"It was a day when people stood still - on the streets and in their homes - to witness Queen Elizabeth II's final journey.

Royals and world leaders were inside Westminster Abbey. But outside there were many more, ordinary mourners lining the streets of central London. And further beyond - in living rooms and parks, in pubs, cinemas and town squares - the British public marked the first state funeral for nearly six decades in millions of individual ways."*

The Funeral of Her Late Majesty the Queen was also one of the largest policing operations we have seen in recent history and so of course wherever there are large numbers of police you will also find chaplains.

Since the day of the announcement of the death of Her Majesty chaplains have led services, 2-minute silences, wreath laying, and supported their officers and staff whilst policing the funeral itself. 

Chaplains were in Windsor from the Thursday before Her Majesty's funeral supporting the officers and staff from police forces all across the UK and their presence was extremely welcome and chaplains from the Metropolitan Police Service supported their officers all through this time. 

Six Chaplains from Sussex and Surrey Police provided wellbeing support to officers involved in policing the Labour party conference in Brighton in September. 

We were available over breakfast and briefings to share coffee and find out how everything was going, then we went out along the seafront and around the town centre to engage with officers where they were working – to give them chocolate, smiles, and encouragement! 

We linked up with the Police Federation who were also providing wellbeing support via a refreshments van parked alongside our police vehicles – as you might expect, this was a popular area for officers to gather during breaks so we enjoyed meeting them there and chatting about the experience of policing an event like this.  Some shared their memories of previous conferences and operations in other areas this year where they’ve provided mutual aid. 

Our Chaplaincy Lead also provided chaplaincy support in the Command Suite back at HQ; it was fascinating to see the operation from different perspectives – on the ground on-site, and behind the scenes. 

Since January 2019, Police Chaplaincy UK has been working with Bedfordshire Police to recruit new chaplains and to relaunch the Chaplaincy Service within Bedfordshire Police. Following presentations, interviews and vetting, fourteen new chaplains are now in post. On Monday 14th October, an Induction Training day was held at Bedfordshire Police HQ. At the start of the day, the Chief Constable welcomed the volunteer chaplains to the force and affirmed the value of chaplaincy within the service, encouraging those present to see themselves as an important part of the Bedfordshire Police family and to make their individual contributions to the service. The course was led by Adrian Gatrill and David Wilbraham with input from Paul Thomas, National Chair of the Fire & Rescue Service Chaplains Association of Great Britain and Islands.

The chaplains will have a combined role, serving both the Police Service and Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue Service. The enthusiastic group found the day useful and, as well as their ongoing training, will keep in touch via their own Whatsapp group formed on the day.