POLICE officers from Cumbria who have been killed or died while on duty are being honoured, along with colleagues from all over the country, at a national service of remembrance.

The first National Police Memorial Day takes place at St Paul's Cathedral, London, on Sunday. The ceremony sees the unveiling of a permanent memorial to commemorate the more than 4,000 police officers who have died or been killed on duty since modern policing began 175 years ago.

In Cumbria, a total of 12 officers have been included in the county's roll of honour and families of police officers who have died in recent years have been invited to attend the service.

Among those who will be remembered is George William M. Russell, of the Cumberland, Westmorland & Carlisle Constabulary, who died on February 10, 1965, aged 36, after confronting an armed suspect at Oxenholme Railway Station, Kendal, despite being unarmed and knowing police officers had already been fired on.

PC Russell was posthumously awarded the Queen's Police Medal for Gallantry and a memorial bust was set high on the outside wall of Carlisle Cathedral.

Attending the ceremony with several members of her family will be Viv Rowlinson whose husband, PC Ike Shepherd, was killed in a road traffic accident while on foot patrol near Bardsea, in 1976.

For Mrs Rowlinson the monument recognises that "policing is a very dangerous job done by ordinary people".

"It's lovely that at long last there is something tangible for relatives to visit," she said.

Chief Constable Michael Baxter said: "The purpose of the Memorial Day is to remember police officers who have been tragically killed or died as a result of performing their duties as a police officer; to demonstrate to relatives, friends and colleagues of fallen officers that their sacrifice is not forgotten; and to recognise annually the dedication to duty and courage displayed by police officers on a daily basis."

A permanent memorial, designed by world-renowned architect Sir Norman Foster, will be unveiled in the New Year and will stand at the corner of Horseguards and the Mall in the capital.

The National Memorial consists of a book listing the names of officers killed on duty displayed in a glass show case within a dark stone wall which will also carry an inscription and the police's badge of office.

Nearby will be a tall transparent wall of glass sited in a reflecting pool and illuminated with blue light. The glass wall represents the blue lamp once displayed outside every police station in Britain and still regarded as a symbol of the police and their readiness to serve.