It was announced today (31/12/2022) that former Chair of the BTP Federation Nigel GOODBAND M.B.E. and Det Sgt Brian POWER K.P.M. have received recognition in the New Year Honours List 2023.
Congratulations to them both.
The Awards table has been updated.
Nigel Goodband, known as ‘Nobby’, joined BTP in 1991, after eight years with the 1st Battalion Irish Guards.
During his time with BTP, Nigel embarked on a career of disrupting serious and organised crime across the rail network, working across CID and the National Intelligence arena. He received a commendation from the coroner for his work on the Grayrigg train crash and led the first ever court contested murder investigation for BTP.
Alongside his operational accomplishments, Nigel also worked tirelessly to represent BTP officers as an elected representative of the BTP Federation. In 2016, he was named national chair of the BTP Federation and became the face of the organisation internally, externally, nationally and internationally.
Nigel stepped down as chair earlier this year.
On receiving this honour, Nigel said:
“Policing for me has genuinely been a job like no other and I have worked with some of the very best officers and staff that a police service can offer. I suspect without their dedication to duty, support, and courage my efforts would not have been recognised in this fashion. So, I am extremely grateful to all those officers and staff members that I worked with over the years, and I would like to say a very big thank you to them all.
“I would also like to thank whoever nominated me for the MBE, I cannot put into words what this honour means to me and my family. I am so proud of my time served in both the British Army and in British Transport Police and to receive this honour from HM King Charles III is unquestionably the highlight of my career.”
Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said: “Nobby served a trailblazing career with BTP, which included investigating the force’s first ever court-contested murder case and establishing a model for investigating major incidents alongside our partners. Alongside those incredible achievements, he worked tirelessly to represent BTP officers through the BTP Federation and was elected national chair in 2016. Nobby dedicated his working life to serving and helping others, bringing about change and supporting everyone who needed assistance, advice or support. He should be very proud of this honour and we are very proud of him.”
Det Sgt Brian Power joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1979, serving in both uniform and CID.
It was during the latter that he became involved in family liaison work – offering families emotional support and care during the most difficult situations a family can face. Since then, he has been the co-ordinator for teams of family liaison officers for incidents such as the 2004 Tsunami tragedy, 9/11 and the 7/7 London bombings.
Since joining BTP in 2009, he has overseen the training of more than 250 liaison officers and co-ordinators, as well as seeing more than 500 officers trained to become detectives. Brian was also the coordinator for all 14 liaison officers for the Croydon tram derailment in 2016.
He is now training officers from forces across the UK in providing bereavement support.
In his own time, he has run seven marathons for charity, runs a local youth club and has been an athletics coach for 20 years.
Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said: “Brian has been a pioneer in the incredibly difficult and emotive work of family liaison. It is because of his work that many families have been helped and supported through the darkest of times – and that so many others have been trained to carry out this vital role.
“Brian has shown unwavering dedication to the public for more than 40 years. His work in this area epitomises everything that is great about British policing and this honour is very much deserved.”
On hearing news of the honour, Brian said:
“It’s an absolute honour to have received the medal. I’ve been working for the police for 44 years and I still love my job. It’s a privilege to train those officers – from forces across the UK – who will be supporting families when they most need us.”
Source: BTP
See: Honours, Medals and Decorations table