As we approach Remembrance Day it is time again to reflect on those RDC officers who were killed during the conflicts, either overseas or on duty.
A reminder that we have the Roll of Honour pages detailing those officers.
The 2021 Poppy Appeal for the Royal British Legion has been launched. Last year, due the pandemic, there were no volunteer collectors out on the streets and stations, but this year they are returning. You can also donate online.
There are a number of themed ‘History Weeks’ throughout the year. They allow for an organised focus on aspects of history that are often passed by in the mainstream historical research.
Every year I learn new things during Black History Month and I have been fascinated this year by the story of John Kent. He was probably the first black police officer in the UK who, in later life, joined the railway police and also worked for a railway company. There is an article on Kent on our website (see below). I have also enjoyed the book by my predecessor as Chair of the BTP History Group, Mike Layton: Proud to Serve; Embracing Diversity in Policing (2020). Mike’s book reminds us that the advances in diversity in the police service have not happened without considerable effort by many officers and especially by officers from BME backgrounds who have, by their example, made policing a richer and more inclusive service that better reflects the communities which are served by forces throughout the country, including of course the British Transport police.
The Force has an insightful area on its website covering Black History Month. It includes a great interview with Mike and Carlton Wedderburn who between them have 60 years service.
Black History Month is not a new invention. A version was started in the United States in 1926 and it has been a feature in the UK History calendar since 1987. I am therefore surprised that it is still seen as something even vaguely controversial. I saw a comment on a newspaper website recently that questioned the ‘need’ for Black History, after all, the rather angry poster asked, surely it is all British history? This is the same logic that suggests that there is no need for a group to study the policing of railways, docks and canals; surely this is just ‘police history’? And police history is just part of the history of the criminal justice system, which is just part of the social history of the country etc, etc.
Black history is a well established field for academic study. The experience of policing has traditionally been different for minority groups. This is true both of officers and for the general public. Capturing what has happened in the past is what history is all about. Our duty as historians is to research, record, analyse and report. No historian is forced to research what does not interest them and as a Group that encourages research we are all at liberty to seek out the past as we feel fit. But if we ignore the individual and group histories that are part of our inheritance we will always have an incomplete story. I want to embrace the opportunity to learn about our history from perspectives that sit outside my own experience and I would respectfully encourage others to join me.
Philip Trendall
Chair
October 2021
Also see:
John Kent – The First Black Police Officer: Maryport & Carlisle
Retired BTP Sergeant and BTPHG member Henry Wreathall had his 100th birthday today!
Congratulations from all at BTPHG.
To mark the occasion he was interviewed by the Hull Daily Mail.
Also see Henry Wreathall’s gallery.
Update (October 2023)
Chair Tony Thompson has added five additional photos and a video taken at Henry’s 100th Birthday celebration.
On the 126th anniversary of the murder of Detective Sergeant Robert Kidd in the LNWR Goods Yard at Wigan, a plaque was unveiled at Wigan North Western Station by T/Chief Superintendent Glen Alderson, the BTP Divisional Commander. The event was attended by members of the BTPHG, serving officers, railway staff, members of DS Kidd’s family and the Force Chaplain. This was followed by a short commemoration, led by the Chaplain, Phil Bawn, at the cemetery in Salford where the officer is buried. A wreath was laid on behalf of the BTPHG.
These events would have taken place last year but had to be cancelled because of the pandemic.
The arrangements for the installation of the plaque, the ceremony at Wigan North Western and for the commemoration were undertaken by Viv Head and Ed Thompson to whom we are most grateful. All who attended commented on how well organised the events were. We are also grateful for the support given to the project by the Force , the chaplaincy, Salford Council and by Avanti West Coast.
The BTPHG is determined that the sacrifice of RDC officers will not be forgotten.
Philip Trendall
Chair
