survivors (COPS) charity.
It involves police officers, staff and supporters cycling from forces across the country in a three-day ride to the National Memorial Arboretum for the annual COPS Service of Remembrance.
Phil said: “The Police Unity Tour is always a fantastic and moving event that brings together the policing family to show our love and support for the loved ones of fallen officers.
“Policing is a unique job with unique challenges and every day our members face dangerous situations in order to protect communities.
“Events like the PUT and the COPS Service of Remembrance show that should the unthinkable happen, then those officers and their families will not be forgotten.
“Everyone who took part in the tour can be extremely proud of their efforts in supporting those families and the fantastic work of COPS.”
After the 530 PUT cyclists safely reached the arboretum, Gill Marshall, the COPS national president, welcomed the congregation to the service.
The congregation included chief officers, Federation representatives, policing stakeholders and those who had completed the Police Unity Tour (PUT).
It featured music from the West Midlands Police Brass Band and its vocalist Superintendent Sam Batey, who sang two songs.
Having lost her own police officer husband in 2006, Gill reassured the families of fallen officers at the service that their sacrifice is never forgotten despite the day-to-day challenges of policing.
Gill read out the roll of honour, remembering the officers who had died in the last year:
Acting Sergeant Reece Buckenham of Hertfordshire Police who died on 29 June 2024;
DC Karen Smith of Humberside Police who died on 18 December 2024;
PC Rosie Prior of North Yorkshire Police who died on 11 January 2025;
PC Michael Bruce of the Metropolitan Police who died on 14 June 2025, and
PC Ian Minett of Gloucestershire Constabulary who died on 21 June 2025.
The roll of honour was followed by a minute’s silence.
Three family members who had lost a police officer also gave their own readings.
Laurie Murphy talked about the impact the death of her father – Dyfed Powys DC Roger Meyrick – in 1990 had on her. She was 16 at the time and had a sister who was 13 and a brother who was 9.
Roger was 37 when he died in a head-on crash with a lorry while he was on surveillance training, which also claimed the lives of three other Dyfed Powys officers.
Fiona Deans, sister of PC Peter Deans, 25, of Avon and Somerset Police, told of the effect it had on her when her brother died with colleague PC Jonathan Stapley on 29 December 1984 when they were in a road accident during a police chase.
She said it could be ‘just as hard, just as tough’ to lose an officer when you were a sibling, and welcomed the support of the COPS siblings group and the charity generally.
The third family member to speak was Susan Gibson, the daughter of Sergeant Edward Thomson of Strathclyde Police. He was 41 when he died on 13 January 1982 after a road accident. Susan, who was 21, had been a nurse at the time and remembered going to the hospital to see him after the accident and expecting him to survive. But sadly he died from catastrophic injuries to his chest.
During the service, wreaths were laid by for the Office of the Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire, the High Sheriff of Staffordshire, the Home Office, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the College of Policing, the Blue Knights, the Police Unity Tour and COPS.
West Yorkshire Chief Constable John Robins, a COPS trustee, closed the service.
He said: “We all know COPS was survivor initiated and survivor led, it will also always be survivor focussed.”
Chief Constable Robins also thanked everyone involved in the remembrance service, paying tribute to families who he said had faced ‘unimaginable loss’ but stood united and proud in memory of their loved ones.
After the service, families and other guests made their way to The Beat, an avenue of trees dedicated to individual forces and officers to lay wreaths and single red roses.
Next year’s COPS service will be held at the National Memorial Arboretum on Sunday 9 August.