by Malcom Clegg
For those retired officers like myself, who attended Tadworth in the 1960’s, J.R. Whitbread was a household name. After all, he was the first person to write a book on the history of what is now the British Transport Police Force. The book, The Railway Policeman was written by J.R. Whitbread and published in 1961 by George G.Harrap & Co. Ltd 182 High Holborn, London W.C.1.
Copies of the book were held in the school library at Tadworth, and all officers passing though the training school were advised to read it. It gave a unique and fascinating insight into the British Transport Commission Police (renamed the British Transport Police in 1963). That was my first encounter with the book which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Some years later, I was given my own copy by a family member, who purchased it in a second-hand bookshop. Copies of the book are still available today and can be found on eBay and other internet websites.
The book itself gives little insight into the author, just a short mention on the inside of the dust cover stating that he was for some years on the staff of the Railway Gazette. Shortly after the book was published, Mr Whitbread presented a shield (The Whitbread Shield) to the Force to be awarded annually to a serving officer nominated for outstanding police work. This shield is still held at Force Headquarters today although it has not been used or awarded for a number of years.
Looking back, it never occurred to me to ask the question- “What do the initials J.R. stand for” nor did it occur to me to find out anything about Mr Whitbread. It now appears that few, if any other officers, asked these questions either. Consequently the years passed by, and the name J.R. Whitbread gradually became less well known until it was almost lost in the annals of time.
All that changed when members of the British Transport Police History Group began to set about recording the fascinating history of the British Transport Police, conducting research in to matters long since forgotten, and in some cases, almost extinct. People did start to ask the question “Who was J.R. Whitbread?” and “What do the initials J.R. stand for?” Ironically, nobody seemed to know the answers. It appeared that no one had any idea who J.R. Whitbread really was. So began a quest to try and find out the answers.
Some research was carried out, and it soon became apparent that it was not going to be an easy task to track down the elusive J.R. Whitbread. Nothing could be found out about him, and there were times when it appeared that he had never existed at all.
After consulting with Viv Head, I decided to assist in the search for the elusive J.R. Whitbread. After my retirement, I had spent quite a number of years researching family history for myself and others. I thought that the knowledge which I had gained in this field, together with a bit of good fortune, would give me a sporting chance of tracking him down. I started my research by shaking the dust off my copy of The Railway Policeman, and reading it again for the first time in almost fifty years, to try and gain some insight into the author. I had forgotten just how good the book was, and it was a joy to read it again. I made notes from the book which I thought may assist my research.
I then commenced my research ‘proper’ and after some two weeks of extensive research on an almost daily basis, “Eureka”. I picked up a telephone, and dialled a number, hopefully to a woman I thought was the daughter of J.R. Whitbread. But the question I was asking myself was, is it ‘our’ Mr J.R. Whitbread. I had been down this road several times before, but this time I really did feel I was contacting the right person. Imagine my delight, when the lady, a Mrs Hawksley, confirmed my findings, that it was her late father who had written the book, The Railway Policeman all those years ago.
It now gives me the greatest of pleasure to be able to reveal to you the true identity of the elusive Mr J.R. Whitbread, author of the book The Railway Policeman and the person who presented the Whitbread Shield to the British Transport Police Force.
JOHN ROBERT WHITBREAD
(Born 17th July 1916 – Died 30th March 2000)
Extract from the March 2014 edition of History Lines (No. 55)
Link to Part 2
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