Police Roll of Honour - Lest We Forget

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National Police Officers Roll of Honour

Honouring and Remembering British Police Officers who Lost their Lives in the Line of Duty

NATIONAL ROLL INDEXES, BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION


ROLL OF HONOUR

Honouring Police Officers who
have been killed, or died as a result
of injuries received, in consequence
of the execution of their duty.

Book of Remembrance

IN REMEMBRANCE

Remembering Police Officers who
have otherwise died, on or in
connection with their duty, or
whilst serving overseas.


INDEXES

Click year to view the United Kingdom Annual Roll with detailed citations
(underlined links are live other years to be added later)

1995   1996   1997   1998   1999   2000   2001   2002   2003   2004   2005   2006   2007

2008   2009   2010   2011   2012   2013   2014   2015   2016   2017  2018   2019   2020


The complete Roll can be viewed via the 

Index to Police Force Rolls.


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The creation of the Roll of Honour and Remembrance, will record, for the first time, details of all British Police Officers who lost their lives on, or as a result of, duty whilst serving in the United Kingdom or in UK administered forces overseas. The Roll will pay tribute to as many as 5,000 police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty since the earliest days of professional law enforcement over three centuries ago.

Whilst the age of modern professional policing is rightly seen as emanating from the formation, by Sir Robert Peel, of the Metropolitan Police in 1829, it did not start there. The Office of Constable is an ancient one and for centuries was an unpaid position carried out by ordinary citizens.

Prior to 1829 policing was carried out by various peace officers such as the locally appointed but unpaid Parish Constables. The first professional law enforcement officers came some 150 years earlier, following the English Civil War and restoration of the Monarchy, in the reign of Charles II (1660-1685) with the formation of a paid Night-Watch. These Watchmen or “Charlies” have often been maligned, but many paid the ultimate price and at least 25 are known to have been murdered, whilst faithfully carrying out their duties.

In the mid 18th century the Bow Street Patrol (known as ‘Runners’) was formed in London and in 1792 the first statutory salaried Constables were attached by Act of Parliament to Police Offices throughout London.

Following this Parliament began to pass local Acts, notably the Glasgow Police Act of 1800, allowing local authorities to begin employing full time constables. Sir Robert Peel actually began his police reforms in Ireland, which joined the UK in 1801, with the formation of the Peace Preservation Force in 1814 and the Irish County Constabulary in 1822.

How many of these earlier peace officers died in the execution of their duty is unknown but the first recorded death in the “Proceedings of the Old Bailey” dates from 1680 with the unlawful killing of a constable whose name was not recorded. This first, unknown, constable is included on the Roll to represent all the unknown dead.


INTRODUCTION TO THE ROLL

The National Police Officers Roll of Honour and Remembrance is fully inclusive of all police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty, by any means, throughout history.

The ROLL OF HONOUR pays special tribute to those officers who have been killed, or died as a result of injuries received, in consequence of the execution of their duty. This includes deaths on duty through criminal acts, enemy action during air raids, misadventure while taking special risks to protect the public or make arrests, and other accidents whilst on operational duty including patrol duties and operational training. It also includes deaths off duty whilst in the performance of acts of gallantry, or in the protection of life or property, or in consequence of their present or former status as police officers, for example through acts of terrorism or revenge attacks.

The Roll of Honour commemorates their sacrifice in the public service and provides a focal point and visible means for family and friends to reflect on the loss of their loved ones and to know that their loss is not forgotten. As well as allowing a grateful nation to honour those who died in the service of their country, whilst upholding the finest traditions of British policing.

Through REMEMBRANCE we also commemorate those officers who have otherwise died on or in connection with their duty, in other ways e.g.:- through natural causes, or unknown causes, or when on non-operational duty including travelling to or from duty; and when off duty, or where their duty status is unknown, through enemy action, and whilst serving overseas.

The Roll of Honour and Remembrance has been compiled over more than thirty years research, and encompasses some 5,000 line of duty deaths, containing over 4,000 names from the United Kingdom alone, with around 500 further names still undergoing research prior to their entry on the Roll. Losses in British Empire, Colonial and other UK administered forces overseas are currently undergoing research and may number as many as 1,000 more.

In a work of this magnitude omissions and errors are inevitable; in addition to recent deaths, each year dozens of newly discovered historical names are added for the first time, remembering officers long forgotten, as well as scores of updates and amendments.

The complete Roll is compiled by Country and alphabetically by current Police Force area, with cases being shown in chronological order within their constituent forces. The pages display citations for each officer including their rank, full name, date of death, age, brief details of how they died and any posthumous honours. Other pages include a list of current forces, criteria for inclusion and statistics on the causes of death.

Annual Rolls are under construction and now updated contemporaneously; daily Rolls and individual citation pages are also planned or in progress.


A TRIBUTE

Within these pages are the names of many heroes and heroines but mostly they contain the names of ordinary men and women – fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, partners, friends and colleagues.

What makes them all extraordinary is not how they died but how they lived - doing an often dangerous and thankless job, forgotten until needed - protecting the community for which, in the course of their duties, they lost their lives.

Sadly, as long as police officers are prepared to take risks in the protection of their communities, it is inevitable that the Roll will never be complete. We will ensure future losses are also recorded and added to the Roll, which will continue to serve as an ongoing memorial to those who lose their lives in the service of the public, and those left behind may now be assured their loss will never be forgotten.

                        This Roll is a tribute to those men and women and to their families...


LEST WE FORGET


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Page updated 7 February 2020

National Police Officers Roll of Honour Copyright © Anthony Rae MA 1985-2023

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