by Len Causton (Inspector Ret.)
I joined the British Transport Police as a Constable in 1967 at Paddington, on being promoted to Sergeant in 1972 I served at St. Pancras and then Euston before transferring to a Sergeants post in the Communications Office at the Force Headquarters in Park Royal in late 1976.
The Royal Train communications with other Police Forces for all its journeys were arranged through the Force Headquarters Communications Office. When a notification was received from British Rail of a member of the Royal family travelling by Royal Train, arrangements were made for a Sergeant and Constable from the Communications Office to travel on it. They provided the radio contact with the Civil Police Forces who’s areas it would travel through. This usually fell to the Sergeant and Constable who were on rest day on the first day of travel, this could mean being away for some 2 to 5 days depending on the nature of the Royal visit. My time at Force Headquarters coincided with Silver Jubilee Year 1977, which meant a large number of visits were made throughout the United Kingdom that year using both the old and new Royal Trains.
On being rostered for such a duty, the first job of the Sergeant was to obtain details of the routes and timings from British Rail Headquarters, then ascertain the Civil Police Forces whose areas it would travel through, check the agreed radio frequencies used by each force for communications with the train, then in those days send a Telex to each Force Communications Office the train would travel through with the details and timings.
On the morning of the first day of the journey, the Sergeant and Constable would book on at about 6am at FHQ, load up the Force Land Rover with all the radio equipment required and drive up to Wolverton Carriage works where the Royal Train had its own shed, was spotlessly maintained by hand pick BR Carriage and Wagon Staff who also manned the train on its journeys.
The Royal Train at that the beginning of 1977 consisted of a number of wooden coaches built around 1905/6. Our position on the train was in Utility Brake Van 5155, which was usually at the rear of the train and also contained the Guards Compartment. The Brake Van was in two sections, one half contained a number of compartments with a long seat on both sides which converted into sleeping berths for the BR train staff and the BT Police. The other half had a stove and water heater backing onto the compartments area, a long central table with padded bench seats built against each wall of the coach under which were stored spare parts and equipment which could be used on the journey if required. In the roof area were two long cylindrical water tanks, the trains water supply.
The Force Radios for use on the Royal Train were in two metal cases, which were placed on two shelves in a corner of the Utility Brake on arrival at Wolverton. These were then connected to the train’s electricity supply through an alternator.
The radio frequency for each force we travelled through was set up by means of little pegs into holes on the top of the Radio Set, each Forces frequency being on a separate line one below the other in order of travel, and the frequency changes being made en route by turning a dial, with 1-10 on it, onto the next number. We also had hand sets for the train driver and kept in contact with him and the Locomotive Inspector throughout the journey.
We had to complete the setting up task and put the Land Rover into the car park at Wolverton before 10am, as the train had to be placed onto a siding until departure time to the journey’s starting station such as Euston or Kings Cross later that day, as other carriage stock being maintained at Wolverton was constantly being shunted around the sidings. At the designated time the Royal Train set off to its journeys originating station, often stopping at a station en route to pick up the catering team and their stock for the journey.
In early 1977, a new Royal Train was in the process of being completed for use during the Silver Jubilee Royal tours by Her Majesty and Prince Phillip. On this train our Radio Communications Centre was in a separate compartment in the Utility Brake along with its own sleeping berth. The Radio System being built into a fixed consul. Both trains were sometimes in use at the same time during 1977 for different members of the Royal Family.
My first trip on the Royal Train was to Rosyth dockyard in Scotland via Dunfermline, with the Queen Mother on Board. John Gould was my accompanying PC on that trip. We set off as usual at about 6am from FHQ and had set up the radios on the train by 10am when we were shunted out onto the siding to wait for the time to depart later in the day. In the late afternoon we set off I believe to Kings Cross where The Queen Mother joined the train and we soon departed for the overnight journey. I took the first radio shift contacting the County Constabularies as we passed through them, booking on with the next one before logging off with the old one. This was so that if we could not contact the next force for some reason, we stayed in contact with the previous one. At the end of my stint in the early hours of the morning I retired to bed and PC Gould took over. I awoke next morning sweating profusely, the steam heating pipes in the compartment were working very efficiently. I found a valve and turned it down. When I looked out of the window, we were stationary in a siding with a high barbed wire fence to one side. After a short while a member of the army walked past the side of the fence fully armed. We were in an Army barracks somewhere near the Scottish border. I got up and joined PC Gould for breakfast cooked and served by the train electrician who doubled as the BR staff cook. At this time the Queen Mother’s dresser came through and refilled a couple of hot water bottles from the boiler. I was told by one of the long serving train staff that when they were younger a couple of the Royal children thought it fun to creep in and turn on the taps and drain the water tanks.
About 10 am we set off to Dunfermline where the Queen Mother left the train to start her days schedule of visits. We then continued onto Rosyth Naval dockyard where the Queen Mother would later re-commission a submarine, that she had originally named, following a refit. We could see some of the Ships in the yard from our position on a quayside. We spent the afternoon reading and listening to the radio. In the afternoon the train electrician said we were getting low on milk, could we contact one of the armed patrols on the quay and ask if we could obtain some. Contact was made and an armed escort duly arrived and I went with him through the docks to the NAFFI, which was closed and the Milk machine “out of order “. On the way back to the train the escort pointed to a wooden minesweeper tied up alongside one dock and said
“That’s the wooden tub they gave Prince Charles to Command, they gave him that so if he sunk it, it wouldn’t matter”. Milk was duly obtained and delivered to us having been purchased at the Indian corner shop outside the base gates.
Later that afternoon we set off to the local station where the Queen Mother re-joined the train with a number of dignitaries for an on-board banquet. The train was stabled on a high embankment near Inverkeithing for the evening, which turned out wet and windy and the old coaches rocked quite a bit. The Scottish BTP officers on duty got thoroughly soaked, I understand a nearby hostelry was used as a base for comfort and drying out periods as it had a good fire going. The train then returned to Inverkeithing station to drop off the dignitaries, and we duly set off for the nonstop return to London arriving the next morning, returning with the stock to Wolverton to off load the radios and travel back to FHQ. A long trip, but well worthwhile when your paid for all the hours away.
When I got back home my wife asked about the trip and I mentioned about the Queen Mothers hot water bottles being refilled. My 5 years old daughter must have overheard the conversation, as a few days later her school teacher said “Your daughter put in her news book the other day, “The Queen Mother is lazy, she doesn’t get up early in the morning”. Where did she get that idea”? Explained without giving too much away!!
On another occasion with the Queen and Prince Phillip aboard the train, somewhere in the North West of England, Train Forman Stan Butler came to me and said “The Queen has asked me to find out why the train is travelling faster than it usually does, as the ride is not so smooth as usual”. So I contacted the Locomotive Inspector on the radio, as he was with the driver, and asked him. He replied that before we left for London, where we were due to arrive about 10pm, they had received a request from Prince Phillip to see if they could get to London as early as possible as he would like to try and get to a function for an Association for which he was a Patron for before it finished. The Queen was duly advised and the Duke was in his car just after 9pm.
I remember another trip to Scotland with the Queen Mother, which passed there and back without a problem until we hit a signal failure outside London Euston, grinding to a halt for well over an hour on a warm day at Willesden. The Catering Crew had departed the train at Milton Keynes so there were no refreshments available, although Stan Butler kept a few soft drinks in a personal cabinet on board. The Queen mother had requested a shandy, so he was looking for a beer. I had a pack of four Guardsman beers, which had a picture of a Scottish soldier on the side of each can in a different regimental tartan which I intended to take home. One of the cans disappeared for the shandy, I never did get one back!!!
On the first occasion that Prince Phillip was using his personal coach on the new Royal Train, I was standing in our Radio Communications Centre, with PC Billy Botterell as my PC for the trip, when Prince Phillip entered. He said he was looking for Stan Butler the Train Forman, as he wanted to enquire why it still needed four coaches on the train and not just his personal coach and a locomotive. We managed to explain that he had his personal coach which had his lounge, sleeping compartment and a dining area, another coach for his personal staff and Police Protection Officer, one for the BR staff and ourselves and a Dynamo Car on the rear to provide the lighting, heating and hot water. He then asked what our roll was and we explained the Communications System to him. He thanked us for the explanations and went off apparently satisfied.
At one time the Royal train had a dedicated train Guard for each region, this was eventually changed to any spare guard on the general roster. On one occasion we stopped in the middle of nowhere up north for a guard swap to take place. I looked out of the window from our position at the rear of the train to see the new guard trying to climb up to open a door into the Royal Coach itself. I immediately alerted the Train Forman by radio who managed to stop the guard in time and direct him to his compartment at the rear of the train for entry, problem averted.
Another occasion springs to mind, where the Royal train was not used but the overnight sleeper service from Aberdeen to Kings Cross. Prince Charles had been at Balmoral on a courting trip with Lady Di. Myself and a constable travelled up on an afternoon service train from Kings Cross to Aberdeen along with the two radio sets in the metal cases and an alternator, plus our own personal effects. We arrived in Aberdeen with just enough time to have a quick coffee and join the sleeper train as it arrived in the platform. A whole coach had been reserved for the Prince, his staff, the Police Protection Officer, the BR Inspector as well as ourselves. We took the end compartment and set the radios up before the Royal Party arrived. They then set about deciding who should take which compartment. Prince Charles was nominated the one next to us which we quickly pointed out may be a bit noisy with the radio beeping a lot during the journey. Problem solved his valet Steven Barry swapped compartments. They had by this time all put in for their calls and drinks requirements for the morning with the sleeping car steward. Prince Charles was not in a very good mood when he first joined the train but soon calmed down. Apparently, they had spent the entire weekend trying to avoid being spotted by a hoard of newspaper photographers who had taken up any available vantage point on the edge of the estate.
When everyone was settled Prince Charles’s valet produced a very large hamper full of food and various soft drinks and coffee. Everyone was well fed with a goodly amount left over. All went well on the journey and during the last hour the Sleeping Car Steward had delivered the morning drinks and rolls and people were starting to emerge from their compartments. About five minutes from arriving at Kings Cross, Prince Charles came out and asked “Has anyone seen Steven this morning”. We knocked on Steven’s compartment door, he was still in bed. He awoke and we told him he had about four minutes to get dressed before the train’s arrival. He was in a blind panic, wanting to know if the Prince was up, as he should have been attending him. It became apparent with the swapping of compartments the night before he had failed to tell the Steward which compartment he was actually in, so someone got two calls and Steven missed out. Prince Charles saw the funny side of it and had a good laugh. Everyone got off on time even if Steven didn’t look his usual immaculate self.
One other event stands out, but not directly pertaining to a journey. Myself and a constable arrived at FHQ at 6am on a Saturday morning to load the Land Rover up with the Radios and drive to Wolverton for the start of a journey on the train. There was no Land Rover to be seen, so enquiries with the Communications Office were made, only to be told that the Force Communications Sergeant had already taken it to go to Wolverton with some bits for the new Royal train.
When we arrived at Wolverton there was no sign of the Land Rover so we asked the train staff if anyone had seen the Communications Sergeant who was working on the new train. “Yes”, came the reply, “He dropped a few bits off, picked up some radios from the train and disappeared. If you want him, I think you will find him running the Loud Speaker System and Stewards and Judges communications from the Land Rover. It’s his daughter’s Pony Club Annual Gymkhana today”. I always wondered if he claimed Rest Day Working.
After I was promoted to District Inspector at Leicester in November 1978, I found I had a few Royal Train overnight stabling points in my District. One was at the Old Dalby BR Test Track Centre, two in Northamptonshire, as well as having one off overnight stabling’s in odd locations. One I remember in the Northampton area, was out in the countryside but alongside the main line to London and a couple of goods lines. Prince Phillip was on board this night and he had been known to complain in the past if there was too much noise with people walking on the ballast past the train. We set up our positions with this in mind, so we could see both sides of the train, but would only walk past the sides on a limited number of occasions during the night. As we were alongside the main line, the BR Regional Manager in charge insisted that everyone wore High Visibility Vests at all times. I said to him that “You do realise the Prince likes a quiet night and that by wearing HV Vests every train driver will be able to see us and sound his horn alongside the train, and that if I got a complaint later from the Palace I would refer it onto you.” He still insisted everyone wore one at all times for Health and Safety reasons, despite the Toot Toot every few minutes we got from passing trains.
At that same stabling point at about 4.30 am we suddenly had Bugle calls sounding loud and clear across the countryside, the call was repeated a few times so I sent two members of the Birmingham MSU to check it out as, as far as I was aware, there were no Army barracks in the area. They returned about 15 minutes later, matter resolved, they had found a local farmer calling his cows in for milking.
When I first joined at Paddington a Mr Coxon was the Station Manager, and was well respected by all. He wore Top Hat and Tails when out on the station and when meeting members of the Royal Family and other Dignitaries, as this was the attire for BR Managers in his position at that time. He finally retired and was replaced by a younger Manager. After one Royal greeting by him at the station I heard through the grapevine that a complaint had been received from Buckingham Palace that the Queen Mother had thought she had been snubbed as she was met on arrival by a man wearing a Suit and Bowler Hat. It was then pointed out to the Palace by the BRB Chairman that this was the new dress code for the Station Manager, the top hat and tails having been replaced.