Federation Conference opens on 60th anniversary of Aberfan tragedy

21 October 2026

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) opened its Annual Conference today on the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, pausing to honour the officers who answered the call in Merthyr Tydfil on 21 October 1966.

Acting deputy national chair Paul Williams reminded delegates that it was exactly 60 years since police were sent to Aberfan, where 116 children and 28 adults lost their lives.

He said the officers who attended were marked by the tragedy, and the Federation held both the victims and those colleagues, its predecessors, in its thoughts.

Paul also paid tribute to officers who have died in the past year, whether in service, through illness or, tragically, by suicide. Policing, he said, has lost too many of its own.

Acting deputy national chair Paul Williams

Credit: Anderson Photography

“Behind every one of those deaths is a family grieving,” he said, before asking everyone in the room to stand to remember this year’s Roll of Honour, which records officers who died on duty.

He reflected on this year’s Conference theme, ‘The Real State of Policing’. Many officers, he said, begin a shift already exhausted from the last, while a stretched workforce covers gaps left by others, all while trying to be a mum, a dad, a husband, a wife and a friend at the end of it.

“That’s the real state of policing,” he told delegates.

Over the next two days, Paul promised honest discussion of the pressures on members and their families, including pay, welfare, working conditions and the future of the service, along with what reform should mean for those who deliver it. 

He said the Federation would also turn the lens on itself, looking at where it has gone wrong and what must change to represent members properly.

Remembering the fallen

Policing Minister Sarah Jones sent a video message remembering officers who have died in the past 12 months.

“Today and always, we remember their sacrifice,” she said. “We think of their loved ones, and we stand with the policing family.”

She then announced £2.4 million to expand support services, including better trauma care, more psychological risk assessments to spot at-risk people sooner, and round-the-clock access to confidential mental health support. She said that when help is needed, ‘it must be accessible, and it must be of the highest quality’.

Conference continues today (Wednesday 21 October) and tomorrow (Thursday 22 October). 

North Wales Police Federation will keep members informed of developments throughout.

READ MORE: Police teams take on gruelling mountain challenge.