NETFLIX UK DARK TOURIST ATTRACTION. THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION, LITTLEDEAN JAIL, FOREST OF DEAN, GLOUCESTERSHIRE : PEAKY BLINDERS FEATURED HERE AT THE JAIL . A GANGSTER INSPIRED FAMILY DRAMA TV SERIES ORIGINALLY SET IN 1919 & BEYOND IN BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND. IT IS CENTRED ON A VIOLENT CRIMINAL GANG WHO SEW RAZOR BLADES INTO THE PEAKS OF THEIR CAPS….

HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION, LITTLEDEAN JAIL WE FEATURE A VERY BRIEF, THOUGH INTRIGUING, INSIGHT INTO THE BACKGROUND OF THE REAL PEAKY BLINDERS ALONG WITH A BRIEF  EXHIBITION FEATURING   THE NOW ICONIC WORLDWIDE PHENOMENAL TV SERIES . 

WE HAVE A BIT OF PEAKY BLINDERS MEMORABILIA AND PERSONALLY HAND SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHS, ALONG WITH WEAPONS AND OTHER ASSOCIATED TOOLS OF THE TRADE HERE ON DISPLAY.

THIS  HAS NOW BEEN INTRODUCED AS A BIT OF A FURTHER VISUAL FEATURE , MIXED IN AND AMONGST OUR TRUE CRIME , GANGLAND AND MAFIA DISPLAYS…. BEING EN ROUTE THROUGH TO OUR KRAY TWINS EXHIBITION.

ANDY JONES OF THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION WITH AN ORIGINAL MACHINE GUN HERE ON DISPLAY AT THE JAIL ,AS WAS USED IN THE VIOLENT SHOOTOUT BETWEEN TOMMY SHELBY AND LUCA CHANGRETTA IN THE PEAKY BLINDERS SERIES 4

Britain is a mixture of despair and hedonism in 1919 in the aftermath of the Great War. Returning soldiers, newly minted revolutions and criminal gangs are fighting for survival in a nation rocked by economic upheaval. One of the most powerful gangs of the time is the Peaky Blinders, run by returning war hero Thomas Shelby and his family. But Thomas has bigger ambitions than just running the streets. When a crate of guns goes missing, he recognizes an opportunity to advance in the world because crime may pay but legitimate business pays better. Trying to rid Britain of its crime is Inspector Chester Campbell, who arrives from Belfast to try to achieve that goal.

ABOVE: TOMMY SHELBY USING HIS MUCH FAVOURED PERSONAL WEBLEY 455 MK VI REVOLVER IN PEAKY BLINDERS .

BELOW: AN ORIGINAL WEBLEY 455 MK VI REVOLVER AS USED IN  PEAKY BLINDERS, HERE ON DISPLAY AT THE JAIL ….

BELOW:  An original Mauser C96 Broomhandle pistol. This being carried and used by Cillian Murphy starring as Thomas Selby (see below) and also Billy Kimber’s bodyguards in the Peaky Blinders TV Series….

BELOW :  Thomas Selby with  a Mauser C96 Broomhandle pistol carried and used in the TV series Peaky Blinders ….

BELOW: Original Luger pistol as featured in the Peaky Blinders TV Series …

BELOW: AN ORIGINAL BRASS AND CAST STEEL BLADE KNUCKLE DUSTER AS USED BY THE ORIGINAL PEAKY BLINDERS AND BILLY KIMBER’S BIRMINGHAM BOYS GANG .

BELOW:  Original ” no holds barred ” WW1 US 1918 stamped knuckle duster ” trench knife ” issued to the British troops during the brutally violent WW1. These  would also more than likely have been  carried and used by the original Peaky Blinders, Charles Sabini, Billy Kimber and other violent street gangs at the time as a much favoured and tool .

Most likely these weapons are still used today throughout the world as a violent weapon by debt collectors, street gangs and others ????

ABOVE: Peaky Blinders have arrived here at The Crime Through Time Collection and now form an integral feature in and amongst our True Crime , Murderabilia, Gangland and Mafia exhibition areas here at Littledean Jail, Forest of Dean , Gloucestershire, UK. 

ABOVE AND BELOW : Here’s a brief look at some of the many original hand signed memorabilia photographs of the leading cast members to include Cillian Murphy starring as Thomas Shelby and other Shelby family members, Tom Hardy starring as Alfie Solomons along with all other main characters (both  Ladies and Gentlemen… )

BELOW: Signed and inscribed photograph  “By order of the Peaky Blinders ” by Paul Anderson, in the lead role of Arthur Shelby . 

This is one of a great many personally signed photos of the various cast members of the hit television series “Peaky Blinders” here on display at the jail 

ABOVE: AUTHENTIC SIGNED PROMOTIONAL PIECE BY CHARLOTTE RILEY IN THE ROLE OF MAY CARLETON ( MARRIED TO TOM HARDY IN REAL LIFE ) HERE ON DISPLAY .

ABOVE: AUTHENTIC HAND SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH OF NOW ICONIC SCREENWRITER AND CREATOR OF THE GLOBAL HIT TV CRIME DRAMA SERIES PEAKY BLINDERS… STEVEN KNIGHT

ABOVE: An original oil painting here on display at the jail, depicting Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby from the TV series Peaky Blinders . Painted by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman .

ABOVE: An original oil painting here on display at the jail, depicting some of the infamous  Shelby family featured in the TV series Peaky Blinders . Painted by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman .

ABOVE AND BELOW: Just a brief insight into some of the exhibit items here on display

BELOW :  Original oil painting of Peaky Blinders Jeremiah Jesus portrayed by Benjamin Zephaniah here on display .

ABOVE AND BELOW : Benjamin Zephaniah in the role as Jeremiah Jesus in the hit TV Series Peaky Blinders .

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DARK TOURISM HERE IN THE UK…A BRIEF TASTE OF THE KRAY TWINS, THE FIRM, OTHER GANGLAND MEMORABILIA, MURDERABILIA, MAIMERABILIA AND BEYOND. IT’S ALL HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION, LITTLEDEAN JAIL

SEEMINGLY OF  TIMELESS  MEDIA INTEREST …. BRITAIN’S MOST INFAMOUS AND NOTORIOUS 1960’S LONDON GANGSTERS …. RONALD AND REGINALD KRAY …..BETTER KNOWN AS THE KRAY TWINS .

HERE BELOW IS AN  ARTICLE FEATURING THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL ,THAT APPEARED BOTH ONLINE AND IN PRINT WITHIN THE DAILY MIRROR ON PAGE 33 -7 MAY 2015 .

ABOVE AND BELOW :  Original oil paintings of The Krays by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman . Also depicts  two of their murder victims Jack “The Hat ” McVitie  who was killed by Reg Kray at Evering Rd, Stoke Newington  and George Cornell who murdered by Ron Kray at The Blind Beggar Pub , Whitechapel Rd

 

HERE BELOW IS A BRIEF TRAILER OF THE  KRAY TWINS FILM ENTITLED “LEGEND” STARRING TOM HARDY PLAYING THE ROLE OF BOTH RON AND REG KRAY SOME OF THE MANY GENUINE KRAY MEMORABILIA ITEMS ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL… THESE INCLUDE ONE OF RONNIE KRAY’S SUITS SEEN HERE WITH HIS FORMER WIFE KATE KRAY’S WEDDING DRESS , KINDLY DONATED BY KATE HERSELF MANY YEARS AGO

BELOW IS SOME MORE BRIEF HISTORICAL INSIGHT FOOTAGE INTO THE KRAY’S

EXTRACTS FROM VARIOUS  OTHER NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS FEATURING SOME OF THE KRAY TWINS MEMORABILIA ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL IN THE PAST.

BELOW IS A BRIEF GALLERY OF KRAY TWINS ITEMS INCLUDING 2 ORIGINAL PAINTINGS FROM BOTH RON AND REG, WHILST IN JAIL AT HMP PARKHURST , ISLE oF WIGHT , PAINTED BY THEM IN 1971 THAT WERE SOLD TOGETHER FOR £4800 + FEES, ETC  AT CHISWICK AUCTIONS , LONDON IN MARCH 2008 .

AFTER GOING AROUND VARIOUS OTHER AUCTION HOUSES SINCE THEN,  THEY HAVE NOW ARRIVED HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL ACQUIRED FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTOR   AND ARE NOW ON DISPLAY TO THE PUBLIC  ALONG WITH VARIOUS OTHER KRAY TWINS ITEMS .

BELOW IS THE  PRESALE REPORT ON THE PAINTINGS AS SEEN IN THE DAILY MAIL  ON THE 9 MARCH 2008

Yours for £2,000, oil paintings by the Kray Twins (currently owned by a ex-convict who won them in a card game)

Gangsters with an artistic streak: Reggie (left) and Ronnie Kray in the 1960s

One famously shot dead a fellow gangster in an East End pub for a verbal sleight. The other knifed to death another gangland member at a party  But it appears Ronnie and Reggie Kray also had a more sensitive side – as landscape painters. These oil canvasses by the infamous twins, painted after they were both jailed for 30 years, are to be auctioned in London this week.The one of a white cottage next to a road was painted by Ronnie. His brother’s is an image of a river running through a green valley with an ominously dark sky in the background.  Both twins began painting after their 1968 trial at the Old Bailey, often creating the same scene in picture after picture.  A spokesman for Chiswick Auctions in West London, where the paintings are being sold, said: ‘The same themes are repeated over and over again in their work, with very little variation. We expect these two to go for between £800 and £1,500 each.’ Both pictures are being sold by a former inmate who won them from the twins during card games in jail.The auction house spokesman said: ‘The seller has given us some interesting insights into the Krays’ minds.

 

Dream house in the country: Ronnie Kray’s

  ‘He says Reggie always, always painted with a dark sky. This might reflect his state of mind and the dark thoughts he had. He was known for his moods and being aloof. Ronnie, on the other hand, always painted a white cottage because that was his idea of a dream house, a place in the country.

Ronnie’s paintings are more aspirational, whereas Reggie’s tend to reflect his sombre state of mind.’The images were painted in oils on to card. They are both eight-and-a-half inches by 11-and-a-half inches.

A similar painting by Ronnie sold at an auction in Lincolnshire in 2005 for £2,200, twice the expected fee.

The spokesman added: ‘The seller told us paintings were used in games of cards as currency. If they were by Joe Bloggs, they wouldn’t be worth £5.’

The Krays ran a brutal gang known as The Firm in London’s East End during the late Fifties and Sixties. Revelling in their image of sharp suits and flashy cars, they began to believe the law could not touch them.

That bravado allowed Ronnie to walk into the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel and shoot dead George Cornell in front of customers for calling him a ‘fat poof’.

A year later, in 1967, Reggie stabbed Jack ‘The Hat’ McVitie to death in a flat in North London.  But Scotland Yard closed the net and the twins were given life sentences and told they must serve at least 30 years.  Ronnie died of a heart attack in 1995 after collapsing in his cell in Broadmoor. Reggie died in jail in 2000.

 

Moody: Reggie Kray painting

MORE EXTRACTS OF MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE CRIME THROUGH TIME’S KRAY TWINS EXHIBITION

BELOW ARE MORE EXHIBIT ITEMS

Picture By:Jules Annan Picture Shows:Original paintings by both Ronnie and Reggie Kray painted in 1971 whilst both were imprisoned in HMP Parkhusrt, Isle of Wight . Previously sold at Chiswick Auctions, London back in 2008 and now on display at the Crime Through Time Collection, Littledean Jail, Gloucestershire Date ;10/06/2014

Picture By:Jules Annan Picture Shows:Original paintings by both Ronnie and Reggie Kray painted in 1971 whilst both were imprisoned in HMP Parkhusrt, Isle of Wight . Previously sold at Chiswick Auctions, London back in 2008 and now on display at the Crime Through Time Collection, Littledean Jail, Gloucestershire Date ;10/06/2014

Picture By:Jules Annan Picture Shows:Original painting by Ronnie Kray painted in 1971 whilst imprisoned in HMP Parkhusrt, Isle of Wight . Previously sold at Chiswick Auctions, London for £4, 800 plus fees and VAT back in 2008 and now on display at the Crime Through Time Collection, Littledean Jail, Gloucestershire Date ;10/06/2014

Picture By:Jules Annan Picture Shows:Rear of original painting by Ronnie Kray painted in 1971 whilst imprisoned in HMP Parkhusrt, Isle of Wight . Previously sold at Chiswick Auctions, London for £4, 800 plus fees and VAT back in 2008 and now on display at the Crime Through Time Collection, Littledean Jail, Gloucestershire Date ;10/06/2014

Picture By:Jules Annan Picture Shows:Original painting by Reggie Kray painted in 1971 whilst imprisoned in HMP Parkhusrt, Isle of Wight . Previously sold at Chiswick Auctions, London back in 2008 and now on display at the Crime Through Time Collection, Littledean Jail, Gloucestershire Date ;10/06/2014

Picture By:Jules Annan Picture Shows:Rear of original painting by Reggie Kray painted in 1971 whilst imprisoned in HMP Parkhusrt, Isle of Wight . Previously sold at Chiswick Auctions, London back in 2008 and now on display at the Crime Through Time Collection, Littledean Jail, Gloucestershire Date ;10/06/2014

Picture By:Jules Annan Picture Shows:Sale receipt for original painting by Ronnie Kray painted in 1971 whilst imprisoned in HMP Parkhusrt, Isle of Wight . Previously sold at Chiswick Auctions, London back in 2008 and now on display at the Crime Through Time Collection, Littledean Jail, Gloucestershire Date ;10/06/2014

Picture By: Jules Annan Picture Shows:Andy Jones of the Crime Through Time Collection at Littledean Jail with child-like pastel drawing of two boxers painted by Reggie Kray circa 1980’s as part of the Kray Twins and The Firm Exhibition Date 01st June 2012 Ref: *World Rights Only* *Unbylined uses will incur an additional discretionary fee!*

Picture By: Jules Annan Picture Shows:Andy Jones of the Crime Through Time Collection at Littledean Jail with child-like pastel drawing of two boxers painted by Reggie Kray circa 1980’s as part of the Kray Twins and The Firm Exhibition Date 01st June 2012 Ref: *World Rights Only* *Unbylined uses will incur an additional discretionary fee!*

Picture By: Jules Annan Picture Shows:Cowboy crayon drawings by Reggie Kray which are part of the Kray Twins and The Firm Exhibition here at the Jail Date 01st June 2012 Ref: *World Rights Only* *Unbylined uses will incur an additional discretionary fee!*

Picture By: Jules Annan Picture Shows:Cowboy crayon drawings by Reggie Kray which are part of the Kray Twins and The Firm Exhibition here at the Jail Date 01st June 2012 Ref: *World Rights Only* *Unbylined uses will incur an additional discretionary fee!*

Picture By: Jules Annan Picture Shows:Andy Jones of the Crime Through Time Collection at Littledean Jail with cowboy crayon drawings by Reggie Kray which are part of the Kray Twins and The Firm Exhibition here at the Jail Date 01st June 2012 Ref: *World Rights Only* *Unbylined uses will incur an additional discretionary fee!*

Picture By: Jules Annan Picture Shows: HMP Parkhurst Isle of Wight prison letter dated 02nd November 1983 sent to family friend Lawrie O’Leary by Reggie Kray which are part of the Kray Twins and The Firm Exhibition here at the Jail Date 01st June 2012 Ref: *World Rights Only* *Unbylined uses will incur an additional discretionary fee!*

Picture By: Jules Annan Picture Shows: HMP Parkhurst Isle of Wight prison letter dated 02nd November 1983 sent to family friend Lawrie O’Leary by Reggie Kray which are part of the Kray Twins and The Firm Exhibition here at the Jail Date 01st June 2012 Ref: *World Rights Only* *Unbylined uses will incur an additional discretionary fee!*

ABOVE IS RONNIE KRAY’S  ORIGINAL PROVISIONAL DRIVING LICENCE FROM BACK IN 1959 WHEN HE WOULD HAVE BEEN 26 YEARS OLD, REGISTERED TO HIM AT THE KRAY FAMILY’S HOME ADDRESS AT THE TIME , 178 VALLANCE ROAD , LONDON   .

IN ITSELF A NOSTALGIC PIECE OF PRE-ARREST KRAY TWINS MEMORABILIA …. NOW HERE ON PERMANENT  DISPLAY ALONGSIDE THE KRAY TWINS EXHIBITION  HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL .

THE ONLY KRAY TWINS EXHIBITION OF ITS KIND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC .

REGGIE KRAYS SO SAY (THOUGH CERTAINLY FAKE …. BUYERS BEWARE )  ORIGINAL ARTIST PAINT BOX , PAINTS AND BRUSHES LAST USED BY HIM AT HMP WAYLAND SHORTLY BEFORE HIS DEATH FROM CANCER ON 01ST OCTOBER   2000

COME VISIT AND SEE FOR YOURSELVES THE UK’S ONLY KRAY TWINS EXHIBITION ON PUBLIC DISPLAY FEATURING SOME OF THEIR PERSONAL BELONGINGS, HANDWRITTEN AND SIGNED LETTERS ,  TOOLS OF THE TRADE, ARTWORK, MEMORABILIA AND OTHER RELATED FIRM ITEMS . 

ALL IN ALL AN INTRIGUING PERSONAL INSIGHT INTO BOTH PRE ARREST DAYS AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT LIFE BEHIND BARS

ALSO VARIOUS OTHER GANGLAND MEMORABILIA …..ITS ALL HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL .

HERE BELOW IS A BRIEF PICTORIAL INSIGHT INTO SOME OF THE ITEMS ON DISPLAY …………

YES THIS REALLY IS RON KRAY’S PERSONAL KNUCKLE DUSTER  KINDLY GIFTED TO ANDY JONES – THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION AFTER A PERSONAL  VISIT TO REGGIE KRAY WHILST HE WAS INCARCERATED AT HMP. MAIDSTONE …WHICH HE WANTED ANDY TO DISPLAY ALONG WITH VARIOUS OTHER PERSONAL ITEMS  ACQUIRED FROM OTHER INNER CIRCLE FRIENDS,  ACQUAINTANCES AND EVEN FROM VARIOUS FORMER METROPOLITAN POLICE OFFICERS …….. .FOR AND ON   REGGIES AND  RONNIES  BEHALF..

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ORIGINAL RONNIE KRAY ARTWORK PAINTED BY HIMSELF WHILST AT BROADMOOR MENTAL ASYLUM . HERE ON DISPLAY ALONG WITH MANY OTHER ARTWORK ,DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS BY BOTH RONNIE AND REGGIE 

ABOVE: Original oil painting of  “The Richardsons, Charlie and Eddie ”  by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman. Also known as the sadistic “Torture Gang “, they were fierce South London  rivals of the  Kray twins.

DARK TOURISM UK HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION, LITTLEDEAN JAIL. CHARLIE RICHARDSON ( 1934 – 2012 ) LONDON UNDERWORLD GANGLAND BOSS OF THE MUCH FEARED KRAY TWINS RIVALS & SO SAY SADISTIC SOUTH LONDON TORTURE GANG ….. THE RICHARDSONS

Charlie Richardson: Shrewd and ruthless leading figure of London’s 1960s criminal scene

ABOVE : Original oil painting by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman of The Richardsons, here on display at Littledean Jail

ABOVE : Original oil painting by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman of The Richardson’s East London Gangland rivals The Kray Twins  here on display at Littledean Jail

BELOW IS PICTURE OF ANDY JONES FROM THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION WITH LONDON UNDERWORLD CRIME BOSS AND LONG STANDING ACQUAINTANCE  – CHARLIE RICHARDSON AT ONE OF THE PAST EVENTS TOGETHER

CHARLIE HAD KINDLY INTRODUCED ANDY TO A NUMBER OF FELLOW ASSOCIATES WHO IN TURN HAVE PERSONALLY CONTRIBUTED VARIOUS ITEMS TO THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION NOW ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL

Charlie Richardson was among the shrewdest of the serious crime figures who populated London’s post war underworld. “He was a genius, not like a professor who might know about art and paintings, but as a money maker,” Frank Fraser said of him.

He was born in Camberwell, south-east London in 1934; his brother Eddie was born in 1936, the youngest sibling Alan in 1940. Charlie and Eddie were brought up in a traditional south London working-class family, and like their east London counterparts, the Kray twins, they endured a wartime childhood, enjoyed the vibrant street life of working-class London and developed as talented young boxers and prominent street fighters.

According to folklore, the Richardsons were the south London nemesis of the Krays. However, unlike the twins, Charlie and Eddie had a penchant for hard work, and made good money from the post-war scrap metal trade, plundering the remnants of abandoned wartime airfields.

With a merchant seaman father who was often missing from home, the teenage Charlie exhibited an entrepreneurial zeal. He moved into a number of areas, including wholesale chemists and mineral mining, as well as extortion and, notably, long firm fraud. This involved an apparently legitimate wholesaling business being set up, initially paying for goods on time. When their credit limit was reached, they sold up and disappeared.

Richardson surrounded himself with long firm specialists, men described to me by Eddie Richardson as “plausible rogues”, and a number were sent to Milan to place orders with manufacturers for stockings on behalf of a company called Central Supplies. On arrival in London the stockings were sold by mail order, but with money and goods leaking from the business, and with the Italians pressing, Central Supplies burnt down. Richardson then set up a new company, LR Gray, based in Mitre St in the City. A number of Richardson associates were beaten for stealing from the long firms, before LR Grey also “had a fire”.

Charlie Richardson had first encountered the Kray twins in Shepton Mallet military prison, where all were awaiting a dishonorable discharge from National Service. The honeypot of the West End brought them back into contact, and though the east London firm claimed to be preparing for warfare, there is little to suggest the Richardson firm took them seriously. The Richardsons could boast among their associates some of London’s most feared men, including one of the “Chainsaw Robbers” Jimmy Moody, as well as George Cornell, an East Ender who had clashed with the youthful Krays, and Frank Fraser, whose affiliation to the Richardsons was described by Mickey Bloom, an associate of the Nash Brothers, as “like China getting the atom bomb.”

Fraser summed up the firm’s attitude to the Krays: “Using racing terms, there would be no race… The Richardsons were miles in front, brain power, everything.” In their dotage Charlie and Eddie expressed contempt for the Kray firm, and although skirmishes and casualties were not unknown while the Krays, in particular Ronnie, fantasised over Chicago-style gang wars, the Richardons diversified into long firms, gaming machines, pornography, scrap metal yards, a perlite mine in South Africa, control over car parking at Heathrow, and more.

Charlie had become increasingly fascinated by South Africa, in particular the opportunities in the country’s mineral industry. He became embroiled with the South African security services, who dangled the carrot of mining licences in front of him in exchange for Charlie arranging to have the telephones tapped of Amnesty International and Harold Wilson.

In 1966, in a shooting at Mr Smiths Club in Catford, an associate of the Krays was killed and five men were wounded. Eddie Richardson and Frank Fraser were arrested, Fraser for murder. The following night Ronnie Kray murdered George Cornell.

Richardson’s penchant for attacking fellow fraudsters who he suspected of stealing from his long firms resulted in the infamous “torture trial” in 1967, which featured allegations of the use of pliers to remove teeth and fingernails, and the attachment of electrodes to genitals. Alleged victims of the Richardsons were granted immunity from prosecution if they “turned Queen’s Evidence”, and a distinct lack of physical evidence did not deter the judge, Mr Justice Lawton. Eddie was sentenced to 10 years with another five for the Mr Smith incident, and Frank Fraser received five years for affray and 10 years for some deviant dental practices at the Richardsons’ Peckham scrapyard. Charlie received 25 years: “I was charged with a bit of long firm fraud and five counts of grievous bodily harm. Nobody was dead, maimed or even bloody scarred.”

The sentencing policy was undoubtably savage, and whether this was due to a fear of American-style “organised crime” or was linked to Richardson’s relationship with the South African Secret Service remains, over 40 years later, difficult to unpack. Files have been sunk deep into the long grass of British officialdom. Charlie Richardson was arrested on 30 July 1966; in 1980 he escaped from an open prison and remained free for just under a year. In 1984 he was finally released.

Charlie Richardson was the epitome of the tough working class self-made man who cut corners, and while violence was at the core of his success, his relationship with corrupt police officers was probably more significant. He did not play at being a gangster, and in his prime he was the real deal, shrewd and manipulative and quick to dole out violence to fellow underworld residents. But he was also well-read, articulate, extremely funny, and addicted to business. One of his last ventures was a scheme to take some control over the “true crime” genre, and to the end he loved doing deals, with film-makers, writers and a range of disparate individuals. However, along with his wife Veronica and his familyy, mining was his passion.

Nobody could swear quite like Charlie Richardson, and he reserved his most heartfelt oaths for the ex-business associates and members of the Establishment who, he insisted to his death (of complications from peritonitis), had conspired to deprive him of his liberty for 18 years.

FLANAGAN, FORMER MODEL, “GODMOTHER” AND PEACE-MAKER TO MANY OF BRITAIN’S MOST HARDENED AND FEARED GANGLAND FIGURES.

BELOW: HERE IS A BRIEF PICTORIAL GALLERY AT THE LAUNCH PARTY FOR FLANAGAN’S NEW AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL BOOK ….. “ONE OF THE FAMILY  … 10 YEARS WITH THE KRAYS ” AT THE BLIND BEGGAR PUB , WHITECHAPEL RD , LONDON

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

FOR VIDEO CLICK HERE

FLANAGAN’s life started in 1941 as Hitler was bombing London. She had to be evacuated & she had to be evacuated to Hemel Hempsted but later returned to her home town of Islington.

Convent educated in Holloway Rd, North London, she grew up with a younger brother & sister, along with a little English mother & a devastatingly handsome Irish father.

Her christian name was Maureen & she started work in a hairdressers at 15 years old when her father died. She was spotted by a photographer aged 18 at a hairdressers convention where she’d been asked to model. He took some photos & showed them to an agent who suggested she model on the catwalk. Maureen worked for all the top fashion houses & stores, everything she tried on sold out in hours.

At 20 years old she married a local lad, Patrick Flanagan & for 3 years they lived in Camden, North London. Her agent sent her up to the BBC where she appeared on shows including Benny Hill, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, The Dave Allen Show, The Likely Lads & Only Fools & Horses. She also filmed ‘Dracula 72’ alongside Christopher Lee.

At 26 years old she was known as the most photographed model in Britain & her legs were insured for £25,000 which was unheard of in the 60’s! She went to Germany to advertise cars & was then flown to Amsterdam, where she was photographed covered in diamonds, then New York to model ‘Hot Pants’.

She became great friends with George Best, Malcolm Allison & Barbara Windsor & filmed with Tony Curtis, Roger Moore & Charlton Heston, while taking up using the one name – Flanagan. It worked wonders!

She had become Violet Kray’s hairdresser & on meeting The Twins & ….elder brother Charlie, became a regular visitor to Vallance Rd & is now considered an expert on all Kray memorabilia, being called upon to examine items belonging to all 3 brothers at auctions. She visited The Twins regularly until they died & arranged all 3 funerals, seating everyone in the church at them all.

Flanagan was called up to The Sun newspaper’s head office by the Editor & it worked. As she was leaving she was asked her age & replied with a smile “21”, which they duly printed. In fact she was 30 & just getting divorced!

She married again in 1976, having found the East London years before through the Kray brothers & had a son, JJ, who is a DJ. Sadly her 2nd husband, Terry Cox, died after a heart transplant & Flanagan never left the East End. Flanagan now has 3 grandaughters.

She’s currently organising the ‘Biggest Kray Memorabilia Night’ & experts to enthusiasts from all over the country will attend the event, being held at The Blind Beggar Pub in Whitechapel (Please see the ‘Events’ page).

Flanagan has a thousand stories to tell.

FLANAGAN THE MODEL IN HER PRIME

Maureen Flanagan, best known by her stage name Flanagan, was an early tabloid model. She later became known as a most trusted inner-circle “Godmother” and peace-maker  to many of the most hardened and feared British  gangland figures of the 1960’s era to the present day, including The Kray Twins (she was also the family’s personal hairdresser and friend ) and a great many others . She has been one of the key organisers behind many of the gangland funerals and to this day remains one of the inner circles most trusted  confidents

ANOTHER IMAGE OF FLANAGAN AS A MODEL BACK IN THE LATE 1960’S

She had an acting career in the late sixties/early seventies, mainly in bit parts on The Benny Hill Show, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, and several British sex comedies. She also played the lead role in the Danish film The Loves of Cynthia (a.k.a. Cynthia’s Sister) in 1971.

After her acting career ended, Flanagan continued to remain in the public eye, owing to her association with the Kray Twins and her efforts to secure their release She also wrote the book “Intimate Secrets of an Escort Girl” (Everest books, 1974). The book was serialized in the magazine Tit-Bits, accompanied by a blurb which said “Britain’s most photographed model lays bare the facts of her working life in the sauciest story of the year

In 1997, Flanagan made a one-off return to nude modeling as a mature woman, posing fully nude in the magazine Men’s World. In the accompanying interview she said her second husband had recently died after a heart transplant operation, and that she was busy raising a then-16 year old son

BELOW ARE SOME PHOTO’S AND FEATURE’S OF FLANAGAN IN HER PRIME 

FLANAGAN AND ANDY JONES AT THE FUNERAL OF GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY MASTERMIND – BRUCE REYNOLDS …

below is a link to Flanagan’s new website which is presently under construction , with more to be added

http://www.flanagan-model.com/