Comments on BTP’s role in the recent riots in English cities

BTP Riot Gear
BTP Riot Gear

From the BTP website –

The rail system has largely been able to operate during the recent difficult circumstances in London and various towns and cities across England.

Our officers are out in force and have dealt with some minor problems, but no serious incidents. We will intervene should incidents occur and will take a robust approach to any disorder in support of our local police colleagues. Our priority remains ensuring the safety of the railways and those who work within it and travel on it, and our operations are supporting this.

From The Times –

Chief Constable Andy Trotter urged minsters to stop ‘pretending’ sweeping cuts to budgets would not affect front line policing.

From FaceBook –

Our people have been truly magnificent… they have been in the thick of it; particularly when the trouble in Croydon was at its height. We had officers under attack including by petrol bomb. I can tell you that BTP has stepped up to the plate and displayed great courage, Integrity, resilience and professional competence. I am very proud of out people and I am sure you are too. As always the very worst situations brings out the very best in police officers.

From Twitter –

We are deploying 21 Mobile Support Units across London and UK city centres to respond to any disorder in key areas.

and

Huge thanks to our Special Constables who’ve risen to the challenge of recent events supporting frontline officers & the rail network.

Well done every one.

History of the BTP Dog Section

PD Major

New member Mick Kinirey has taken on the job of building on Kevin Gordons excellent work on the origins of BTP police dogs. He will be bringing the story up to date and finding out all those unlikely tales. The photos here are of Pc Alan Beddoe’s dog ‘Major’ who carried out an extraordinary track in the 1980s, and Spud, very much a 21st Century police dog.

It’s a big topic and Mick can do with all the help he can get. Do you have any stories, photos or memorabilia? You can contact Mick through his email on the Projects page of this site or via his address in the NARBTPO Directory.

PD Spud

Opening of the Cardiff Story Museum and a Royal Meeting

The new Cardiff Story Museum was officially opened by HRH the Duchess of Cornwall on Tuesday 28th June 2011. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the opening, having arranged for a number of police related artefacts to be donated and having provided much information about the Bute Dock Police and their police station around 1900. As you can see I did not waste the opportunity to catch the Duchess’s ear!

One of the items on display was a Bute Dock Police cutlass, dating from the 1860s, donated to the museum by retired Chief Inspector and History Group member Roy Hulin. Many former officers will be aware that a large number of these cutlasses were either on display at the docks police station at Cardiff or held in store at Divisional Headquarters. But when the BT police were withdrawn from the docks in 1985, the cutlasses were regarded as unique souvenirs of a time long since gone – and many were spirited away. So it is particularly pleasing to have one on display at the museum- the Bute Dock Police certainly played their part in the Cardiff Story.

The Duchess took the time to have a thorough look at the many things on display, including the cutlass, and asked all the right questions. I had the opportunity to briefly mention the work of the BTP History Group and she seemed genuinely interested. I must say that I was impressed with her visit and after a few fine speeches and a delicious buffet-lunch; I was able to reflect on a rewarding day over a pint of Brain’s Black (which is another part of the Cardiff Story…)

Viv Head, Chairman BTPHG

Yet More Progress Stuff…

2011 moves on and so does BTPHG, albeit not quite so quickly. Where does the time go?
Our second AGM was held in April, chaired in style by Glyn Thomas, not bad for an up and coming youngster. And we have a committee meeting due in a couple of weeks.
The Group’s first Year Book was launched at the AGM and you should by now have received your copy. If not, use the Contact page to let me know.
The Police Service Record (PSR) project has also been launched and we look forward to receiving yours. Have a look at the PSR page to do it on line. In fact, have a browse around the site, there’s more new stuff on there including a new ‘Police History, Short Papers’ page with some good articles to read and there will be more to come.
Steve Beamon, who is managing the research of census returns project has turned up a huge amount of stuff.
All in all, not a bad half year!!  Have a good summer.

2011 Update Stuff

The 2011 AGM is almost upon us – Tuesday 29th March at 1130 at Eddy’s Club, Birmingham. Sadly though, (or gleefully?) the Chairman is stuck in the shaky city of Christchurch, New Zealand. Membership Secretary, Glyn Thomas will be taking the chair. The first edition of the BTPHG Year Book will be distributed at the AGM with the remainder being posted out soon afterwards.
Other progress includes work being done on identifying railway and dock police officers from census records and the almost complete Police Service Record forms. Life-saving and other meritorious awards have now been added to the Honours, Decorations & Medals page on the web site.
Several people have volunteered to do some transcribing following my plea in the Retired Lines newsletter- good news all round.

This logo appears on the front cover of the Year Book and is based on a wall sculpture in the tiny town of Hokitika on the west coast of the South Island New Zealand.  I’m sure the artist would be pleased to see it put to such good use.    VH

Photo Project

I am pleased to report that the first meeting of the Digital Archive Photo Project (DAPP) took place in October. We have the use of an office in London to work from and the Group has funded the purchase of a computer and scanner. Having made a brief assessment of the volume and different formats of the potential library of photos it is a bit of a daunting task – it’s not a short-term project that’s for sure. But the hardest part of a long journey is the first step and we have taken that.  We are a team of six at the moment but there is room for more and if any member would like to think about joining us, please Contact us.

Policing the Docks

In the last blog, about the Maritime Blue photo exhibition in June 2010, I referred to the fact that BTP were policing 24 ports nationwide at the time of withdrawal in 1985. Someone asked – where were they? A very good question, to which we have not yet properly got the complete answer. But it started a chain of thought about how many docks or ports had previously been policed by BTP or constituent forces? Well that has been doing the rounds and so far we are up to fifty-six different ports and docks!!! Surprising isn’t it?

The list appears in the history pages on this site and if you can add any further information, we would be pleased to hear from you.

Maritime Blue Photo Exhibition

2010 marks the 25th anniversary of the withdrawal of the BTP policing service from 24 ports nationwide which the force previously policed for anything up to 130 years. (A dedicated police service was in place at Cardiff Docks between 1858 and 1985.) To celebrate this event, a fascinating exhibition was held at the Norwegian Church Arts Centre in Cardiff throughout June, with more than fifty black and white photographs displayed.
There were very many visitors from all over the world and the photographs certainly created a great deal of interest. Many thanks to the organisations, including the British Transport Police Force, and individuals who supported this project.