Another new BTP related book has recently been published.
It is a personal memoir written former BTP officer Graham Satchwell.
This is how he describes it:
“Several books describe the organisation and structure of the BTP. But how many have told the inside story?
My book gives a fresh perspective on policing the railways in Britain from the 1960’s to the 1990’s and describes the internal workings of the Force against a backdrop of significant crime.
The style is light and self-deprecating, and so far as the topics allow, amusing.
The publishers describe the book as ‘laughing out loud funny’ and say it provides, ‘dollops of humour, painful truth and a true description of the macho policing culture of the time.’
In any event it starts with a description of my cheating to pass the police entrance examination, aged 18, and ends with my being refused permission to leave the force upon reaching retirement age!
I describe my involvement in dealing with serious and not so serious matters (e.g. train robberies, corporate manslaughter, child abduction, terrorism, bomb threats, police corruption, the odd politician and even The Queen, drunks, vagrants and petty thieves). It also covers my periods in uniform, at Tadworth, my time at university and whilst on the staff of the Police Staff College.
Most of all it is a book about people – mostly you! For whilst it is a personal account, it is also the story of every officer who served during that period.
As you will know, this is the first book by a senior British Transport Police detective about personal experiences investigating railway crime.”
It is available in hardcover from all good booksellers and certain internet sites, including Amazon, from which a Kindle version is also available.
To accompany the book Graham has a website – GrahamSatchwell.com and he recently gave this interview to a local TV channel:
Wow – look forward to the read – lets hope there is not to much about Tadworth ! David
Hi David, how the devil are you? I can tell you that you get a couple of mentions – all positive of course! Hope you are keeping well.
Good luck Graham. Not got the book yet, still a tight bugger, but I am told that I have been mentioned, and peeps say it’s a good read!!! Take care and you are looking well!! Ken Avis MBE
Hi Ken, yes I could easily have mentioned you several times but felt obliged to do some ‘rationing’. I do hope you are keeping well, it would be good to share a cuppa sometime. I’m a tight bugger too (as you know) so I absolutely understand your reluctance to purchase. If you hang on a few months they will be ten-a-penny secondhand. After all, the words wont change! Thank you for your kind words.