Fathers of killed Pcs in national police salute
THE fathers of murdered Greater Manchester Pcs Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone have launched a £4.5m national memorial to all police officers and staff killed in the line of duty.
Bryn Hughes and Paul Bone took part in a traditional ground-breaking ceremony at the site of the UK Police Memorial.
It will stand at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffordshire, and commemorate all personnel who have lost their lives since the 1749 formation of the first professional police force, the Bow Street Runners.
Nicola, 23, from Saddleworth, and Fiona, 32, from Sale, died at the hands of killer Dale Cregan in a gun and grenade ambush after they were lured to a house in Mottram in Longdendale, Tameside, on September 18, 2012.
The physical memorial, due to be completed next year, will complement an existing online digital memorial, launched in November last year, to the more than 4,200 officers and police staff who have died on duty.
Sir Hugh Orde, chairman of the Police Arboretum Memorial Trust, said: “The National Memorial Arboretum is the place where all our services are remembered throughout the year.
“A place where people come for quiet acts of contemplation and reflection and a place where large-scale acts of remembrance take place.
Bryn Hughes, left, and Paul Bone during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new UK Police Memorial. Inset, an artist’s impression of how the memorial will look
Pc Fiona Bone, left, and Pc Nicola Hughes were murdered by Dale Cregan
“Yet there is no fitting tribute here that honours those brave men and women from our police service who have given their lives to protect us all – a tribute that is in keeping with the scale of loss that our police service has suffered over the years. Today is the day that we change that.”
Speaking at the launch of the digital police memorial last year, Nicola’s dad, Bryn, said: “As a proud parent watching your child swear the oath of allegiance you never expect to read your child’s name on a memorial dedicated to police officers killed on duty.
“I myself do not need a memorial to remember Nicola, she lives on in my heart and in my memory forever.
“But it is important that members of the public have memorials such as this to allow them to reflect, remember and honour those we have lost.”
Cregan was sentenced to a whole life tariff in 2013 for the murders of Nicola and Fiona, as well as the murders of David Short, 46, and his son Mark, 23.