Riders from South Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Police took part in this year’s UK Police Unity Tour last weekend, a long-distance cycling event honouring police officers who have died on duty and raising funds for the Care of Police Survivors (COPS) charity.
Starting from West Yorkshire Police’s training centre in Wakefield, 13 retired and serving South Yorkshire Police officers and two survivors supported by COPS rode a total of 175 miles, joined by 24 West Yorkshire Police officers.
The route passed through South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire, taking in Barnsley, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Tamworth and Drayton Manor, before riders from forces across the UK converged on the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on the third day for the annual COPS Memorial Service.
Strength and hope
Among the riders were Emma and Ella Fields, the wife and daughter of South Yorkshire Police Constable Dave Fields, who died on duty in 2017 while responding to an emergency call on Christmas Day.
Emma said: “To us, Care of Police Survivors means friendship, understanding, strength, and hope.”
Detective Chief Inspector Richard Armstrong, who led South Yorkshire Police’s team on the tour’s North East chapter for the fourth year, said: “It was an incredible honour and privilege to lead the team of riders.”
Care of Police Survivors provides practical and emotional support to bereaved families of officers who have died on duty.
