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Nicely Decorated

 


It appear that Horwood's decorations ended up in a sale in the USA in 2018 - this image (Copyright owner unknown) is from a set of images posted on line by the purchaser together with pictures of Horwood's  sword and original army commission.   Note this image will be removed at the request of the copyright owner.




We are used to seeing senior officers bearing a few medals and decorations but none in living memory have been in the same league as the most famous railway police chief.

By the time of the First World War the North Eastern Railway Police were among the best organised in the country.  At  start of war the Chief,  Captain William T F HORWOOD, was soon back in the army and rose quickly through the ranks ending up as Provost Marshall with the rank of Brigadier General.  His swift upward progress during the war is frequently mentioned in the newspapers.  The NER kept his job open until the end of the war but he was headhunted into a post at New Scotland Yard as an Assistant Commissioner and then in 1920 becoming Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.   I might write a few pieces about him another day but for now I record that he was the most decorated railway and ex-railway police officer in our history.  Although his knighthoods came after he had left the NER many of his other awards and medals stem from his service in the war while he was still Chief of Police for the NER:

Knight Grand Cross Order of the British Empire

Companion of the Bath (Later Knight Commander of the Bath)

Distinguished Service Order

During the war he was Mentioned in Dispatches seven times

He was also awarded:

Croix de Guerre (France)

Croix de Guerre (Belgium)

Officer Legion d’honneur (France)

Officer Order of Leopold (Belgium)

Officer Order of the Crown (Belgium)

Commander Order of Dannebrog (Denmark)

Member (2nd Class) Order of the Rising Sun (Japan)

Grand Cordon, Order of the Crown (Romania)

Member Order of the Crown (Italy)

Member Order of the Star of Ethiopia (Ethiopia)

Member Order of the Nile (Egypt)

He might also have collected the odd jubilee, first aid and coronation medal along the way. 

Although he went on to greater things he never forgot his role in the NER police and remained an advocate for the promotion of railway policing and for improvements in conditions for railway police officers. As I have written elsewhere he was responsible for establishing the link between the railway forces and the Security Service (Mi5).    During his time at Scotland Yard he was a regular attender at social events run by the various railway police forces.  As these were often formal dinners I imagine his ’mess dress’ was pretty impressive!

 

Phil Trendall

Feb 2024

 

Refs

Dictionary of National Biography

Police Review 12 Jan 1917 p9

 

 

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