Police officer killed in line of duty leaves legacy of love, says mother
World War”, which “changed the course of history for the better”.
Locally, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council is staging a shared history event to mark the anniversary of VJ Day.
The event will include a lecture from renowned historian Dr Eamon Phoenix, poetry reading by Portadown historian Richard Edgar and a musical accompaniment from piper Ian Burrows.
The event will be broadcast on the council’s Facebook page from 11am this morning.
Tomorrow, a service at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast commemorating the 75th anniversary will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Ulster, starting at 10.15am.
THE mother of Pc Andrew Harper has said her son had created his own legacy ahead of the first anniversary of his death.
On August 15 last year the 28-year-old officer was dragged to his death after he was caught in a crane strap as he tried to stop three thieves fleeing after they stole a quad bike in Stanford Dingley, Berkshire.
Pc Harper’s family and fellow Thames Valley Police officers gathered yesterday for a series of services and a minute of silence.
His mother Debbie Adlam attended a memorial in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, to mark the anniversary, which falls today.
She said: “It was really emotional acknowledging that the year is here tomorrow.
“I found it quite difficult, to be honest, more difficult than I expected.”
Mrs Adlam thanked the public for their support and said her son had created a legacy for himself by being widely loved.
She said: “The legacy is already there for Andrew because he’s got so many people supporting him. So many people are sad for what’s happened.
“The personal sense of grief that everybody has isn’t just sympathy. They really do feel it.
“I think Andrew has created his own legacy in some ways because of the person that he was, the way he lived and the way people have reacted to it.”
Asked what she hopes for next year’s anniversary, she said: “Probably just the fact that they do remember him.
“If they remember him, they’ll remember him with the love that they’ve got now.”
Three teenagers, Henry Long (19) and 18-year-olds Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, were recently sentenced over the crime.
Long, of College Piece in Mortimer, was sentenced to 16 years’ jail, while Cole, from Paices Hill in Aldermaston, Reading, and Bowers, of Windmill Corner, Mortimer Common, Reading, were each handed 13-year terms.
Pc Harper’s family have criticised the sentences and the reductions given due to the defendants’ ages.