by Viv Head
The inauguration of this medal to officers of the British Transport Commission Police was made under Royal Warrant in 1951. It was awarded to officers who were serving on the 30th September 1951 having completed twenty-two years meritorious service. The medal itself first bore the crowned head of the late King George VI on the obverse and a figure of Justice surrounded by ‘For Exemplary Service’ on the reverse. Medals bearing the head of Queen Elizabeth II were struck at a later date.
It was not mentioned at all in The Journal in 1951. General Orders force-wide did not commence until 28th November 1958 (and continued until they were overtaken by technology in the late 1990s). So in 1951 The Journal was the only means of communication in the force, yet it did not cover the inauguration of the medal.
Three years later, in 1954, there was an article reporting that the medal had been awarded to more than 1,000 members of the British Transport Commission Police at parades in London, Crewe, Peterborough, Glasgow and York where presentations were made to serving officers, those who had retired since June, 1951, and to the widows of those officers who since that date have unhappily passed on.
The awards made at York took place on the 23rd November 1954 when the presentations were made by General Sir Daril G. Watson GCB, CBE, MC in the presence of many other eminent people. There were a long list of recipients from the Northern Area of the force, including two superintendents, two chief inspectors, thirteen Inspectors, thirty-five sergeants, sixty-six constables, including detectives (but no policewomen), forty-four retired officers and the widows of five deceased officers. It was quite an occasion and the British Railways North Eastern Region Staff Magazine, unlike The Journal, saw fit to mention the name of every one of the 167 officers receiving the award.
Notes:
An additional Family Accolade Medallion was brought in during the 1980s and is presented at the same time as the medal. In January 2010 the qualifying period was reduced from twenty-two years to twenty.
With thanks to Glyn Thomas and Nicholas Fleetwood of the NER Association
This article originally appeared in the BTPHG Year Book 2013.