This month, we bid farewell to our General Secretary, Mark Marshallsay, who is retiring after an impressive 33 years of police service.
Mark joined the British Transport Police in October 1992, fresh from sixth-form education. His first posting was at Coventry, but he also served in Wolverhampton and Liverpool in a range of uniform roles, including response policing, NPT, and Initiative Teams. Mark was also an Officer Protection Trainer.
Mark has received numerous commendations during his service for excellent police work, including one from West Midlands Police for detaining and arresting a violent shoplifter whilst off duty.
Federation career
Mark’s Federation career began in 2012 when he became a rep on the old Northwest Committee. The following year, he qualified as a Federation Friend and became the welfare rep for that committee. Mark was elected as Area Secretary for the newly named Pennine West Committee in 2015, and two years later, he was elected to the National Executive as Treasurer and Assistant General Secretary. Mark has been the General Secretary of the BTP Federation since 2020.
In recent years, Mark has also served as Eurocop's treasurer and as a Trustee for the Police Treatment Centres charity.
Policy negotiations have been a big feature of Mark’s tenure as General Secretary. He helped shape the officer’s compendium, ensured assistance for victims and witnesses in force policies, and secured Maternity back pay for officers after successfully negotiating a Failure to Agree.
In his own words
We asked Mark to reflect on his long career and work with the Federation, and what he shared will undoubtedly resonate with colleagues for whom retirement is edging closer.
Mark said: “After serving 25 years on the front line and eight on the National Executive of the Federation, as I approach my final day of policing, after 33 years with BTP, I have much to reflect on. To be honest, I’m not sure where to start and surprisingly, this is harder than I was expecting.
“We all work hard towards retirement and many of us will consider ourselves slaves to the pension, the main reason for soldiering on year after year. Yet now that time is almost here, there is a tinge of sadness, a sense of not belonging and of losing my identity, because like it or not, being a police officer is not just a job, it’s a way of life. A life that at times I have enjoyed, and at times hated, a life where I have seen the best in people and the worst, a life that has given me good times and the worst of times, but it is a life that I am immensely proud of and strangely, would not change a thing about.
“I have worked for six different Chief Constables since I joined in 1992 and have seen many changes, some for the better, some not, and it was those negative changes that prompted me to become a Federation rep and then Treasurer and finally General Secretary.
“Being General Secretary has given me the most pride during my time in the Federation. It has enabled me to hold the force to account when necessary and mould future decisions that would affect members across the force, putting their welfare and wellbeing at the forefront of everything we do.
“I have not always been right or always successful, but I am proud of what I have achieved, especially bringing the Federation kicking and screaming into the 21st century, but most of all I am proud that I stood up, pushed myself forward and had a go.
“Having said all this, I am genuinely looking forward to my retirement. I have given my all, and now it is time to have time for myself, but more importantly, time with my family. They have supported me without hesitation or question when I was away from home for days on end, received phone calls in the early hours or on weekends, or just worked long days attending meetings and answering emails into the night. It is their turn now.
In a direct message to colleagues, Mark added:
“Stay safe and keep doing an excellent job. As a Force and a Federation, we have always punched way above our weight, so keep it up.”