This year the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) celebrates its 50th anniversary, after it was formed following the amalgamation of the Army Department, Air Force Department and Admiralty Constabularies on 1 October 1971.

A brief history of the Ministry of Defence Police is a new article on their blog outlining the story.

Phil Trendall, BTPHG Chair comments: “The MDP have quite a lot in common with BTP in that they have been formed by many mergers (although I suppose this is also true of most county forces). Operationally the force has a fair amount of interface with BTP, especially because they form part of the strategic armed policing reserve.”

A new memorial to honour fallen police officers will be unveiled next Wednesday, 28th July from 12 noon at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

The new UK Police Memorial honours the courage and sacrifice of all those from across the police service who have dedicated their lives to protecting us and will be commemorated at a special ceremony at the Arboretum next week.

The ceremony will be attended by hundreds of guests, who will adhere to coronavirus restrictions, including dignitaries, senior politicians, representatives from all police force across the country, policing charities and the families and friends of officers killed on duty.

The public will be able to view the ceremony live online through the memorial website Police Memorial UK from midday on Wednesday, 28th July 2021.

Update: A video of the event is now available here: Dedication Ceremony

Sir Hugh Orde, Chair of Trustees, said: “Next Wednesday will be a historic day for our police service. After seven years of fundraising and 12 months of construction, we can finally dedicate this beautiful and iconic memorial that pays tribute to the courage and sacrifice of all those police officers and staff who have paid the ultimate price.

“The 12-metre-tall brass memorial,  with its leaf shaped apertures representing courage, sacrifice and lives lost, is set within a beautifully landscaped area, and has been designed for ceremony, tribute and personal acts of reflection. As a nation, we owe all those who have laid down their lives to keep us safe and protect us from harm a huge debt of gratitude. This memorial will ensure that the memory of those officers and staff who have died lives on in perpetuity.”

Since 1749 and the establishment of the Bow Street Runners as the country’s first recognised police force, almost 5,000 police officers and staff have died whilst policing our communities, over 1,500 through acts of violence.

The National Memorial Arboretum is the nation’s place of year-round remembrance for all our services. It is home to almost 400 thought provoking memorials, including the National Armed Forces Memorial, and attracts over 300,000 visitors per year.

Sir Hugh added: “This magnificent tribute to fallen police officers and staff has only been made possible thanks to the considerable generosity of our supporters, donors and benefactors. This is a place that will not only honour the courage and sacrifice of the men and women from our police service, but it will become a fitting tribute to honour all those who continue to serve.”

BTPHG Membership Secretary Glyn Thomas comments:

“This will be of interest to our members.  As you will be aware, our small project group started research work in 2017 to update the Line of Duty Roll of Honour and eventually sharing our completed list with the Force.  We nearly doubled the number of names on the Roll as a result of our research.

It was agreed by the History Group’s Committee to make a donation towards the construction of the Memorial via the Police Memorial Trust.  I am also aware that the Force made a substantial contribution.  The updated list is on our website.”

The dashing PD Ash is an integral member of the BTP’s County Lines Taskforce 🐶.

He works with the team to sniff out drugs and stop organised criminals using the railway to move them between locations.

Police Dog Ash is the latest addition to our Police Dogs gallery. Just one of our photo galleries available on this site.

Source: Twitter / @BTP (July 2021)

Thanks to HG researcher Steve Beamon, this website has recently come to our attention.

The Railwaymen & Women of The North London Railway traces the history of officers and servants of the North London Railway from the 1850’s. The site contains a collection of over 8,870 names of NLR railwaymen and women, it includes a staff/incident database which is searchable…..there are over 500 entries when searched with the keyword word ‘police’.

The site will no doubt prove invaluable to researchers and historians interested in this field and has been added to the BTPHG website links page.

Wednesday the 7th July 2021 marked the sixteenth anniversary of the London Bombings, in which 52 people lost their lives and many more were injured.

BTP Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi joined the Commissioners of the Metropolis and the City of London at the 7 July Memorial in Hyde Park, to lay wreaths and remember those affected by the tragic events.

Photo Source: Twitter / @BTP

Lucy D’Orsi, the Chief Constable of the British Transport Police has been awarded the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM) for Distinguished Service to the Policing of Specialist Operations in the UK, in Her Majesty The Queen’s 2021 Birthday Honours.

As reported in the London Gazette.

Chief Superintendent Dennis Murray, who is BTP’s Lead for Legitimacy, Trust and Community Policing and on a three-year secondment from Northamptonshire Police, and a BTPHG member, was also honoured with a Queen’s Police Medal for improving diversity within policing and building trust and strong relationships with local communities.

BTPHG Chair Phil Trendall has written to both recipients on behalf of the group to congratulate them on their awards.

Full report in the HistoryBank section of the website: BTP officers recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021

Also see: Honours, Decorations & Medals table

Malcolm Clegg, retired BTP Sergeant, HG member and BTP History Writer, has a new book out. This time he leaves the field of the railway police and looks at the last days of steam railways in the 1960s.

From publishers description:

“This volume covers the final decade of British steam, looking at steam traction in a wide variety of geographical locations around the British Railways network. The book covers a wide variety of classes of locomotives, that were withdrawn during the last decade of steam traction, some of which examples are now preserved. Malcolm Clegg, has been taking railway pictures since the early 1960s and has access to collections taken by friends who were recording the steam railway scene during this period. This book is a record of his and other peoples journeys during the last decade of steam in the 1960s.

Malcolm Clegg is a retired British Transport Police Sergeant who served for almost thirty years both as a uniformed and CID officer at various railway and dock locations in England and Wales. Ten years were spent working in London. Malcolm comes from a railway family, his father was a station master at several locations on the national network and passed on a passion for railways to Malcolm at an early age. He currently resides in Swansea and his interests include history and photography. In recent years, Malcolm has carried out extensive research and written a number of articles for the British Transport Police History Group”.

The book is available from Amazon and various book shop websites, or directly from the publishers at Pen & Sword Books

Also see: Nineteenth Century Railway Crime and Policing

It has been promised for quite a few years now, but at last the Bow Street Police Museum opens tomorrow – Friday 28th May 2021.

Bow Street Police Station and the adjoining Magistrates Court featured heavily for BTP officers over the decades. Many prisoners arrested at Charing Cross and on the London Underground went there for processing, and would appear the following day at the court next door. It was also where BTP officers often went to be sworn in as Constables (including your Webmaster).

Of course, prior to the formation of the Metropolitan Police, an earlier form of police force were the Bow Street Runners, a story which is told in the museum.

The police station closed in 1992 and the Magistrates Court building was sold in 2005. The last case was heard in 2006 and the building remained empty for many years. In the meantime the building changed hands twice more. The developers had long promised that the cells area would be turned into a police museum and with the main building recently opened as the luxury NoMad London hotel this has now come to pass.

The Bow Street Police Museum is a registered charity.

Also see:

BBC News article.

The Guardian article on the impending opening: ‘Not like I remember it’: Bow Street police station reopens as museum.

The BTPHG is pleased to announce that Philip Trendall QPM has been appointed as Chair of the Group taking over from Mike Layton. Phil has been a member of the group for several years and is an active amateur historian.

Phil said: “This really is an honour, the BTPHG has achieved so much under previous chairs and I look forward to doing my best to continue this good work”.