Further to the previous post – More Display Cabinets – Ed Thompson has confirmed that we have a new display cabinet at Spring House Training Centre. Meaning that there are now four.
Well done to him and the team for getting this done. The displays are regularly changed and highlight the work that the History Group undertakes, and hopefully we will get some new recruits as members!
A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all at the BTPHG!
Today, BTPHG Treasurer and Archivist John Owen met up with BTPHG member Sergeant Garyjohn Warren at BTP Nottingham in order to receive some old photographs that had been on the walls at the police station for as long as anyone can remember. In order to preserve the history of BTP Nottingham, these were handed over to the BTP History Group for their preservation.
Many thanks to them both.
BTPHG member George Chaney has presented us with a photograph missing from our collection. An early Tadworth course photograph from September 1947 (course 8). Prior to this our earliest class photo was course 9, taken in November 1947. This was taken prior to the British Transport Commission taking over the nationalised railway. As can be seen the centre was called the Main Line Railways Police Training School. The name changed again and throughout 1948 and 1949 course photos show the name as the British Railways Police Training School. It is not until January 1950 (course 30) that the name changes to the British Transport Commission Police Training School.
According to Kevin Gordon’s article – A Brief History of the Training Centre, Tadworth – the first residential course was held in January 1949, prior to that “students had to travel daily and as there were no canteen facilities, had to bring their own food”.
George credits a friend of his who discovered the photo, along with two other BTP related photos, at a car boot sale. All three items are quite small (7 x 5″), printed onto card and laminated. Many thanks to George for adding one more piece to our historic record.
See also: The Official Opening of Tadworth, 1948.
As we approach Remembrance Sunday it is time to reflect on those RDC officers who were killed during the conflicts, either overseas or on duty.
To that end, BTPHG Committee Member Ed Thompson has been working on our World War Two Roll of Honour, where his research has led us to several additional names. In addition we have more details of the officers in a new PDF document which Ed has compiled and can also be found on that page.
Additional related pages:
Another new BTP related book has recently been published and added to our virtual BookShelf.
Following on from his autobiography, An Inspector Recalls: Memoirs of a Railway Detective, retired BTP Detective Superintendent and BTPHG member Graham Satchwell has ventured into the true crime arena with his own investigation of the Great Train Robbery.
From the publishers website:
“In 1981, Detective Inspector Satchwell was the officer in charge of the case against Train Robber Tom Wisbey and twenty others. The case involved massive thefts from mail trains – similar to the Great Train Robbery of 1963 where £2.6 million was taken and only £400,000 ever recovered.
Thirty years later their paths crossed again and an unlikely partnership was formed, with the aim of revealing the truth about the Great Train Robbery.
This book reassesses the known facts about one of the most infamous crimes in modern history from the uniquely qualified insight of an experienced railway detective, presenting new theories alongside compelling evidence and correcting the widely accepted lies and half-truths surrounding this story.”
Graham adds:
“I have been working on the subject for a number of years, in a way, ever since 1981. In that year I had access to the entire Metropolitan Police Great Train Robbery archive, and started to get to know some of the people featured there. More recently, I have done a complete review of all the main published works and trawled several important untapped sources. During 2015 and 2016 I also had considerable help from an unexpected quarter – Train Robber Tom Wisbey. The results are striking and will certainly impact those who have an interest in this crime – it turns over ‘accepted facts’, exposes a great deal of accepted falsehood and generally puts ‘the cat amongst the pigeons.’
Great Train Robbery buffs might have viewed the Channel 4 TV special programme about my investigation on Monday 12th August, it was revelatory, but very short of what my book reveals.”
‘The Great Train Robbery – Confidential’ is published by The History Press and widely available in print or ebook format from 1st October 2019.
(click to enlarge)
This photo comes from the BTP Collection and was recently rediscovered by Ed Thompson. Ed says “The photo is printed on card on the reverse it reads ‘Railway Police New Street Station Birmingham. Taken in the 1920’s. Joseph Twentyman is second left, back row.’
History Group records show a J. Twentyman, who was then based at Carlisle, being awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct medal in 1954. Birmingham New Street had a London and North Western and Midland Railways Joint Police Station until 1923, when both railway companies were merged into the London Midland and Scottish.
Just one photo from our Constituent Forces photo gallery.
Over 186,475 railway people from Britain and Ireland fought in World War One, on land, sea and in the air, and more than 18,957 of these gave their lives. On 14th May, 1919, in the presence of His Majesty King George V, over 7,000 railway people and families attended a service of remembrance in St Paul’s Cathedral “In memory of the railwaymen of Great Britain and Ireland who have died in the service of their country during the war 1914-1918”.
Now, a century later, the railway industry of Britain and Ireland will come together again in a service at Southwark Cathedral, London, to remember those that fell in the “Great War”.
The service, on 6th November 2019 at Southwark Cathedral, will be by invitation only, and a website has been set up to enable those wishing to register to receive an invitation.
Link: WW1 Centenary Memorial Service
A post by Gary Wildman on Facebook last week provided a useful update on the progress of the BTP tree on The Beat at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The last photo we have displayed was taken in 2013.
Here is Gary’s post, which also highlighted a couple of Police related charities:
“COPS: Care of Police Survivors memorial service on Sunday 28th July a very emotional and wet day held at the National Memorial Arboretum in Cannock, Staffordshire: Where at the BTP plaque I bumped into Mo Stanford also paying his respects. Photo opportunity. I was there Supporting the charity with a motorcycle group named The Blue Knights, a charity based group, made up of serving and retired police officers.”
Both Gary Wildman and Maurice ‘Mo’ Stanford are BTPHG members.
See also:
UK Police Memorial post
The Blue Knights and COPS websites
The Railway Dogs Benevolent Fund was launched recently and we have now added their website to our links page.
“For over 100 years, police dogs have served alongside officers to protect the public. Years spent chasing criminals, detecting drugs and searching for explosive devices can lead to these brave animals experiencing costly medical conditions in retirement.
The Railway Dogs Benevolent Fund was established to support dogs who have completed their service with British Transport Police (BTP).
The Fund provides grants towards the cost of their care, including ongoing medical treatment, so these loyal and hardworking animals can enjoy a long and happy retirement.”
You can also follow them on Twitter at @RailwayDogsFund
