As we approach the Coronation of the King and Queen Consort it is worth noting that the railway police have been involved in the policing of coronations since that of Edward VII. Each one has seen the movement of large numbers of people by public transport in circumstances where celebrations have been looked after by police officers mindful of the importance of safety and security.
The Coronation of HM The Queen in 1953 presented serious challenges to the BTC and LT Police which required the deployment of officers from around the country. For example operational feeding at a time when shortages were common and some rationing still in force required careful planning.
For the general public national events normally involve a day off work. It is the lot of the emergency services to work while others party. However, overtime and the granting of time off in lieu has been a feature of conditions of service for many years, thanks to the efforts of the Federation. I recently came across in this memorandum in the BTPHG collection. From the Chief of the North Eastern Railway Police to his Inspectors on this subject. He was writing about the Coronation of George V in 1911. By the standards of the time the leave or pay arrangement was generous.
Coronation 1911 (click to enlarge)
The Chief in question was the famous Captain (later Brigadier General) HORWOOD. Known for the reforms he introduced into the railway police, he later went on to be the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis (1920-1928). He was nicknamed the ‘chocolate soldier’ in the Met after an attempt to assassinate him using arsenic laden Walnut Whips.
The Coronation 2023 will see a large police operation. I have no doubt that HORWOOD would be proud of both the Metropolitan and British Transport Police contribution to the event.
Our best wishes are with police officers, from all forces and especially those of the British Transport Police, who will work to safeguard the events of this weekend.
The British Transport Police History Group (BTPHG) sends its loyal and sincere greetings to Their Majesties on the occasion of their Coronation.
PDs Polly, Mace and Rocco, Whitechapel, April 2023.
Just two examples from our Police Dogs photo gallery. One hundred and thirteen years apart, but still doing the job of assisting and protecting their handlers and the public.
Police Vehicles
The first all-electric BTP response vehicle, Guildford, December 2022.
History doesn’t have to be old. We’re creating new history every day. Of historical significance is the first all-electric vehicle to go on patrol for the BTP. Based at Guildford this Tesla Model 3 response vehicle hit the road last December. The first of many to come.
…..and as we come to the end of April, don’t forget to have a look at the Website Updates page to see if there’s any recent additions you may have missed.
The BTPHG is very pleased to note that HM The King has approved the award of Commander of the Royal Victorian Order to the Chief Constable, British Transport Police, in the Demise Honours list published today. The Chief Constable, Lucy D’Orsi CVO QPM was National Coordinating Gold Commander for the funeral of Her Majesty the Queen last year. The whole nation witnessed policing at its very best in the aftermath of the death of the Queen. Operation London Bridge was an event that was many years in the making and involved every Force in the UK.
Chair of the BTPHG, Philip Trendall said: “On behalf of all our members we send our hearty congratulations to her on the announcement of the award.”
Historical Note: Lucy D’Orsi is only the second Chief Officer of the British Transport Police to be made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, the last being W B Richards in 1956.
Due to the uncertainty of the rail strikes, reluctantly we have decided to cancel our Annual General Meeting in Birmingham on Monday 27th, March 2023 at 12.30 hours.
However, we hope to hold it via the medium of Zoom on the same day.
Members have been circulated by email and will be advised of the new arrangements once they have been finalised.
New research shows that these two London & South Western Railway Police officers from Southampton Docks were brothers.
See the Story behind the Picture here:
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.
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.”
Brian Power
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.”
🎄With the especially cold December we’ve had so far, I thought you would appreciate a return to our roaring log fire this year.
🎄For the last couple of years I hoped for a better new year than the last, but another challenging winter is upon us, nevertheless a seasonal greeting from all of us at the BTPHG.
🎄And let’s look forward to a much happier New Year (again)!
BTPHG member Malcolm Clegg has his second BTP related book published within a few months and takes another place on the virtualBookShelf.
This time he is looking at crimes in the Victorian era.
The book, published in hardback by Pen & Sword, contains 160 pages and will be released on 30th January 2023. It will be available from Amazon, other online retailers, most book shops or direct from the publishers, and is available to pre-order now.
From the publisher’s description:
The vast majority of Britain’s railways were built between 1830 and 1900 which happened to coincide with the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). By the turn of the Nineteenth/Twentieth Century, over one hundred different railway companies were operating in Britain on more than 22,000 miles of railway track.
Although these new railways brought prosperity to the nation and enabled goods and passengers to be speedily transported the length and breadth of the country for the first time, this remarkable feat of engineering brought with it some unwelcome side-effects, one of which was crime. Wherever crowds of people gather, or unattended goods are being transported, a few unscrupulous individuals and career criminals will usually emerge to ply their trade. Some railway staff members are also unable to resist the temptation of stealing money or goods passing through their hands.
This book gives an insight into the nature and types of crime committed on the railways during the Victorian era, incorporating such offences as theft, assaults and murder, fraud, obstructing the railways and various other infringements of the law.
Over seventy different cases mentioned in the book are true accounts of events which took place on the railway during the Victorian era, the details of which were obtained as a result of hours of researching British Newspaper Archives of that period. The author hopes that readers will get as much pleasure from analysing the various cases cited in the book, as he himself derived from researching and writing about them.
Update: January 2023
Malcolm advises: Just to keep you updated. The book was released on Wednesday (11th January 2023) and my copies arrived on Thursday.
Hardback copies are now available from the publisher, Pen & Sword, priced at £18.00 (RRP £20) each.
You may have noticed a bit of a change on the website today. This is because the WordPress Theme ‘Atahuapa’ that we have been using since this website’s inception (12+ years) has become outdated. It does not work with the latest WordPress or web standards. Unfortunately the theme developer no longer supports it. So, it is time for a change.
We are very much in a trial and error phase, so somethings will be broken or look different. Within the next few days and weeks to come there will be a finalised version, which should see us through the next few years.
One big plus is that the whatever new theme we settle on it will be mobile phone and tablet friendly, something that older themes were not.
So please bear with us while we get things sorted.
