Malcolm Fewtrell

Ernest Malcolm Fewtrell (28 September 1909 – 28 November 2005) was a Detective Chief Superintendent in the Buckinghamshire Constabulary. He was most notable for leading the initial investigation into the Great Train Robbery.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Early life and police career

Fewtrell was born in Ryde on the Isle of Wight where his father was a police officer. He attended Reading School, then spent 6 months in New South Wales, Australia working on sheep stations. He then returned to the UK and became a police cadet with the Buckinghamshire Constabulary. As a police officer he was exempt from military service in World War II and rose through the ranks, reaching Chief Superintendent by 1954. He was then involved in the James Hanratty murder investigation.

Great Train Robbery

Fewtrell was head of the Buckinghamshire CID located at Aylesbury when the Great Train Robbery took place on 8 August 1963. He arrived at the scene of the crime at 5am and gathered evidence before taking statements from the driver and postal workers at Cheddington railway station. A member of the gang had made the mistake of telling the postal staff not to move for half an hour and this suggested to the police that their hide-out could not be more than 30 miles (48 km) away so he also directed a search for the gang's hideout, fanning out from the crime scene. He established that about 15 hooded men in boiler suits were involved and then advised his chief constable to call in the Metropolitan Police at Scotland Yard. When the gang's hideout at Leatherslade Farm was discovered a few days later he visited with two Metropolitan Police detectives and found many clues. Fewtrell also interviewed Roger Field who was a solicitors clerk who helped the robbers buy their hideout and he obtained an admission of responsibility for a hotel bill paid for with some of the stolen money.

Later life

On Leaving the police he worked at Portsmouth Polytechnic as an accommodation officer, before retiring to Swanage in Dorset where he administered the neighbourhood watch.^[1]

Media portrayal

Malcolm Fewtrell is a character in A Copper's Tale, the second part of a BBC television drama entitled The Great Train Robbery that is scheduled for broadcast in 2013. The role is played by Richard Hope.^[5]

References