Legacy
Two weeks after Fletcher's death, a dedicated charity called the Police Memorial Trust was created to honour British police officers killed in the line of duty. It was the idea of UK film director Michael Winner who wrote a letter to the editor of The Times newspaper suggesting a memorial be erected in Fletcher's honour. After receiving a flood of donations from members of the public, the trust was established on 3 May 1984.
WPC Yvonne Fletcher would become the first police officer to be honoured by the new charity. On 1 February 1985, her memorial was unveiled in St. James's Square by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in a ceremony attended by the leaders of all the main British political parties. Hundreds of members of the public also attended the ceremony to show their support for this recognition of police bravery. In April 2004, Baroness Thatcher joined members of WPC Fletcher's family for a service to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of Yvonne's murder. Floral wreaths were laid at her memorial and a police helicopter flew over in a mark of respect. A minute's silence was also observed by those attending.
The memorial, which lies in a slightly modified location, stands in the north-east corner of the square. Westminster City Council augmented part of St. James's Square to accommodate the granite and Portland stone commemorative pillar with a rounded-pavement area of pavement which extends into the roadway to create an architectural feature.
The Police Memorial Trust later commissioned the National Police Memorial, which was unveiled in central London by Queen Elizabeth II on 26 April 2005.
Read more about this topic: Murder Of Yvonne Fletcher
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)