Memorial service cancelled

7 May 2020

This year’s National Police Memorial Day Service has been cancelled because of the ongoing restrictions around COVID-19.

The event was due to take place in Lincoln on 27 September.

West Midlands Police Federation chair Jon Nott said the decision was not a surprise.

“It is a real shame that something which brings the whole of the policing community together has had to be cancelled,” Jon commented, “There is a real spirit around memorial day and it gives us all a chance to gather together and pay tribute to fallen colleagues. But it is a totally understandable decision in the current climate.”

National Police Memorial Day co-ordinator, the Reverend Canon David Wilbraham MBE, said the trustees’ decision to cancel the event was based on the current circumstances.

He explained: “We know that this decision will be a disappointment we all feel, and we will miss being together. However, we are absolutely committed to mark National Police Memorial Day over the last weekend of this September and do so in a way that will enable you and others to be part of it. It is likely that this will be an online memorial service.

“As soon as a decision has been made, we will make a further public announcement."

The event will return to Lincoln next year with the event planned for Sunday 26 September. The 2022 memorial day is scheduled to take place in Northern Ireland.