PW_2_2021

Cultural Corner

Old Bill’s Tales of the Railway: 1971 – 2020 Bill Rogerson , Chair of North Wales Branch After years of threatening to publish a book about my memoirs with the British Transport Police, I finally got round to it, and it is now available on Amazon.

I n Old Bill’s Tales , I look back on 49 years working with the British Transport Police as a warranted officer, a civilian and a volunteer, which was sometime humorous and sometimes serious. Unlike a lot of police related stories, mine is not one of high-speed car chases, high level drug busts, or shooting bank robbers. This book details the everyday life of an ordinary railway copper, policing Britain’s railways, and a bit of time in the Netherlands.

From the hustle and bustle of Birmingham, Coventry and Leicester, to the usually more tranquil locations of Heysham, Crewe and North Wales, I have a story or two to recall. Some of these stories were comic, others were tragic or somewhere in between. Policing Britain’s railways was never dull, no two days were the same. Like most other people, prior to joining the police, I had no real idea of what police work was like. I had only seen the job through the eyes

of television and film – The Blue Lamp; Z Cars; No Hiding Place, Dixon of Dock Green and many others created images in my mind which were now to be tested against the reality. I quickly learned that any similarity between fictional police work and the real thing was purely coincidental. I learned that a police officer must be able to converse on equal terms with everyone he meets, be they rich or poor. He must take insult and praise with equal humility, and never be surprised at the heights or depths to which human nature can reach. I remember the dark humour of the everyday pranks and tricks that police officers play on each other, members of the public and rail staff, with great hilarity. The book takes you back to policing in the days when the world seemed to be a little bit more innocent and political correctness was something unheard of. Amongst the many anecdotes, I recall a duty to prevent the Mafia from becoming involved, when an Italian cafe owner in Birmingham was threatened by local youths. I describe falling into a sewage farm whilst chasing a suspect and getting covered in green slime. I describe arresting a member of the gentry in Birmingham, for being Drunk and Disorderly. A colleague and I were mistaken for rapists when dealing with a group of children who were trespassing on the railway. As the book unfolds there are stories of preparing for the Cold War, and meeting with high ranking officials from all three armed services on a regular basis. I appeared on two Crimestoppers reconstructions regarding a robbery and an indecent assault, and was identified as suspect in one of them. I even tell how someone in my own family became involved in the Great Train Robbery. There are some gentle, humorous memoirs contained in the book, including my experiences of teaching well over one million school children about the dangers of the railway. I was very proud to be appointed an MBE in 1995 in recognition of my charity and community work in North Wales.

I Wonder if we’ll see the Comet Geoff Jackson , K Branch & Writers’ SIG A clear night sky, slight chill in the air,

Some thin high cloud slowly comes into view. Small twinkling stars glint, others disappear. Will we see the comet, will it grace our sky? Staying put a while longer, the satellites are getting stronger, One from the East, another from the West Slowly gliding across the sky, at a distance so high. Will the Starlink and its satellites, make its presence known, Moving slowly across the sky seemingly like a string of glittering diamonds. Then… from nowhere… a bright streak from the East. An explosion of light, that gave me a fright, a beautiful, beautiful sight. its long fiery trail flowing into the night, the star at its head that started out bright, subdued as it flew, now gone in the night. Think I will sleep with a smile on my face.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 66 No.2, 2021