Nottinghamshire sergeant remembered at COPS service

29 July 2024

Sergeant Graham Saville was among the fallen officers remembered at the annual Care of Police Survivors (COPS) Service of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on Sunday.

Graham, 46, died on 29 August 2023. A response officer based at Newark Police Station, he sustained serious injuries when he was hit by a train as he tried to save a distressed man in Balderton five days earlier. 

His name was read out by the COPS president Gill Marshall as part of the roll of honour for those officers who had died since the charity’s 2023 remembrance service.

Other officers listed were:

Sergeant Paul Frear of West Midlands Police who died on 22 September 2023

PC Jack Cummings of West Yorkshire Police who died on 19 May 2024, and

Acting Sergeant Reece Buckenham of Hertfordshire Constabulary who died on 29 June 2024.

Roll of honour

The roll of honour, which was followed by a minute’s silence, also included British Transport Police Property Officer Mark Birch who died on 12 October 2020.

“The COPS service of remembrance is one of the key events of the policing year and had added poignancy this year for our Force as we approach the first anniversary of Graham’s tragic death,” says Simon Riley, chair of Nottinghamshire Police Federation, who represented the branch at the service. 

“We also kept our Nottinghamshire colleagues PCs Ashleigh Metcalf and Scott Redgate who we also last year in our thoughts.

“It is incredibly important that we honour our fallen colleagues and that we show their families that they remain part of our policing family.

Branch chair Simon Riley with Chief Constable Kate Maynell, who took
part in the Tour.

“The COPS charity provides vital support to those families who are left behind when a police officer dies on duty.

“While acknowledging that they are all members of a club that no one wants to join, existing members welcome the newly bereaved and comfort and guide them by showing that, with peer support, they can rebuild their shattered lives.”

The Nottinghamshire Police Federation branch was also represented by secretary Tom Hill who, along with Chief Constable Kate Meynell, joined the East Midlands Chapter of the Police Unity Tour (PUT).

Riders from forces across England and Wales set off from their home force areas on Friday and rode first to Drayton Manor in Staffordshire on Saturday to be greeted by the families of fallen officers.

They then cycled to the arboretum this morning, led by the Blue Knights - the world’s largest law enforcement motorcycle club, for the last leg of their journey ahead of the service of remembrance.

Remembrance

Crowds lined their route through the arboretum, applauding and thanking them for their efforts in raising money for COPS and raising awareness of fallen officers.

To date, the East Midlands Chapter has raised £28,808, exceeding the initial target of £28,000, via JustGiving.

Gill Marshall welcomed members of the congregation to the remembrance service which featured music from the West Midlands Police Brass Band and the band’s vocalist Superintendent Sam Batey.

A police widow herself, Gill recalled her daughters were just two and four when her husband, Alan, died and explained that she knew first-hand the value of COPS.

The plaque remembering Sergeant Graham Saville.

Sarah Doyle, whose husband, Merseyside PC Neil Doyle, died 10 years ago, recalled how the couple had only been married a short time when he lost his life after being assaulted while off duty. She said she immediately knew life would never be the same again, admitting that part of her heart had died with him.

While it had taken her a few years to get involved with COPS, she spoke movingly of how the friendship of other police widows had helped her and urged police survivors to seek the charity’s support.

“You will never look back. They help you to rebuild your shattered life,” she said.

Friday would have been the couple’s 10^th wedding anniversary and Sarah had decided to mark the poignant date by joining the PUT.

Charlotte Kellaway, daughter of DI Ian Kellaway who died of Covid in April 2020 having contracted the virus while on duty, shared her story of grieving for her father and also praised the way in which COPS had helped.

The Nottinghamshire team involved in the Police Unity Tour.

The final reading was by Greg Briggs, brother of Merseyside PC Paul Briggs, who died in 2017. He talked about his brother’s life of service, first to the Army and then to policing and welcomed the unwavering dedication of COPS to look after police survivors, saying he would be forever grateful to the charity.

During the service wreaths were laid by for the Office of the Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire, the High Sheriff’s Office, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the College of Policing, the Blue Knights, the Police Unity Tour, the National Memorial Arboretum and COPS.

Sir Peter Fahy, chair of COPS, closed the service, acknowledging that every year police officers will lose their lives on duty.

“COPS is there to support their families, not just in the immediate aftermath but in the years and years ahead,” said Sir Peter. 

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.

READ MORE: Police Unity Tour will be extra poignant says Fed secretary.