A WOMAN who is believed to have killed 400 babies, a Monopoly board from one of the greatest heists of all time, and a look into some of the greatest tragedies in the Thames Valley's recent history.
There's only one place you could find all that -- The Thames Valley Police museum.
Open since 1987, it is run from a room in the force’s headquarters at Sulhamstead House in West Berkshire and a lot is packed into the small space from which it operates.
READ MORE: I went to a Christmas shop and this is what I found
We went to visit to see what was on offer.
The history of Thames Valley Police
As you walk into the museum you’re greeted by a large figure of an old-timey copper.
If that doesn’t frighten you half to death, turn right and you can find a display detailing the history of Thames Valley Police.
The Thames Valley Constabulary was formed in 1968.
It was made up of Reading Borough Police, Berkshire Constabulary, Buckinghamshire Constabulary, Oxford City Police, and Oxfordshire Constabulary.
READ MORE: Christmas tree made of Lego goes on display
The Constabulary rebranded as Thames Valley Police in 1971.
In glass cabinets you can find special items officers have used over the past 50 years, including cutlasses (short swords with a curved blade) police used to carry with them.
Beatbooks -- used to record the routes taken by police officers who patrolled areas within a jurisdiction -- are also available for your perusal.
Unique handcuffs used by police are also on display -- although they were not part of an officer’s standard equipment until the late 1960s.
The shocking case of Amelia Dyer
Nurse Amelia Dyer was a woman notorious for the murder of dozens of babies.
Nicknamed the ‘baby farmer’, experts believe Dyer could have killed as many as 400 infants over the course of 30 years.
The Thames Valley Police Museum is home to a number of fascinating artefacts
The Reading Chronicle profiled Amelia Dyer’s shocking crimes -- and how she was able to get away with them -- in a piece last week.
READ MORE: Amelia Dyer -- Reading's baby farmer
But for the full story on her sickening serial killing, Thames Valley Police museum has all the information you need as well as artefacts preserved from her arrest that are more than 150 years old.
The Thames Valley Police Museum is home to a number of fascinating artefacts
The Great Train Robbery
2013 marked the 50th anniversary of the notorious Great Train Robbery, which saw a gang of 15 rob £2.6 million from a Royal Mail train near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire.
The haul would be equivalent to around £55 million today.
READ MORE: Great Train Robbery crowbar fetches £550
The bulk of the money was never recovered but the gang was eventually arrested after police found their heidout at Leatherslade Farm.
Ringleaders, including Bruce Reynolds, Ronnie Biggs (who famously fled prison) and others, were sentenced to up to 30 years in jail.
The Thames Valley Police Museum is home to a number of fascinating artefacts
Head along to the Thames Valley Police museum and you can find fascinating evidence seized by police following their bust of the gang, including bank notes, paint tins, and a Monopoly board…
The Thames Valley Police Museum is home to a number of fascinating artefacts
And there’s a lot more to learn about
There are several displays for your education at the Thames Valley Police Museum.
An exhibit on the Ufton Nervet train derailment, in which a car purposely left on a railway in Buckinghamshire caused the death of seven people in 2004, provides some illuminating information on the tragedy.
Another tragic incident -- perhaps the most notorious the current iteration of TVP has had to deal with in its 50 years plus -- was the Hungerford shooting tragedy.
In 1987 16 people, including PC Roger Brereton were fatally shot in the West Berkshire town.
The impact of this incident and how it prompted stricter gun laws is set out on a display at the museum.
And with a display focusing on the Thames Valley police’s work during the Second World War on the way, there’s set to be more for you to dive into.
How do I visit the museum?
The Thames Valley Police museum is free to visit without an appointment between 10am and 12pm every Wednesday.
The Thames Valley Police Museum is home to a number of fascinating artefacts
Between these times on a Wednesday, two volunteers are on-hand to give more of an in-depth insight into some of the crimes committed in the Thames Valley.
PC Colin Boyes, a Reading-based officer and museum curator with a degree in art history, said: “It is a small museum but the stories you hear from the people taking you around fills the time.”
It is necessary to make an appointment to visit the museum outside these hours and a small visitor fee is required.
The museum is based in the White House, at The Thames Valley Police Training Centre in Sulhamstead, Nr Reading, Berkshire, RG7 4DX.
To make a booking please email TVPMuseum@thamesvalley.police.uk.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here