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24 TOP cover aUtUmn 2012

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From AboVe!

Written By CAnOn dAvid WilbrAhAm

hello! my name is David Wilbraham, and i am the full time

Force chaplain serving thames valley police, the largest
non-metropolitan force in the country.

also lead, in my role as National Police Chaplain, ‘Spiritual support to those who are willing to risk their lives in the
the National Association of Chaplains to the Police service of others’.
(NACP), which brings together around 550 Police Within the Police, whilst chaplains have been around for a
Chaplains serving in forces right across the country. long time, it is only comparatively recently that it has developed
I Congratulations to the PFOA on this new initiative in a structured and organised way.
in which I am honoured to play a part and hopefully be of some Sometimes people will say to me “I’m not very religious” to
use! which I invariably respond quite truthfully “Good, neither am
As a youngster my ambition was to be a Police Officer, a dream I!” The role of the chaplain is much more than doing religious
I realised joining Merseyside Police in the mid 1970s. It was very things. We are there for people of faith and of no faith to offer
much the days of ‘ashes to ashes’ and ‘Life on Mars’ so when I personal, practical, emotional and where appropriate spiritual
now take a funeral and use that phrase ‘ashes to ashes’ as part of support. We also provide a valuable resource where faith and
the service I realise my career has not gone that far! operational policing matters interact as well being there as part of
The Police was, for me, despite the low numbers prior to the response to major and critical incidents.
Edmund-Davies, the challenge of inner city riots and the many In this column I hope to explore some of the issues we all face,
industrial disputes and protests of the eighties, a ‘paid hobby’. both those that just come with the ‘stuff of life’ as well as those
This was even more so when the Chief Constable gave me a pressures that come our way because of what we do. So alongside
motorbike bigger than I could ever dream of owning, put petrol exploring what life is about we may look at what guides our
in it and then paid me to ride it! values and informs our decisions, especially when that involves
In the late eighties I felt a ‘calling’ to ordained ministry and the potential use of lethal force as well as what happens when we
left the Police to train as a Vicar. Scousers are known for their face life threatening situations.
religious fervour – but football aside – they are also known for I am available to work alongside PFOA members as part of the
a keen sense of humour prompting one guy on my section to range of support services the Association has developed and can
comment ‘this is a bit of a come down – today you are god, be contacted via telephone or e-mail. If members have a particular
tomorrow you’ll only work for him!’ need to meet with a Chaplain then I will either meet with you or
After training I went back to the North West to posts in arrange for a colleague to do so.
various churches, worked in a Juvenile Remand Centre meeting For those who do want a prayer I like this one: “God help me
familiar faces, and spent time engaged on a major aid project to be the person my dog thinks I am.”
in Romania before returning back to the Police when I became
Welfare Officer for Surrey Police. Whilst here, building on my
experience in Romania, I developed an interest in the impact David
of traumatic events on Police personnel. Alongside my Police
work I then became Vicar of two Surrey villages (a world apart
from inner city Liverpool) before, in 2007, coming to TVP as Canon David Wilbraham
Force Chaplain. So again I enjoy a ‘paid hobby’ in a world that Force Chaplain, Thames Valley Police
is not only familiar but more importantly hugely enjoyable and National Police Chaplain
rewarding. T 01865 846916/2 M 07973 367786
Within the Armed Forces the role of the Chaplain or Padre is Eden House, 16 Lyne Road, Kidlington, Oxon, OX5 1AD
part of military law and very much embedded into the culture of E david.wilbraham@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
service life. The Army chaplaincy describe their work as offering