National Police Memorial (United Kingdom)

The National Police Memorial is a memorial in central London, commemorating about 4000 police officers killed in the course of their duties in the United Kingdom. It was designed by Lord Foster of Thames Bank and Per Arnoldi and unveiled in 2005. The Project Architect for Foster was Peter Ridley.

National Police Memorial
Police Memorial Trust & Police Roll of Honour Trust
For UK police officers killed in the execution of their duty
Unveiled26 April 2005 (2005-04-26)
Location51°30′20.67″N 00°7′48.23″W
London, SW1
Designed byLord Norman Foster and Per Arnoldi
The National Police Memorial: Honouring Those who Serve

Historical background

In 1984, following the shooting of Yvonne Fletcher, film director Michael Winner founded the Police Memorial Trust. Initially the Trust concentrated on erecting smaller monuments at the points where officers had died on duty.[1] From the mid-1990s the Trust also lobbied and raised funds for a single, larger scale memorial to commemorate all police officers who had died in the course of their duties.[2] Winner stated that "Memorials to soldiers, sailors and airmen are commonplace, but the police fight a war with no beginning and no end".[3]

Winner donated £500,000 of his own money to the campaign for a national memorial[4] and the remainder of the total cost of £2.3 million was met by a public collection.[4] After a ten-year campaign, Westminster City Council granted planning permission in October 2002.[5]

Design and construction

The Memorial was built to a design by Lord Foster of Thames Bank and Danish designer Per Arnoldi, on the corner of The Mall and Horse Guards Road, directly outside the Old Admiralty Building.[6] The site was occupied at the time by an air shaft on the Bakerloo line of the London Underground.[4]

The Memorial from St. James's Park

On 22 July 2004 a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony took place on the site, performed by Prime Minister Tony Blair, Michael Winner, and officers from the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police, representing the two forces with the highest number of officers killed in the line of duty.[3]

Blue glass column of the National Police Memorial

The Memorial was formally unveiled on 26 April 2005 by Queen Elizabeth and Tony Blair.[3] Michael Howard and Charles Kennedy, the leaders of the UK's other leading political parties at the time, were also present.[7] A guard of honour was provided by 56 officers wearing the uniforms of each of the UK's police forces.[3] The Queen stated that "It is surely appropriate that this should be positioned in The Mall - an area of London so often associated with our national way of life. When people pass by the memorial, I hope they will pause and reflect on the proud traditions that it represents. The courage and personal sacrifice recorded here will, I am certain, serve as an inspiration to us all."[8]

Despite concerns over the potential cost,[9] construction of the Memorial eventually came in at £400,000 under budget,[10] in part because a number of the contractors concerned carried out their work free of charge.[11]

The Memorial was a winner of the Royal Institute of British Architects award for 2006.[12][13]

Architectural elements
Repair work on the airshaft in 2007

The Memorial consists of two distinct architectural elements, linked by a terrace of Purbeck stone.[3] A black rectangular creeper-covered enclosure surrounds the air shaft, forming a single block. The northern face of the enclosure is kept free of creepers, and is inscribed with the police badge of office and the text "The National Police Memorial: Honouring Those Who Serve". This face also includes a vitrine in which the Roll of Honour is displayed.[14]

Immediately north of the block, a glass column is sited in a reflecting pool. The column is internally illuminated by fibre optic cables with a faint blue light,[15] symbolising the blue lamp which traditionally hangs outside police stations in the United Kingdom.[14] The column is intended to screen the vitrine from passing traffic on The Mall. The column is 7.4m high, consisting of 622 stacked sheets of glass (a total surface area of 954m2), weighing 28.6 tonnes.[15]

Roll of Honour
The Roll of Honour 1998-2007

The Memorial contains the UK Police Roll of Honour behind a glass panel, containing the names of approximately 4000 officers killed whilst on duty, in the course of effecting an arrest or whilst carrying out hazardous duties.[8] The earliest entry is that of Watchman Isaac Smith, who died of injuries in 1680.[16] The book is compiled from the approximately 4000 names recorded by the Police Roll of Honour Trust,[17] listing all officers who have died in the line of duty.[3]

Criticism

The Memorial attracted criticism from some families of officers killed in the line of duty, regarding the high cost,[9] and that the roll of honour lists only those officers killed during arrests or as a result of criminal acts, rather than all officers killed in the line of duty;[18][19] also that, with the book being behind glass, friends and relatives of the deceased are not able to view the relevant page.[9] Before construction, objections were also raised to the Memorial's construction by the London Historical Parks Group and the local residents' association.[20] Concern was also raised by some Irish republicans that the Memorial includes the names of those RUC officers killed in The Troubles.[21]

References
  1. "Police Memorial Trust". Police Memorial Trust. 2006-08-21. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  2. Cavendish, Lucy (2005-04-24). "Calm Down Dear, It's Michael Winner". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 2015-10-03.
  3. "The National Police Memorial". Police Roll of Honour Trust. 2005-04-28. Archived from the original on 2013-03-29. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  4. "Recognising the ultimate sacrifice". BBC News. 2005-04-26. Archived from the original on 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  5. "National Police Memorial granted planning permission after 10-year campaign". Foster & Partners. 2002-10-04. Archived from the original on 2012-02-08. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  6. "Police Authority Backs National Police Memorial". Northumbria Police Authority. 2004-10-20. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  7. "Inspector Named in Police Memorial". Oxford Times. 2005-04-28. Archived from the original on 2016-02-13.
  8. "National Police Memorial Unveiled". BBC News. 2005-04-26. Archived from the original on 2007-12-30. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  9. Fulton, Christine (June 2005). "President's Message" (PDF). Care of Police Survivors. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 13, 2016. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  10. Winner, Michael (2006-04-23). "Give carving lessons the chop and deal with the veg". The Times.
  11. "National Police Memorial". Waterman Group. May 2005. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  12. "Winner, but no prizes". Building. 2006 (26). Archived from the original on 2016-02-13.
  13. "RIBA Awards 2006". Royal Institute of British Architects. Archived from the original on 2013-11-13. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  14. "National Police Memorial". Foster & Partners. Archived from the original on 2012-09-02. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  15. "Haran Glass Builds Tribute to Fallen Heroes". The Glazine. Archived from the original on 2008-10-10. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  16. UK Police Roll of Honour
  17. Allen, Liam (2004-10-03). "Remembering the Ultimate Sacrifice". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2006-10-20. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  18. Ham, Angela (September 2005). "Police Memorial to Remember All" (PDF). Care of Police Survivors. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  19. Basnett, Guy (2005-05-13). "PC Missed off Memorial". The Journal. Archived from the original on 2011-08-14.
  20. Harris, Ed (2005-04-22). "Honour at Last for Police Dead". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 2016-02-13.
  21. Wallace, Ashleigh (2004-07-31). "RUC Names to be Engraved on Tribute to Police". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2016-01-11.. The criticism was from Irish Republicans and their supporters, some of whom consider the RUC/PSNI to be a de facto paramilitary force occupying a foreign country, so their casualties were neither "national" nor "police".

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