Brockley war memorial clean-up earns six police officers Citizenship honour

Lewisham Council writes:

Six police officers were given citizenship awards on Wednesday night at the Council meeting by the Mayor. The officers are (L to R): Police Constable Terry Powell, Police Constable Danny Gobin, Police Constable Keith Galyer, Police Sergeant Ian Fearn, Police Constable Adam Elwood, Police Constable Andrew Collins.

In the small hours of 30 July last year Police officers were alerted to an arson attack on the Lewisham Way war memorial. The Fire Brigade attended and extinguished the fire but the residue left scaring and stains on the memorial.

Instead of leaving the site, the Police officers took it upon themselves to obtain cleaning fluid and worked for many hours to remove the charring and burnt stains on the cenotaph to ensure that the war memorial was restored to its former condition.

The officers were fully aware of the emotion a desecration would have on the local community especially so close to the 100 year anniversary of the outbreak of WW1.

These officers are to be commended for their dedication and instant action. Each officer has received the Mayor’s Citizenship certificate award.