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The Blue Knights, a motorcycle club for across the wide police family and beyond. other survivors in practical ways. In addition
police officers, also paid tribute to the fallen We would like to thank all our fund- to Survivor Weekend, the charity arranges
by riding into arboretum as part of the Blue raisers, in particular the Police Unity Tour numerous local and national events to offer
Knights Law Ride. and all their sponsors, who have raised opportunities for survivors to build a strong
The event was the conclusion of the a substantial amount of money over the support network.
charity’s annual Survivor Weekend, a two- years for COPS.” Working with its partner organisations
day event bringing together the families of This year marks the 15th anniversary of Winston’s Wish and Red Arc, COPS also
officers who have died on duty, ‘survivors’, to COPS, and since its foundation the charity provides specialist counselling support to
form friendships and lasting bonds to help has helped hundreds of families devastated bereaved families.
them through the good and bad times. by the loss of a loved one in the police If you’d like to be kept informed about
The weekend included an outing to a service. the work of COPS, you can sign up for a
theme park for younger survivors, as well as COPS is a peer support charity, enabling free quarterly newsletter by visiting http://
relaxation sessions and a craft workshop. survivors from around the UK to support ukcops.org/newsletter-consent.php
Survivor Glenda Benner, who lost her
son Greg in 2015, said: “The first time we
went to Survivor Weekend it was only three
months after we lost Greg, and I was in a bit
of a daze. When we got there though it just Photographs courtesy of COPS
felt right. For the first time I felt that there
were people that understood what I was
feeling.
“This year was our fourth Survivor
Weekend and it now feels like having an
extension of your family. There are lots of
people I keep in touch with throughout the
year, and people are there for you when you
need it.”
COPS chief executive Tim Buckley, who
closed the memorial service, said: “This is
the biggest event of our year and is a chance
for us to get as many survivors together as
possible to support each other in rebuilding
their lives.
“We are grateful to all our supporters

The West Midlands Police Band played before and during the service.

www.polfed.org/westmids federation August/September 2018 21