HiddenHeroes Day 2025 – 24.09.25
Launched in 2020 by HRH The Princess Royal (Princess Anne), HiddenHeroesDay is a national day – held on the last Wednesday of September each year – paying tribute to the #HiddenHeroes working in UK prisons, IRCs, probation and youth justice services. This year’s HiddenHeroes Day is on Wednesday 24 September.
HiddenHeroes Day is an opportunity to show everyone working in custodial and community justice settings that they are not forgotten, even if they are largely hidden from view, and to thank them for the critical, and often challenging, work they do on behalf of the people in the care and the public they serve.
The Princess Royal launched the inaugural HiddenHeroes Day in 2020, at a special event at HMP Bullingdon, where she delivered her own personal messages of thanks to staff throughout the UK, saying:
“It’s a real pleasure to be here today, to share in your celebrations of the first national Hidden Heroes Day, in recognition of all that you and your colleagues do, on behalf of both the people in your care, and the public you serve so admirably.”
You can find a write-up of #HiddenHeroesDay 2020 here.
The day has been widely observed every year since its launch, with events paying tribute to staff held right across the country, and messages of thanks and support from across the sector and beyond. You can see some of the many messages and images from the first five HiddenHeroes Days (2020-24) on the @HiddenHeroesDay archive on ‘X’ (Twitter), and you can share your own messages and images from the day using the hashtag #HiddenHeroesDay.
As one Prison Officer put it, summing up what HiddenHeroes Day means to her and her colleagues:
“To have a day where people have gone, ‘we see you, you are not forgotten, this is for you’, it’s wonderful.”
HiddenHeroes Flags
The Butler Trust sent out flags in 2020, and again in 2023, to all prisons and IRCs for them to fly on the day.
Replacement flags can be ordered from House of Flags* by emailing SalesSupport@flags.co.uk and quoting job number #23006677 – they have the artwork on file.
The cost is £52 (plus £15 delivery) for a knitted polyester flag, which shuld be durable enough to fly on the day / for occasional use; or £122 (plus £15 delivery) for a heavy knit polyester flag, which should be more durable if you plan on keeping it flying all year.
If you have an alternative supplier or would like to get a flag printed elsewhere, you can download a high res copy of the artwork by clicking on the image below.
HiddenHeroes T-shirts
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T-shirts can be ordered from a range of suppliers such as BuyTShirtsOnline* – at around £4 each (depending on numbers) – click on the images below for high res artwork.
Other ideas
Food always goes down well on HiddenHeroes Day – and companies like Edibilis and EatMyLogo* can supply edible “toppers” with the HiddenHeroes logo, for cookies, cakes and cupcakes; while a wide range of companies, e.g. UKPrinting and VistaPrint*, can supply other branded items such as pens, notepads, badges, keyrings etc.
And please feel free to use the logos for these or any other ideas you might have – and do please share any images on social media using the #HiddenHeroes hashtag!
* Please note: the Butler Trust can not vouch for any of the suppliers listed here and there are many other potential suppliers.