Some General Thoughts in the Context of The King’s Cross
Fire (38 Years On)
It strikes me that officers of the British Transport Police,
and its ancestor forces, have probably attended more major incidents than any
other police force of a similar size. It
is therefore sad that we lack a comprehensive set of personal accounts from
officers who attended these dreadful events.
From the many train crashes, terrorist outrages and wars of the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries through to the continued terrorist attacks
and the pandemic of the 21st century I have seen but a handful of recollections
written by the officers who were actually involved in these massive events in
our history.
These big events result in the production of vast amounts of
formal paperwork which is very useful to the historian and to those whose job
it is to ensure that the lessons of the past have been properly learnt. But official documents can only tell part of
the story. The railway and dock police
have tackled events that should not be forgotten. To exclude the individual experiences of
officers is to allow the past to be partially forgotten.
I am mindful of the traumatic nature of many of the events
in this category of policing. Many former
officers carry the weight of what they saw and did and will do so for the rest
of their lives. Their contribution needs
to be remembered too.
All of the above thoughts came to me today because I
attended the annual wreath laying in remembrance of the King’s Cross Fire. In the last couple of years the service has
been run by the London Fire Brigade and today they did a splendid job in
remembering Colin Townsley, the firefighter who lost his life trying to save
others. There was a parade of
operational firefighters and another of fire cadets who are taught about the
importance of the fire in the development of modern firefighting. The quiet dignity of those that lost loved
ones is difficult to behold. For them 38
years is nothing, for the disaster can seem
like it happened yesterday. London Underground staff also took part
together with the Mayor of Camden. I was
disappointed that there was no representative of BTP as it was an event that
always used to be carefully marked by the force. I was proud to lay a wreath for several years
when I was at FHQ. I think that BTP officers attend to lay a wreath outside of the
formal ceremony.
Looking back on 1987 I recall that I only attended several
hours into the incident. I role could not have been more minor. I had been at
court that day but the rest of my shift were deeply involved. The
Fire shook BTP in a way that no other event had in modern times, that is until the
attacks of 2005. I well recall the
changes that overcame my colleagues who had witnessed the Fire unfold. Colleagues that had bravely attempted to save
lives. Colleagues that had sustained
serious physical and mental injuries.
Colleagues who conducted a first class investigation (one of the first
to be subject to a formal review by another force) in appalling conditions. I remember the force becoming the leader in
working with academia and the NHS to support officers – not something that
lasted I’m afraid. Many officers rose to
the leadership challenge that confronted the force in the aftermath and in the
lead up to the Public Inquiry. I recall
the efforts of Sue Jones and others.
Of course I knew only
a small proportion of the officers involved.
My knowledge is partial and probably distorted
Sixteen years after the fire I was very privileged to be
part of the team that identified the last unknown victim of the fire. It was one of the defining moments of my otherwise
lacklustre career. My task was to read all the paperwork and reports, to check
all the photographs and statements, and to liaise with the coroner,
pathologists, scientists and the Home Office.
Under the leadership of Nick Bracken we were able to close a chapter in
our history and, more importantly, to bring some comfort to a bereaved family
who had waited many years to know what had happened to their Father. I well recall the indefatigable work by Ian
Wilkinson in finding answers to difficult questions.
In more recent years I have read the papers in the National
Archives, including the evidence considered by the Public Inquiry. As an aside
the papers are informative about how government and other agencies viewed
BTP. The determination of senior
officers such as Ian McGregor to make sure that the force had a voice is of
some importance in the story of the force.
It is a sad fact that tragedies
such as King’s Cross have greatly enhanced the reputation of BTP and that
experience gained in adversity has added greatly to the corporate knowledge that
has been passed down to the modern generation of officers and staff.
But, to return to my original point. Time is (always) running out. I would make a plea to all former (and indeed
serving) BTP officers to commit to paper their memories of their involvement in
the major incidents that have dominated the last half century of BTP’s
history. There is no requirement for masterpieces
of literature – just the truth and the story of what happened on the ground,
during the investigation and in the aftermath.
Our history will be much richer if future generations can read first
hand accounts. Imagine if we had
documents from the railway police who attended the Quitinshill disaster? Or more memories of policing the railway and
docks during the First and Second World Wars?
Personal stories may be painful to write but they are part of
history. On a practical level such records
of can be stored by the BTPHG – or they
could be published on line, or they can be shared and kept within
families.
Let’s not forget the things that are important.
Phil Trendall
18th November 2025
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