Thomas Marius Joseph Butler MBE[1] (21 July 1912 – 20 April 1970) was a Detective Chief Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police in London.

[3] At one point in his career, he was sent to Cyprus before it gained independence from Britain in 1960 to advise the Police on how to combat the Greek Cypriot group EOKA, led by General Grivas.

From 1955 to 1959 EOKA waged an armed struggle against the British administration which aimed to achieve Enosis, or the union of Greece and Cyprus, similar to Crete and the Ionian Islands.

[2] Malcolm Fewtrell of Buckinghamshire CID and Detective Superintendent Gerald McArthur of Scotland Yard were in charge of carrying out the initial hunt for the thieves.

Butler became head of the Flying Squad shortly after the Great Train Robbery, after Millen became promoted to Deputy Commander to George Hatherill.

On 12 August 1963 Butler was appointed to head the police investigation of the London connection (with no local criminals capable of the robbery).

The decision to publish photos of the wanted suspects was already made by Hatherill and Millen, despite strong protests from Tommy Butler and Frank Williams.

He went on to say that Daly had played Monopoly with his brother in law Bruce Reynolds earlier in 1963 and that he had gone underground because he was associated with people publicly sought by the police; this was not proof of involvement in a conspiracy.

[6] Frank Williams was shocked when this occurred, because owing to Butler's refusal to share information, he had no knowledge of the fact that Daly's prints were only on the Monopoly set.

[7] On 15 April 1964 the proceedings ended with the judge describing the robbery as "a crime of sordid violence inspired by vast greed" and passing sentences of 30 years imprisonment on seven of the robbers.

Throughout the three years Jimmy White spent on the run with wife Sheree, and baby son Stephen, he was continually taken advantage of or let down by his friends and associates.

According to the arresting officer, then Detective Sergeant Jack Slipper, he was sent to Littlestone by Tommy Butler, and that when he got there, White surrendered peacefully on condition that they treat his wife and child with great respect.

Slipper got White to draw a diagram of the hideaways that he had constructed in the caravan, allowing police to go back and find around £6,000 more that they had missed the first time.

Wife Angela and son Nicholas eventually left Britain after a period of surveillance and questioning by the police, and arrived in Mexico in July 1964.

After his breakout from prison, Charlie Wilson visited the others in Mexico in late 1965, and stayed with the Edwards family for 6 weeks, before returning to Montreal in January 1966.

But while the cash was coming through upon request from the Swiss bank accounts, more than £30,000 was lost as fees for this privilege and several times they were asked by tourists about any connection to the Great Train Robbery.

Tommy Butler at this stage was involved in an investigation of a gun battle, and had left Williams in charge of the Flying Squad in his absence.

Williams called Butler (who was not involved in the preparations) who was uninterested in the news, believing it a hoax, and asked to be woken if Edwards was actually collared.

Sitting at the table sipping a glass of brandy, was Buster Edwards, with three other men, including Williams' contact (said to be Bernie Canton by Piers Paul Read) and two "minders", as well as an attractive and immaculately dressed woman who served drinks.

[4] Buster had prepared a written statement which claimed that he had no part in the robbery but that he had been offered money to assist Jimmy White in cleaning up Leatherslade Farm.

After his success in securing Jimmy White and Buster Edwards, Tommy Butler got Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Joseph Simpson to suspend his retirement on his 55th birthday.

Wilson took up residence outside Montreal, Quebec, Canada on Rigaud Mountain in the upper-middle-class neighbourhood where the large, secluded properties are surrounded by trees.

With Ronald (Buster) Edwards and family returned to the United Kingdom to arrange a deal with police, it was too risky for Reynolds to remain in Mexico.

In early 1967, the Reynolds family returned to London, with Bruce trying his hand at several jobs, albeit largely unsuccessfully.

This was the triumphant moment of Tommy Butler's career, with months to go before his retirement he had finally caught the leader of the Great Train Robbers.

In a one-on-one interview, Reynolds took a deal where Butler agreed not to press charges nor use aggressive tactics against his family or friends.

Tommy Butler is the lead character in A Copper's Tale, the second part of a two-part BBC television drama entitled The Great Train Robbery that was first broadcast in the UK in December 2013.