Operation Valour is a project commemorating the police officers from K Division (what is now Newham, Tower Hamlets, Redbridge and Barking & Dagenham boroughs) who enlisted in the armed forces during the First World War and were subsequently killed in action or died as a result of injuries received. This project is being co-ordinated by Borough Commander Tony Nash, Chief Superintendent Rob Jones, PC Ricky Coleridge and PC Stephanie Gentile. Her Majesty the Queen and the Commissioner are aware of Operation Valour and both have indicated their support and enthusiasm for the project.
Out of some 285 police officers who enlisted in the armed forces from K Division, 22 soldiers were killed between 1914 and 1918. A further police officer was killed while on duty in The Silvertown Explosion of 1917 and was posthumously awarded the King’s Policing Medal by King George V. Overall, 4,500 members and ex-members of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) joined the armed forces during both world wars and over 500 of them lost their lives on active service or enemy action.
A memorial stone detailing the fallen officers is to be set in the ground at the main entrance to Forest Gate Police Station, allowing members of the public to pay their respects as well as giving officers a strong everyday connection to the stone. A Metropolitan Police Crest from a former K Division Station will be mounted on the wall above the memorial. A traditional military memorial service is being held on Monday, 28th July at Barking Abbey at 10.30am, led by the Bishop of Barking and Metropolitan Police Chaplains Jonathan Osbourne and David Foster. A First World War bugle commissioned in October 1914 has kindly been donated for the occasion and a bugler will play The Last Post and Reveille. During this service, two caskets of earth from the battlefields of the Somme and Passchendaele will be presented and blessed. These caskets of sacred soil will then be laid in the ground below the memorial.
The date for the unveiling and dedication ceremony has been set for Monday, 4th August 2014 at 10am, to coincide with Britain’s entry into the war. The Queen’s Lord Lieutenant of Barking & Dagenham and a Royal Artillery 50 strong military band will be in attendance. Representatives from each of the fallen soldier’s regiments have been invited to both occasions, and some living descendants of some of the officers have been traced and invited to represent their ancestors. Local councillors, Members of Parliament, dignitaries and faith representatives from Newham, Tower Hamlets, Barking and Dagenham, and Redbridge Boroughs have all been invited, along with the mayors, Police Borough Commanders and the Area Commander Stephen Watson. A handmade Book of Remembrance listing the 23 Officer’s police and military details will go on display to the public at Forest Gate Police Station. Newham officers have raised the money for this memorial by donations and sponsored events.