PW_1_2026

IPA News

Two Remembrance Celebrations in One Mick Abbott , Vice Chairman, Kent Branch

On the way home back to Calais, I would sometimes include a brief stop at a British and Commonwealth Cemetery, often one tucked away across a field and thereby not visited that frequently. It was by the visits to the cemeteries that I gradually became conscious of the significance of the Cross of Sacrifice that dominates, more or less, every cemetery of its kind. The Cross of Sacrifice is a prominent war memorial in British and Commonwealth cemeteries, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield in 1919. It is typically a tall, free-standing stone cross with an integral bronze sword, representing the faith of the majority of the fallen and the military nature of the cemetery. These monuments are found in cemeteries with over 40 graves and come in various sizes to fit the scale of the cemetery. The design was chosen for its simple and dramatic style, which Blomfield felt was more appropriate for the “grim horrors of the trenches” than elaborate medieval or Gothic designs. Over the course of my work, sometime in the early 1990s, I became friendly with a Romanic Catholic Priest who served many of the parishes on the Salient in Flanders. He explained how he was still working among the local population who were still scarred and emotionally affected by the terrors of the Great War, and indeed, the Second World War. He worked closely too, with the Chaplain of St George’s and other Military Chaplains in the reburials of fallen soldiers still being found on a regular basis in Flanders Fields. We had many conversations about the honouring of those lost in war and more especially those in the British and Commonwealth cemeteries who never returned home. One day, as a sign of our friendship, he gifted me with a most beautiful model and replica of the Cross of Sacrifice, which I have treasured and cherished ever since. Every year it adorns my own church on Remembrance Sunday, covered at its base with poppy petals retrieved over the years from those scattered during the ceremony at 11am on 11th November, at the Menin Gate. Each petal represents the 54,000 names of ‘The Missing’ inscribed on the Menin Gate; there are another 35,000 names inscribed on the Memorial to the Missing at Tyne Cot Cemetery at Paschendale. My friend, the Belgian Priest, would have been very touched that his Cross of Sacrifice was placed on the table of the Chairman of the Kent Branch, Jack Keeler, at the dinner where the Branch was celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the foundation of the IPA.

On the 11th November, 2025,we held a dinner at West Malling Golf Club, to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the IPA, coinciding with Armistice Day. One of our members, Frank Gallagher, is a retired Kent officer, who was the ‘Cross Channel Liaison Officer’ for a number of years and, as such, he made many friends and contacts in France, Belgium and Holland. On the evening of the dinner, he brought, and displayed, a miniature model of a cross, “The Cross of Sacrifice”. He explained its origins and how he had been presented with it, which was a very moving story. Following Frank’s account, members stood together for a respectful period of silence. The dinner had been planned well in advance as one of a number of events to take place during Kent Branch’s 75th Anniversary Friendship Week within 11 Region. Along with the Kent members, it was good to be able to welcome the Chair of Sussex Branch, Christopher Orlande and his wife, Gillian. Due to the prevailing circumstances, this was the only Kent Branch event held during the planned week. To record the occasion, each attendee was provided with a 75th Anniversary drinks coaster as a memento. Many thanks to our member, Roger Casement for his design and production of this item. Frank Gallagher writes: From 1982 through until 2010 I worked as Kent Police’s principal Cross Channel Liaison Officer. This included being part of the Channel Tunnel Planning Team at one stage and, post construction, having the responsibility of forming the European Liaison Unit. On retirement from operational duties in 1997 I was appointed as the the Force’s European Strategic Adviser. In 1984 I organised a family reunion in Flanders for the family of my Great Uncle Jack Mudd, killed on 26 October 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres. It was held in St George’s Memorial Church, Ypres, and conducted by the then Chaplain of St George’s. During the service, a plaque for Uncle Jack was dedicated and placed on permanent display with many hundreds of other similar plaques erected or placed by grieving relatives and/or comrades of those lost in the First World War. So moved was I that I became a Friend of St George’s Memorial Church and over the years to follow, its Secretary and Vice-Chairman. It became the norm that almost every visit to Flanders or northern France on liaison work included paying homage in some way or other to the fallen and to the missing. Often, if staying overnight in Flanders, you would have found me under the Menin Gate for the Last Post ceremony. In those days there were sometimes just me and a few others, but I’m pleased to say things have changed and there is always a substantial gathering, even on ordinary nights.

POLICE WORLD Vol 71 No.1, 2026

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