Family members of fallen police officers along with hundreds of serving and retired police officers took to the streets of Sydney yesterday (Thursday 29 September) to mark National Police Remembrance Day.

The annual event has been reinstated after two years of pandemic-related restrictions and included a service at the Wall of Remembrance in The Doman to honour the 275 officers who have died in the line of duty since 1862.

The NSW Police Commissioner, Karen Webb APM, was joined by the Governor of NSW, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Police, Paul Toole, and other distinguished guests.

“Today is the day we stop and remember those officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” Commissioner Webb said.

“This is a day for police, their families, friends and the community to pause to honour officers whose lives have been cut short while performing their duty.

“We also remember those who have lost their lives through illness, injury or other circumstances, and we stand with those they have left behind," she said.

Police in the western plains region, have always been a part of efforts to remember and acknowledge their fallen colleagues.

Former Superintendent Stan Single, who was born in Coonamble, served 23 of his 42 years with NSW Police in western communities including Lightning Ridge, Walgett and Bourke.

He has become renowned for his contribution to state and national Wall to Wall rides by creating commemorative batons that have become a key part of the remembrance ceremonies.

"I was an apprentice fitter and turner before I joined the Police," Mr Single said. "I started making the batons when I was working in Lightning Ridge."

"At any remote location most police do their minimum tenure and go, so I started making them as a send-off gift."

"It was therapeutic to start with but I've created a bit of a monster," he said.

The original batons were made from local timber and featured small opal doublets, one gem for each year served at the command.

In 2009, after hearing about a commemorative ride held each year in Texas (USA), Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy from the NSW Police Force and Inspector Brian Rix of the Victorian Police had conceived the idea to hold a 'ride with their mates' as a tribute to honour the service and sacrifices of the many law enforcement officers who have died while serving their communities.

Stan Single as part of the Wall to Wall contingent in 2011. PHOTO: Orana Mid Western Police fb.

Superintendent Single got a call from Assistant Commissioner Corboy, and he set about fashioning perpetual batons for the national Wall to Wall ride.

His handiwork has become part of policing history and a treasured tradition for the future.

"I made eight batons and used timber appropriate to every state - Huon Pine for Tasmania, beefwood for western NSW, Red River Gum for the Murray region."

"I used a Coober Pedy opal for South Australia, a Boulder Opal for Queensland and a Lightning Ridge Black Opal for NSW," he said.

The perpetual batons were trickier and more time-consuming to make than the original 'gift' batons as they were designed to be a hollow tube to contain a scroll sealed inside with the names of any deceased police officers for that particular calendar year.

"Bearing in mind the best result would be that each baton arrives at the Wall of Remembrance empty," Mr Single said.

Each one was individually turned freehand – meaning that although they are similar in shape, size and style, no two are identical. 

"Each one took about three or four hours," he said. "Sometimes the machine would hit a knot you didn't see and it would blow up."

"I'd be in the shed for hours and hours but I suppose I've got a bit of a legacy."

The batons now accompany riders in both state and national Wall to Wall remembrance rides.

This special tenth anniversary Wall to Wall baton was engineered in alloy in 2019 using Mr Single's design and contained a special message from Prime Minister Scott Morrison inside. Each badge represents all 8 Australian Police Forces and the other badges are the annual W2W badges. PHOTO SUPPLIED.

As a bike rider, Mr Single has joined many of the rides.

"It's fairly impressive if you see it," he said. "You don't often see a couple of thousand bikes in a procession."

"It's for the families really, the families are always involved and acknowledged at the service," Mr Single said. "It's pretty emotional."

"It's not like those police serve, are lost and forgotten."

"Their names are always on a board in the Police Station they came from and on the state and the national walls."

Police riders from Coonabarabran line up before departing on the 2022 Wall to Wall ride on Friday 16 September. PHOTO: Coonabarabran Times

According to Mr Single, Australia's tight gun control laws mean that the country loses very few officers in comparison to many other countries, such as the United States.

"They lose officers any week of the year," he said. "We can go a few years and don't lose one."

"Unfortunately this year we lost a female officer who was off-duty and drowned trying to save someone."

He says the bike rides, the remembrance day services and walls, and the batons serve an important purpose to acknowledge the service of those police.

"It brings it to the fore and its a good thing, it gives closure to those families," he said.