Geoffrey Lawrence

Medal worn by a Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'Honneur.

 

We are pleased to report that BTPHG member Geoffrey Lawrence, a retired BT Police Officer, has been appointed a Chevalier of the ‘Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur’ (Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honour) by the French Government.

The presentation was undertaken by the Rear Admiral Patrick Chevallereu and the French Air Attaché Colonel Patrice Morand at the Yorkshire Air Museum on Sunday 21st February 2016.

The honour is of the highest distinction awarded by France in recognition of both military and civil merit.

In Geoffrey’s case the service he rendered leading to the liberation of France in June 1944, constitutes the purpose of the award. As a private and infantryman with the 7th Battalion of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in Normandy from June 1944 until severely wounded by machine-gun fire during a silent attack on German frontline positions near St Syvain on August 10, 1944. After he recovered from his wounds he was transferred to the Royal Army Service Corps.

French President Francois Hollande announced during the 70th anniversary commemoration of the Normandy landings that France would give its highest honour to all surviving veterans who fought for the liberation of France during the Second World War.

Mr Lawrence held the rank of Chief Superintendent, Divisional Commander, North East, on retirement 1981.

Geoffrey Lawrence’s Service History is as follows:

1943 – 45 Argyle & Sutherland Highlanders (wounded in action Normandy)
1944 – 46 RASC Egypt, Palestine, Cyprus
1951 – 81 British Transport Police – serving at Huddersfield, Norwich, Nottingham, Birmingham and Leeds.

In retirement Geoffrey was the first Co-ordinator of the Leeds Victim Support Scheme.

He has written and published his autobiography titled –  “An Incident Occurred”.

Contre Amiral Patrick Chevallereau presenting the Legion d'Honneur, Frances's highest award to Geoffrey Lawrence from Bradford at the Yorkshirein Air Museum. Picture: Richard Doughty Photography
Rear Admiral Patrick Chevallereau presenting the Legion d’Honneur to Geoffrey Lawrence.
yorkshire-wartime-veterans-2016-11
The twelve Normandy Veterans who were presented with the Legion d’Honneur

Source: The Yorkshire Air Museum
Pictures: Richard Doughty Photography

Webmaster’s Note:
This blogpost updates and replaces an earlier post which proved to be inaccurate in several respects.
Thanks to Colin Sinclair for additional research.

An Inspector Recalls: Memoirs of a Railway Detective

An Inspector Recalls

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:

New History Writers Appointed

Ed Thompson and John Owen
Ed Thompson and John Owen

In was recently announced in the BTPHG Year Book 2016, that the nominations committee have this year appointed two new BTP History Writers – John Owen and Ed Thompson – for their tenacity and dedication in thoroughly documenting the Force during their long-running Census Project, travelling the length and breadth of the land in order to do so.

Congratulations to them both.