COPS service honours fallen colleagues

18 August 2026

Hundreds of people gathered at the National Memorial Arboretum in full sunshine and soaring temperatures for the annual Care of Police Survivors (COPS) Service of Remembrance.

In stark contrast to the years when the service has been affected by rain – sometimes quite heavy – this year organisers laid on water dispensers to help people cope with the heat.

Among those at the arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire, was Matt Manwaring, deputy secretary of West Midlands Police Federation, who was attending the service for the first time.

“I was honoured to be able to represent the branch and our members and to stand with the families of our fallen colleagues to show them that their loved ones are never forgotten and that they too remain part of the policing family,” Matt explains.

“The service itself was incredibly moving and poignant, serving as a reminder of the unique role of police officers in our communities and the sad reality that some leave home to start their shift but then never return to their families again.

“It also highlights the incredible work of the COPS charity which provides critical support to fallen officers’ families as they seek to rebuild their lives.”

Unique opportunity

The service, on Sunday 9 August, was opened by Gill Marshall, national president of COPS and herself a police widow of 20 years, who said that the annual event provided a unique opportunity to reflect and remember. She told the congregation that while ‘life does indeed go on, the loss remains’, with grief and joy co-existing.

In addition to welcoming everyone to the service, Gill read out the names of officers who had been added to the roll of honour since last year’s service at the start of August:

PC Marcus Bennett of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary who died on 30 January 2025.

PC Francis Hawkins of the Metropolitan Police who died on 11 February 2025.

PC Ian Minnett of Gloucestershire Constabulary who died on 21 June 2025.

PC Faizaan Najeeb of Northamptonshire Police who died on 26 September 2025.

PC Mathew Parker of Essex Police who died on 19 November 2025.

PC Bradley Corke of Kent Police who died on 21 March 2026.

PC Mark Chester of the Ministry of Defence Police who died on 2 May 2026.

PC Jess Turnbull of Northumbria Police who died on 10 June 2026, and

PC Alice Slominska of Bedfordshire Police who died on 17 July 2026.

As ever, the service featured inputs from a member of three different families who had lost a police officer in the line of duty.

Professionalism

The first to speak this year was Katie Hull, daughter of Hertfordshire PC Ronald Hull. PC Hull (35) was helping an Army ambulance crew at the scene of a serious collision in thick fog in Royston when he was hit by another car. The accident happened on 21 November 1989 when Katie was eight.

Katie, who has since followed her Dad into policing and was assigned his collar number, spoke movingly about her Dad, paying tribute to his kindness and professionalism and also giving an insight into the impact his death had on her, her two siblings and her Mum who was left to bring up three children alone.

She said her family had benefited incredibly from the support available through COPS and the other families who turned to the charity for help.

After Katie had addressed the service West Midlands Police Chief Superintendent Sam Batey sang ‘You Raise Me Up’ accompanied by the West Midlands Police Brass Band which also played as the congregation took their seats.

This was followed by Joanne Woodward, the sister of South Wales officer Mark Woodhead (30) who just weeks before his death in a motorbike accident on 14 June 2002 had been promoted to sergeant, talking about his life and his love of policing but highlighting that she found it impossible to put into words what it meant for her to have found support from COPS.

A great family man, Joanne said his absence was felt at every family occasion, but that to him South Wales Police was his second family.

Gill then read the roll of honour, before there was a minute’s silence and wreaths were laid by various organisations linked to policing, such as the College of Policing, COPS, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and the National Police Chiefs’ Council, but also the Office of the Lieutenancy, the High Sheriff’s Office.

Crash

Sam Batey then sang ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ again accompanied by the Force’s brass band.

The final relative to address the service was Ella Dent who was just six-years-old when her stepdad PC Chris Dent died in a motorbike crash as he travelled home after his shift on 22 April 2009. He was 36.

She spoke about the way in which she had been helped to build on her memories of him through attending the family weekends organised by COPS where she met other children navigating their own losses.

The service was closed by West Yorkshire Chief Constable Sir John Robins QPM DL, the chair of the COPS trustees who explained that the event was dedicated to remembrance and care, saying everyone in attendance was collectively remembering those who had died but that they had come together to care for police survivors.

Police Unity Tour

Ahead of the service, crowds gathered on the main avenues through the arboretum to welcome the arrival of the hundreds of cyclists who had completed this year’s Police Unity Tour (PUT).

Cyclists representing police forces from across England and Wales including riders from West Midlands Police, took part in the tour, an annual three-day, 180-mile trip to raise awareness of fallen officers and raise funds for COPS.

The tour started on the Friday morning, with those taking part leaving from their own force areas and then meeting at Drayton Manor on the Saturday evening so they could all ride into the arboretum together on the Sunday morning accompanied by motorcyclists from the Blue Knights.

West Midlands PC Ben Keepax and Special Constable Sean Walker – son of the late West Midlands officer Malcolm (Mac) Walker - joined colleagues from the Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Mercia forces in cycling as part of the West Midlands Chapter of the tour while Sergeant Dave Jephcott, for around the sixth year, was part of the support team.

The West Midlands Chapter of 13 riders and 5 support team members was led by Jon Strelitz, a member of police staff at West Mercia Police.

Each cyclist on the PUT tour wears a wristband inscribed with the name of a fallen officer. At the end of the ride, the wristband is presented to the families of these officers.

The West Midlands Chapter’s riders wore wristbands for the following officers from the Force: David Brennan, Robert Dallow, Keith Dobson, Paul Frear, Deborah Harman-Burton, Valroy O’Neil Hodgson, Ryan Hunt, Andrew Le Comte, Robert Ling, Phillip Sanderson, Michael Swindells and Mac Walker. In added poignancy, Mac’s wristband was worn by his son, Sean.