Fed secretary tells how this year’s National Police Memorial Day will be especially poignant

21 September 2023

The secretary of Nottinghamshire Police Federation says that this year’s National Police Memorial Day will take on added poignancy following the death of Sergeant Graham Saville.

Police officers from across the UK will come together to pay their respects to fallen colleagues in Cardiff on Sunday (24 September).

Tom Hill said there will be even greater significance to this year’s service, which takes place a month after Sgt Saville died.

He added: “The National Police Memorial Day is an incredibly important day in the policing calendar and this year it takes on even greater poignancy coming a month after Graham’s death.

Nottinghamshire Police Sergeant Graham Saville's life will be
remembered at National Police Memorial Day.

“Graham was everything you could want in a police officer and his passing has devastated the Force and the policing community.

“Policing is like a family and the pain of losing a member of that family is felt far and wide - it affects us all.

“The National Police Memorial Day is a time for us to come together to reflect, to remember and to pay tribute to Graham, and to all those officers who have died in the line of duty.

“I hope it can provide some comfort to the families, friends and colleagues of officers we have lost that their memory and their legacy will live on. They will never be forgotten.”

This year’s National Police Memorial Day service will take place at New Theatre in Cardiff. Doors will open at 12.30pm, with everyone seated by 1.30pm for the service to start at 2pm.

First held in 2004, the National Police Memorial Day is supported by royalty, government and UK police services.

It is rotated around the four nations of the United Kingdom and is held on the closest Sunday to 29 September, which is St Michael’s Day, the patron saint of policing.

It provides a dignified and sensitive service of remembrance to honour the courage and sacrifice of the almost 4,000 police officers who have been killed on duty.

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