NETFLIX UK DARK TOURIST ATTRACTION.THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL, FOREST OF DEAN, GLOS ,GL14 3NL … STEP BACK IN TIME WITH OUR UNIQUE GLOUCESTERSHIRE & UK POLICE MEMORABILIA PRIVATE COLLECTION, HERE ON DISPLAY.

ABOVE … A BRIEF INSIGHT INTO THE FIRST SERVING GLOUCESTERSHIRE  POLICEMAN TO BE KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY  IN 1861. SERGEANT SAMUEL BEARD WAS , AT THE TIME STATIONED HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL FOR SOME 16 YEARS .  THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE POLICE FORCE WAS FORMED IN 1839, MAKING IT THE SECOND OLDEST COUNTY POLICE FORCE IN THE UK .

INCIDENTALLY , THE FIRST RECORDED DEATH OF A SERVING PARISH CONSTABLE (FORERUNNERS TO THE POLICE FORCE ) IN THE FOREST OF DEAN WAS  HENRY THOMPSON IN THE PARISH OF RUARDEAN , 14 MAY 1817 , AGED 31 .

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE HISTORY OF THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE POLICE FORCE PLEASE CLICK ON  THE TWO LINKS HERE OR  HERE

BELOW …. A BRIEF LOOK AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL, FEATURING VARIOUS POLICE MANNEQUINS AND OTHER POLICE MEMORABILIA  DISPLAYS .

HERE’S  JUST  A BRIEF PICTORIAL INSIGHT INTO SOME OF THE BRITISH POLICE MEMORABILIA AND EPHEMERA ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL WHICH COVERS THE HISTORY OF THE POLICE THROUGH THE AGES .

THIS COLLECTION IS BELIEVED TO BE ONE OF THE LARGEST PRIVATE COLLECTIONS OF POLICE MEMORABILIA IN THE UK . WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF VINTAGE HAND PAINTED  TRUNCHEONS , RESTRAINTS , HELMETS, BADGES, UNIFORMS AND MUCH MORE .

SEE BELOW  FOR PICTORIAL SLIDESHOW OF A FEW EXHIBITS ON DISPLAY

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SEE BELOW VIDEO FOR EDUCATIONAL INSIGHT INTO THE HISTORY OF THE BRITISH POLICE

A SUPERB PIECE OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE POLICE CRIME SCENE MEMORABILIA  ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL

JUST ONE OF A GREAT MANY BRITISH POLICE MEMORABILIA ITEMS THROUGH THE AGES ON DISPLAY IN ONE OF THE UK’S LARGEST PRIVATE COLLECTIONS OF LAW AND ORDER MATERIAL . 

BELOW IS  AN  IMAGE OF WHAT  IS BELIEVED TO BE ONE OF THE VERY FEW SURVIVING VINTAGE  GLOUCESTERSHIRE CONSTABULARY’S FINGERPRINT KITS (CIRCA 1940’S) . COMPLETE WITH IT’S ORIGINAL BOX, INKS, ROLLER, POWDERS AND BRUSHES ETC .ALSO VARIOUS APPROPRIATE  DOCUMENTATION FOR FINGERPRINT EVIDENCE PURPOSES . FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PICTURES RELATING TO THIS ITEM CLICK HERE

Picture By: Jules Annan Picture Shows:GLOUCESTERSHIRE POLICE FINGERPRINT KIT CIRCA 1940’S Date 25TH September 2011 Ref: *World Rights Only* *Unbylined uses will incur an additional discretionary fee!*

A short history of British Police focusing on truncheon and armour – Arms in Action

ORIGINAL PAINTING BY GLOUCESTERSHIRE ARTIST PAUL BRIDGMAN DEPICTING WPC YVONNE FLETCHER, WHO WAS FATALLY SHOT OUTSIDE THE LIBYAN EMBASSY , ST JAMES SQUARE, LONDON IN 1984 . THIS PAINTING IS ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL.

PC DAVID RATHBAND WHO WAS SHOT AND BLINDED BY RAOUL MOAT PERSONAL SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL

 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BRITISH POLICE

The word “Police” means, generally, the arrangements made in all civilised countries to ensure that the inhabitants keep the peace and obey the law. The word also denotes the force of peace officers (or police) employed for this purpose.

In 1829 Sir Richard Mayne wrote:
“The primary object of an efficient police is the prevention of crime: the next that of detection and punishment of offenders if crime is committed. To these ends all the efforts of police must be directed. The protection of life and property, the preservation of public tranquillity, and the absence of crime, will alone prove whether those efforts have been successful and whether the objects for which the police were appointed have been attained.”

In attaining these objects, much depends on the approval and co-operation of the public, and these have always been determined by the degree of esteem and respect in which the police are held. One of the key principles of modern policing in Britain is that the police seek to work with the community and as part of the community.

Origins of policing

The origin of the British police lies in early tribal history and is based on customs for securing order through the medium of appointed representatives. In effect, the people were the police. The Saxons brought this system to England and improved and developed the organisation. This entailed the division of the people into groups of ten, called “tythings”, with a tything-man as representative of each; and into larger groups, each of ten tythings, under a “hundred-man” who was responsible to the Shire-reeve, or Sheriff, of the County.

The tything-man system, after contact with Norman feudalism, changed considerably but was not wholly destroyed. In time the tything-man became the parish constable and the Shire-reeve the Justice of the Peace, to whom the parish constable was responsible. This system, which became widely established in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, comprised, generally, one unarmed able-bodied citizen in each parish, who was appointed or elected annually to serve for a year unpaid, as parish constable. He worked in co-operation with the local Justices in securing observance of laws and maintaining order. In addition, in the towns, responsibility for the maintenance of order was conferred on the guilds and, later, on other specified groups of citizens, and these supplied bodies of paid men, known as “The Watch”, for guarding the gates and patrolling the streets at night.

In the eighteenth century came the beginnings of immense social and economic changes and the consequent movement of the population to the towns. The parish constable and “Watch” systems failed completely and the impotence of the law-enforcement machinery was a serious menace. Conditions became intolerable and led to the formation of the “New Police”.

The Metropolitan Police

In 1829, when Sir Robert Peel was Home Secretary, the first Metropolitan Police Act was passed and the Metropolitan Police Force was established. This new force superseded the local Watch in the London area but the City of London was not covered. Even within the Metropolitan Police District there still remained certain police establishments, organised during the eighteenth century, outside the control of the Metropolitan Police Office, viz:-

• The Bow Street Patrols, mounted and foot, the latter commonly called the “Bow Street runners”.
• Police Office constables attached to the offices of, and under the control of, the Magistrates.
• The Marine or River Police.

By 1839 all these establishments had been absorbed by the Metropolitan Police Force. The City of London Police, which was set up in 1839, remains an independent force to this day.

HISTORY OF THE METROPOLITAN POLICE

Time Line 1829 – 1849

Until 1829, law enforcement had been lacking in organisation. As London expanded during the 18th and 19th centuries the whole question of maintaining law and order had become a matter of public concern. In 1812, 1818 and 1822, Parliamentary committees were appointed to investigate the subject of crime and policing. But it was not until 1828 when Sir Robert Peel set up his committee that the findings paved the way for his police Bill, which led to the setting up of an organised police service in London.

1829	The formation of the Metropolitan Police Force on 29 September 1829 by Sir Robert Peel.

Sir Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne are appointed as Justices of the Peace in charge of the Force.1830PC Joseph Grantham becomes first officer to be killed on duty, at Somers Town, Euston. The Metropolitan Police ranks were increased considerably to 3,300 men.1831Further riots. A crowd attacks Apsley House, home of the Duke of Wellington, and break all the windows. The police eventually restore order.1832Richard Mayne, the Commissioner, tries to clarify the roles of the Magistrates and the Commissioners as the Bow Street Runners continue their existance.1833Coldbath Fields Riot (Grays Inn Road). A major crowd disturbance was dealt with by the Metropolitan Police with controversial use of force.

PC Robert Culley was killed at this event, and the jury returned a verdict of Justifiable Homicide.

1834The Select Committee designated with the task of inquiring into the state of the Police of the Metropolis reported ‘that the Metropolitan Police Force, as respects its influence in repressing crime and the security it has given to persons and property, is one of the most valuable modern institutions’

1835In October a fire breaks out at the Millbank Penitentiary and 400 Metropolitan Police officers and a detachment of the Guards are called to restore order. This prompted the press to call for the police to be put in command at all large fires.

1836The Metropolitan Police absorb the Bow Street Horse Patrol into its control.

1837Select Committee appointed to look into the affairs of the police offices. They also propose that the City of London be placed under the control of the Metropolitan Police.

1838Select Committee finally reports and recommends incorporating of Marine Police and Bow Street Runners into the Metropolitan Police and the disbandment of the Bow Street Office and other Offices. These were all agreed and put into effect.

1839The two Justices of the Peace, Rowan and Mayne are termed Commissioners by the Metropolitan Police Act 1839. Enlargement of the Metropolitan Police District by the same Act

.1840Gould Interrogation case in which Police Sergeant Otway attempts induced self-incrimination in the accused, which is immediately discountenanced by the Courts and Commissioner Richard Mayne.

1841Formation of Dockyard divisions of the Metropolitan police

.1842Formation of the Detective Department

.1843The Woolwich Arsenal became part of the area to be patrolled by the Metropolitan Police

.1844Richard Mayne, Commissioner, called to give evidence to the Select Committee on Dogs. He stated that in the Metropolis there were a rising number of lost or stolen dogs. In the preceding year over 600 dogs were lost and 60 stolen. He declared the law to be in a very unsatisfactory state as people paid money for restoration of dogs. ‘People pay monies to parties whom they have reason to believe have either stolen or enticed them away in order to get the reward…’ Mayne believed it to be organised crime.

1845The Commissioners, in returns to the Home Office, states that the aim of the Force was to have one Policeman to 450 head of population.

1846Plain clothes officers were frequently used at this time, but a June order made clear that two officers per division would be employed on detective duties, but that police in plain clothes must make themselves known if interfered with in their duty.

1847Statistics for the year were; 14,091 robberies; 62,181 people taken in charge, 24,689 of these were summarily dealt with; 5,920 stood trial and 4,551 were convicted and sentenced; 31,572 people were discharged by the magistrates.

The Metropolitan Police were still, despite their good record on crime prevention, facing discipline problems amongst their officers on the 18 divisions, with 238 men being dismissed in the year.

1848Large scale enrolement of Special constables to assist the Metropolitan Police in controlling the Chartist Demonstrations

.1849Authorised strength 5,493. In reality 5,288 were available for duty. The population at this time in London was 2,473,758.

Time Line 1850 – 1869

1850	Retirement of Sir Charles Rowan as joint Commissioner. Captain William Hay is appointed in his place.
1851	The Great Exhibition with its special crowd problems forces the police to temporarily form a new police division. The total manpower of the force at this time was 5,551, covering 688 square miles.
1852	Sir Charles Rowan, first joint Commissioner, dies. In his obituary note of 24 May The Times wrote: “No individual of any rank or station could be more highly esteemed or loved when living, or more regretted in death.”
1853	Lord Dudley Stuart, MP for Marylebone and a persistent critic of the police, suggests in Parliament that the police are not worth the money they cost. He recommends that they be reduced in numbers, and a higher class of officers be recruited to control the constables.
1854	Out of 5,700 in the Metropolitan Force, 2.5% were Scottish, 6.5% Irish. The Commissioner was not happy about employing these officers in areas of high Scottish or Irish ethnic concentrations.
1855	Death of Captain William Hay. Sir Richard Mayne becomes sole Commissioner.
1856	Detective Force increased to 10 men, with an extra Inspector and Sergeant.
1857	The Commissioner Richard Mayne is paid a salary of £1,883, and his two Assistant Commissioners are paid salaries of £800 each.
1858	First acquisition of Police van for conveying prisoners. These were horse drawn, and known as‘Black Marias’.
1859	Police orders of 6 January state “It is a great gratification to the Commissioner that the number of police guilty of the offence of drunkenness during the late Christmas holidays has been much lower than last year… In A, F and R Division only one man was reported in each, and in H Division not one man was reported in the present or last year..”
1860	Police begin the occasional use of hand ambulances for injured, sick or drunk people. Accommodation or ‘ambulance sheds’ are later provided for these in police station yards.
1861	Police orders on the 25 January made allowance for one third of Metropolitan Police officers in Dockyards “to be relieved each Sunday, to give them an opportunity of attending Divine Service…”

The Metropolitan Police act as firemen at the British Museum. The Superintendent in charge said of them “From their manner of doing the work, I should be inclined to place considerable confidence in these men in an emergency.”

1862Further expansion in the Metropolitan Police with the formations of the X and W Divisions in the west, and Y Division in the north

1863Drunkenness is still a problem in the force, and in this year 215 officers were dismissed for this reason

.1864Execution of 5 pirates of the ship ‘Flowery Land’ at Newgate. The Metropolitan Police supply nearly 800 officers to keep the peace.

1865Further extensions of the Metropolitan Police District in terms of the area patrolled in north east London.

1866 3,200 police under the command of Commissioner Richard Mayne were used to control a serious riot in Hyde Park. 28 police were permanently disabled, and Mayne was hit by a stone which cut his head open. He was forced to call in the Military to restore order

.1867The Metropolitan Police are severely criticised after Commissioner Richard Mayne ignores a warning about the Clerkenwell bombing by the Fenians. Mayne offers his resignation, but it is refused.1868Death of Commissioner Sir Richard Mayne. Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Labalmondiere acts as Commissioner.

1869Lieutenant Colonel Edmund Henderson appointed Commissioner.

Time Line 1870 – 1889

1870	The standard height for Metropolitan Police officers is raised to 5ft 8ins, except for Thames Division, where it is 5ft 7ins.
1871	As a result of frequent larcenies of linen, the Commissioner Edmund Henderson said, on the 21 April, “Constables are to call at the houses of all persons on their beats having wet linen in their gardens, and caution them of the risk they run in having them stolen…”
1872	Police strike for the first time. Various men are disciplined or dismissed, although these latter are later allowed back in to the Force.
1873	The Metropolitan Police acquire 9 new stations : North Woolwich, Rodney Road (Lock’s Fields), Chislehurst, Finchley, Isleworth, Putney, South Norwood, Harrow and Enfield Town.
1874	A survey of recruiting over a 2 year period showed that of those who had joined the force; 31% came from land jobs, 12% from military services, and 5% from other police jobs. The remainder came mostly from manual jobs. The majority of recruits and serving officers came from outside of London.
1875	New police offices at Great Scotland Yard are taken possession of on 4 October 1875 by the Detective and Public Carriage Departments.
1876	8 January the following order was released : “Relief from duty during severe weather – dufing the present severe weather as much indulgence as possible is to be given to the men on night duty, due regard being had to public safety..”
1877	Trial of the Detectives or Turf Fraud Scandal exposes corruption within the Force.
1878	Charles Vincent was appointed Director of Criminal Investigations, the reformed Detective Branch which became known as C.I.D.
1879	Initial rules for dealing with Murder cases, released on 7 June, stated “the body must not be moved, nor anything about it or in the room or place interfered with, and the public must be excluded..”
1880	Formation of the Convict Supervision Office for the assistance and control of convicts discharged upon license.
1881	Possibly London’s most famous police station, Bow Street, was rebuilt in this year.
1882	The growth of London and the area needing policing is illustrated in Tottenham, (Y Division) when 8 miles of new streets are formed in a year with nearly 4,000 houses on them.

The Metropolitan Police at Devonport Dockyard illustrate the diversity of the role of the force as the Police Fire Brigade has its busiest year since formation with 6 major fires

.1883Special Irish Branch formed

.1884A bomb explodes at Scotland Yard planted by the Fenians. The Special Irish Branch are hit.

1885The strength of the force at this time was 13,319, but statistics show that only 1,383 officers were available for beat duty in the day. The population of London at this time was 5,255,069.Public outrage at the explosions at the Tower of London and Houses of Parliament. Two men are sentenced to penal servitude for life as a result.

1886Trafalgar Square riot forces resignation of the Commissioner Sir Edmund Henderson.

1887Major riot in Trafalgar Square, known as ‘Bloody Sunday’, the first test for the new Commissioner Sir Charles Warren, appointed the previous year.

1888Sir Charles Warren resigns after a dispute with the Home Office, and James Monro is appointed Commissioner in his place.

Jack the Ripper murders in the Whitechapel area.1889The last of the so called “Whitechapel” murders is discovered with the death in Castle Alley on 17 July of Alice McKenzie.

Time Line 1890 – 1909

1890	Opening of the new headquarters at the Norman Shaw Building on the Embankment known as New Scotland Yard.

Police strike at Bow Street Police Station.

Sir Edward Bradford is appointed Commissioner after the resignation of James Monro.

1891The Public Carriage and Lost Property Offices move from Great Scotland Yard to the new offices at New Scotland Yard on the 21 March.

1892Dismissals and rank and pay reductions were common at this point, and the case of Pc379A Best whose resignation on 21 July illustrates how the Metropolitan Police attempted to keep its men in order. He was “in possession of a tea-can, the property of another constable, obliterating the owners number, substituting his own name and number, telling a deliberate falsehood in connection therewith; and considered unfit for the police force

”1893PC George Cooke, a serving officer, is convicted for murder and hanged.

1894The Alphonse Bertillon system of identification comes into operation.1895To join the Metropolitan Police the following qualifications were necessary:

• to be over 21 and under 27 years of age
• to stand clear 5ft 9ins without shoes or stockings
• to be able to read well, write legibly and have a fair knowledge of spelling
• to be generally intelligent
• to be free from any bodily complaint

The bodily complaints for which candidates were rejected included; flat foot, stiffness of joints, narrow chest and deformities of the face.

1896Public Carriage Office and Lost Property Offices amalgamate under the designation ‘Public Carriage Branch’.

1897Metropolitan Police Officers granted a boot allowance instead of being supplied with boots. Police boots at this time were loathed, only Sir Edward Bradford, the Commissioner, believing them suitable.

1898After a series of assaults and the murder of PC Baldwin in the vicinity of the Kingsland Road, there are calls for the Metropolitan Police to be armed with revolvers.

1899High rate of suicides amongst officers. This is blamed by certain commentators on harsh discipline and insensitive handling of the men.

As the century draws to a close it is worth noting that the Metropolitan Police on formation in 1829 had a force of about 3,000 men, and by 1899 16,000. The population of London had grown from 1,500,000 to 7 million.

1900Construction of a new floating police station at Waterloo Pier.Lord Belper Committee inquire into the best system of identification of possible criminals

.1901The Fingerprint Bureau commences operation after the findings of the Belper Report. Anthropometric measurements under the Bertillon system are still used, but begin to decline in importance.

1902The coronation of King Edward VII makes major demands on the police, resulting in 512 police pensioners being recalled for duty. Extra pay, leave and a medal were granted to all serving officers.

1903Sir Edward Bradford retires as Commissioner to be replaced by Edward Henry.

19046 new stations buildt at East Ham, Hackney, John Street, Muswell Hill, North Woolwich and Tower Bridge. 1 is near completion and 2 other started. Major works take place on 23 other stations.

1905An article in Police Review mentions that Pc William Hallett of Y Division, who had retired after 26 years as a mounted officer, had ridden 144,000 miles or more than 5 times around the world in the course of his duty.

1906The Metropolitan Police at this stage in their history are on duty for 13 days a fortnight and have an additional leave of 10 days.

1907Clash between the Metropolitan Police and 800 Suffragettes outside the House of Commons on 13 February. Mounted and Foot officers are used to disperse them, and allegations of brutality are made.

1908Police Review reports “the authorities at Scotland Yard have been seriously discussing the use of dogs as the constable companion and help, and Sir Edward Henry (Commissioner), who regards the innovation sympathetically, considers the only crucial objection to be the sentimental prejudices of the public.”

1909The Tottenham Outrage occurs, in the course of which PC William Tyler and a 10 year old boy are shot dead by anarchists.

Time Line 1910 – 1929

1910	Radio Telegraphy used for the first time, resulting in the capture of Doctor Crippen.

The miners strike in South Wales results in many Metropolitan Police officers assisting to maintain law and order.

1911The Siege of Sidney Street results in armed Metropolitan Police officers taking to the streets with the military to deal with armed anarchist criminals.

1912Assassination attempt on the life of the Commissioner, Sir Edward Henry.

Establishment of the Metropolitan Police Special Constabulary on a permanent basis.

1913The Commissioner calls for legislation to be introduced to restrict the trade in pistols following the assassination attempt on his own life.

1914With the outbreak of war, 24,000 Special Constables are sworn in, and by the end of the year there are 31,000. Annual leave is suspended for the first year of the war.

Women Police founded in this year.

1915London Ambulance Service commences operation, taking over some of the duties originally performed by the Metropolitan Police. However, police in this year convey over 11,000 people to hospital.

1916The Commissioner Sir Edward Henry signs a Police Order in November stating that any member of the Metropolitan Police renders himself liable to dismissal by joining a union.

1917At this point in WW1, some 2,300 members of the Metropolitan Police were serving in the armed services.

1918Major strike of Metropolitan Police in search of better pay and conditions, and union recognition. Sir Edward Henry resigns as Commissioner, and is replaced by Sir Nevil Macready.

1919Macready crushes a further police strike.

Women Police Patrols appointed.

Formation of Flying Squad.

1920Sir Nevil Macready retires as Commissioner, and is replaced by Brigadier-General Sir William Horwood.

1921The Police Pensions Act comes into force, fixing an age limit for each rank at which retirement shall be compulsory.

Z Division formed on the South side of the River Thames.

1922Commissioner Horwood admits that many of the men taken into the force in 1919 to replace strikers and those in the armed forces have given trouble due to neglecting their beats and drunkenness.

The Commissioner also comments on the growth in consumption of methylated spirits, with 80 convictions this year.

Women Constables reduced to an establishment of 20.

1923First Cup Final at Wembley leads to major crowd problems, controlled by the Mounted Branch. Billy, the White Horse of Wembley, and his rider Pc George Scorey become a legend.

1924The Commissioner explains in his Annual Report how the social status of a Metropolitan policeman has been raised due to his conditions of employment.

1925The Metropolitan Police begin to withdraw from policing dockyards (including Rosyth, Pembroke, Deptford Dockyards) and War Department Stations.

Sir James Olive retires from his position as an Assistant Commissioner after 53 years service.

1926Attempt to assasinate Commissioner Horwood with poisoned chocolates

1927Public Carriage Office transfered to Lambeth

1928Retirement of Brigadier-General Sir William Horwood. Viscount Byng of Vimy appointed new Commissioner.

1929Centenery of Metropolitan Police celebrated with a parade in Hyde Park and inspection by HRH the Prince of Wales.

The Police Box system commences on an experimental basis in Richmond and Wood Green.

Time Line 1930 – 1949

1930	Large number of men posted to Motor Patrol work: 4 subdivisional Inspectors, 31 Sergeants, and 324 Constables.
1931	Commissioner Byng retires. Lord Trenchard appointed.
1932	Lord Trenchard abolishes the timed Beat System and sets out his thoughts about the Metropolitan Police Personnel recruitment and promotion system.
1933	Trenchard begins his programme for the improvement of Section Houses.
1934	The Metropolitan Police College opens at Hendon.

Metropolitan Police withdraw from Devonport Dockyard, bringing to a close its presence in HM Dockyards.

1935Metropolitan Police Forensic Laboratory opened.

Lord Trenchard retires as Commissioner, and Sir Philip Game is appointed in his place.

1936The Battle of Cable Street involves the Metropolitan Police in street battles with opposing political factions.

1937The 999 system is introduced.

1938Civil Defence starts with the formation of two Reserves in the event of war. The first are retired officers, the second Special Constables.

1939I.R.A. activity results in 59 explosions in the Metropolitan Police District. 55 people are convicted for these offences.

194098 Metropolitan Police officers killed during air raids.

Click here to read about the MPS officer murdered in Hyde Park during the war

1941Air raid bombings continue, and Holloway police station is destroyed. Somers Town, Sydenham and Brixton stations are too badly damaged to be used.

1942Police officers allowed to volunteer for the Armed Forces.

1943In an attempt to curb housebreaking, the Commissioner Sir Philip Game asks people not to keep furs, saying “they are no doubt warmer, and look nicer than a tweed coat, but a live dog is better than a dead lion.

”1944Looting reaches an all time record.

1945Sir Philip Game retires and is replaced as Commissioner by Harold Scott

.1946The Metropolitan and City Police Company Fraud Department is formed.

1947Metropolitan Police face a deficiency of 4,730 men as a result of the war.

1948Indictable crime rate falls to 126,000 crimes, but this is still 40% higher than before the war.

1949Lord Oakseys committee reports on police pay, recommending small increases and London weighting.

Time Line 1950 – 1969

1950	The Metropolitan Police Roll of Honour is unveiled at Westminster Abbey by the Queen, displaying the names of officers killed in the 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 wars.
1951	Commissioner Harold Scott introduces training of cadets aged 16 – 18 to become police officers.
1952	The Dixon Report advocates many changes in the Metropolitan Police, including greater civilianisation.
1953	Sir Harold Scott retires, and is replaced as Commissioner by Sir John Nott-Bower.
1954	Serious understaffing problems, with the force consisting of only 16,000 and needing an estimated 4,000 men, mainly Police Constables.
1955	Formation of the Central Traffic Squad, consisting of 100 men.
1956	Flying Squad makes over 1,000 arrests, a record since its formation.
1957	New Information Room opens at New Scotland Yard.
1958	Sir John Nott-Bower retires as Commissioner. He is replaced by Joseph Simpson.
1959	Indictable offences reach over 160,000, the highest recorded to date.
1960	Traffic Wardens introduced.

Criminal Intelligence Section and Stolen Motor Vehicle Investigation branches established.

1961The Receivers Office moved from Scotland House to new premises at Tintagel House.

The Minicab arrives on the London scene, and the Metropolitan Police obtain 24 convictions for illegal plying for hire.

1962The rate of indictable crimes for this year reaches an all time high – 214,120.

The series ‘Police 5′, designed to prevent crime, begins on BBC.

1963The Commissioner, Joseph Simpson, stresses the need for the Beat system to reduce motorised patrols and deter incidents of crime.

The first computer to be used by the Met (an ICT 1301) was set up in the office of the Receiver for use on pay and crime statistics.

1964The worst year so far this century for crime, with over a quarter of a million indictable crimes.

Regional Crime Squads formed.

Police face major criticism and complaints as a result of the Challenor Case, in which a policeman was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic and made infamous for planting evidence

.1965Special Patrol Group formed consisting of 100 officers. It arrested 396 people in its first 9 months of operation.

1966The Commissioner’s Office and the Receiver’s Office are combined.
3 Metropolitan Police officers murdered at Shepherds Bush.

1967The headquarters is moved from the Norman Shaw Building to a new building in Broadway, just off Victoria Street. The name of New Scotland Yard is retained.

Norwell Roberts joins the Met as the first black police officer. He retired after 30 years service with the rank of Detective Sergeant and received the QPM in 1996.1968Sir Joseph Simpson dies in service, and is replaced as Commissioner b

y John Waldron.

1969MPS officers sent to offer assistance in the Anguilla crisis.

Serious Crime Squad becomes permanent.

Time Line 1970 – 1989

1970	Clear up rate on indictable crimes reaches 28%, the best since 1957.
1971	The Commissioner (John Waldron) in his annual report said “With deep and lasting traditions the Metropolitan Police is an impressive institution by every standard and in any company in the world.”
1972	Sir John Waldron is succeeded as Commissioner by Robert Mark.
1973	Robert Mark works to restore the integrity of the Metropolitan Police, and 90 officers leave as a result.

Mark establishes better relations with the media by setting out a policy of openness.

Women police are integrated directly into the force.

1974The Peel Centre at Hendon is modernised and reopended as the Training School

.1975Robert Mark makes an appeal on television for ethnic recruits.

Balcombe Street and Spaghetti House sieges were both brought to successful conclusions by the Met.

1976Major riot at Notting Hill Carnival, in which more than 400 officers and civilian staff were injured.

1977David McNee becomes Commissioner after the retirement of Sir Robert Mark.

1978An inquiry into police pay by Lord Edmund-Davies results in higher allowances and better pay to officers.

1979The Metropolitan Police celebrates its 150th Anniversary.

A new Force Inspectorate is formed, to provide a close and continuing assessment of the efficiency of all units of the force.

1980Iranian Embassy siege brought to a successful conclusion after co-operation between the Met and the Special Air Service Regiment.

Formation of Metropolitan Air Support Unit with its own Bell 222 helicopter.

1981Brixton Riots involve the Metropolitan Police in the largest civil disturbance this century.

1982Sir David McNee retires as Commissioner to be replaced by Sir Kenneth Newman.

1983With the aid of the MPS Policy Committee Sir Kenneth Newman devises a new statement of the Principles of Policing, and in doing so changes the emphasis from the primary objectives of policing established by Richard Mayne and Sir Charles Rowan in 1829.

1984PC Jon Gordon lost both legs and part of a hand in the IRA bomb attack on Harrods in 1983. On 10 December 1984 he resumed duty by walking unaided up the steps to his new office.

Whilst policing a demonstration in St James’s Square, WPC Yvonne Fletcher was shot in the back and mortally wounded by shots fired from the Libyan People’s Bureau. WPC Fletcher’s murder led to the creation of the Police Memorial Trust, an organisation dedicated to placing memorials at the locations of fallen officers

1985Tottenham Riots (also known as ‘Broadwater Farm’ riot) result in the murder of PC Keith Blakelock.

1986Identification Parade screens introduced at Clapham police station.

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act comes into force in January.

Mounted Branch celebrates its 150th anniversary.

1987Sir Kenneth Newman retires, and is replaced as Commissioner by Peter Imbert.

1988The Commissioner stresses the need for close community liaison between the Police and Consultative Groups to foster the police / public partnership.

1989‘Plus Programme’ launched to improve the corporate image and quality of the service of the Metropolitan Police. It significantly altered attitudes within the MPS, and included the Statement of Common Purpose and Values.

Time Line 1990 – 1999

1990	Riot in Trafalgar Square mirrors the 1887 riot in the same location.
1991	Sector Policing introduced, involving a team of officers with a continuing responsibility for the same small community area or sector.
1992	First 5 year Corporate Strategy published in February.
1993	Sir Peter Imbert retires, and is replaced as Commissioner by Sir Paul Condon.

Operation Bumblebee introduced on the 1 June and has a considerable impact on burglary in the capital.

The Charter is launched in September, defining the role of the Police and public expectation

1994Metropolitan Police Service key objectives established for the first time by the Government, plus key performance indicators.

1995Metropolitan Police Committee formed on 1 April.

Crime Report Information System (CRIS) introduced. It revolutionises the means of recording crimes.

1996‘The London Beat’ published.

The MPS launches its Website at www.met.police.uk. Click here to find out more about this website.

1997Installation of N.A.F.I.S. the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System.

1998The Metropolitan Police launch the Policing Diversity Strategy in response to the majority of issues raised into the Inquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence. The aim is to provide better protection to ethnic communities from racial and violent crime and demonstrate fairness in every aspect of policing.

1999The handling of the Greek Embassy siege demonstrates the professionalism of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Time Line 2000-2009

2000	Sir Paul Condon retires and is replaced as Commissioner by Sir John Stevens. Sir John issues his Policing Pledge for Londoners.
2004	Wednesday 29 September was an historic day as the Met celebrated 175 years of policing London.
2005	Sir Ian Blair becomes Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
2008	Sir Ian Blair resigns from the post of Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
2009	Sir Paul Stephenson becomes Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police

HERE’S A FEW ITEMS HERE ON DISPLAY AT THE JAIL ….

NOTORIOUS AMERICAN KILLER CLOWN AND RAPIST JOHN WAYNE GACY. ALSO KNOWN AS POGO THE CLOWN. HE MURDERED AT LEAST 33 TEENAGE BOYS AND YOUNG MEN AND WAS EXECUTED BY LETHAL INJECTION IN 1994 .

DARK TOURISM HERE IN THE UK – WHERE GOOD AND EVIL COLLIDE & WHERE FANTASY MEETS REALITY .

TRUE CRIME , MURDERABILIA, WITCHCRAFT, SATANISM AND THE OCCULT …. IT’S ALL HERE AND MUCH MORE ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL, FOREST OF DEAN , GLOUCESTERSHIRE , UK .

John Wayne Gacy, Jr. (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994), also known as the Killer Clown, was an American serial killer and rapist. He sexually assaulted and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978 in Cook County, Illinois.

ABOVE: Original painting by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman of John Wayne Gacy on display at Littledean Jail .

All of Gacy’s known murders were committed inside his Norwood Park, Illinois home. His victims would typically be lured to this address by force or deception, and all but one victim were murdered by either asphyxiation or strangulation with a tourniquet (his first victim was stabbed to death). Gacy buried 26 of his victims in the crawl space of his home. Three further victims were buried elsewhere on his property, while the bodies of his last four known victims were discarded in the Des Plaines River.

Convicted of 33 murders, Gacy was sentenced to death for 12 of these killings on March 13, 1980. He spent 14 years on death row before he was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994.

Above: Police mugshots of John Wayne Gacy .

Gacy became known as the “Killer Clown” due to his charitable services at fundraising events, parades, and children’s parties where he would dress as “Pogo the Clown”, a character he devised himself.

BELOW : Various exhibit items to include one of Gacy’s “Pogo The Clown ” suits , handwritten and signed correspondence , a hand painting and various other memorabilia, all of which is on display here at The Crime Through Time Collection , Littledean Jail , Forest of Dean , Gloucestershire, UK .

ABOVE AND BELOW : One of  John Wayne Gacy’s  original worn clown suits. There are two other known Gacy clown suits on display  at The National Museum of Crime , Washington DC , USA .

BELOW: picture of 2 other Gacy clown suits, on display at The National Museum of Crime, Washington DC ….. Previously owned ( not sure if he still owns them )  by Jonathan Davis, lead singer of American Heavy Metal Band “Korn .”

ABOVE: John Wayne Gacy pictured in jail, so say,  shortly before his execution by lethal injection

 

 

GREAT TRAIN ROBBER RONNIE BIGGS FUNERAL – THE FINAL JOURNEY 3RD JANUARY 2014

BELOW ORDER OF SERVICE FOR THE FUNERAL OF RONNIE BIGGS

RONNIE’S SON MICHAEL IN A PRIVATE MOMENT OUTSIDE  HIS HOME PRIOR TO THE HEARSE TAKING RONNIE ON HIS  FINAL JOURNEY TO GOLDERS GREEN CREMATORIUM

RONNIE’S  WICKER COFFIN INSIDE GOLDERS GREEN CREMATORIUM ADORNED WITH THE BRAZILIAN AND ENGLISH NATIONAL FLAGS, HIS ARSENAL SCARF AND TRILBY HAT 
BELOW ARE A COUPLE OF NEWS VIDEO FOOTAGE COVERING THE FUNERAL 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4xVLlV5EMU

BELOW IS HOW THE DAILY MAIL NEWSPAPER REPORTED THE FUNERAL

Ageing gangsters, Hell’s Angels taking selfies, a coffin draped in the BRAZILIAN flag… and a two-fingered floral salute: A fittingly tacky send-off for Ronnie Biggs

• Ronnie Biggs, the Great Train Robber, died last month aged 84
• Notorious prisoner Charles Bronson sent a bouquet of flowers
• He said in a message read to the funeral: ‘I do hope the royal family show their respect with a nice train wreath’
• Brazilian flag draped across Ronnie Biggs’ coffin
  
• Freddie Foreman, who had links to the Kray twins, among the mourners
• Biggs gave a two-fingered salute last time he was seen in public
• Today his coffin was taken to Golders Green Crematorium, north London with a similar floral tribute
• Great Train Robbers fled with £2.6m in 1963 – £46m in today’s money
• Train driver Jack Mills was beaten over the head and never fully recovered

Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, who spent much of his life cocking a snook at authority, was given an appropriate send off today.

He stuck two-fingers to the authorities for one last time – with an offensive floral tribute in the back of his hearse.

And in what could be seen as a final dig at British justice, the criminal’s coffin had a Union Flag draped across it which was almost completely covered by a Brazilian flag in reference to the time he spent on the run there.

After being jailed, Biggs escaped from Wandsworth Prison in 1965 and made his way to Rio five years later where he could not be extradited back to his homeland. He stayed there for 27 years before finally returning to the country.

At his funeral today, some of Britain’s best-known villains paid their respects in person – and those behind bars sent their messages of condolence.

 

Mourners: Ronnie Biggs’ coffin is carried into Golders Green crematorium, draped in a Brazilian flag with his trademark cap on the top. the criminal spent 27 years in Brazil before he returned to Britain

The Great Train Robber’s coffin, draped with a Union Flag, a Brazilian flag and a scarf of his beloved Arsenal football team is carried into Golders Green Crematorium

Funeral: Ronnie Biggs son Michael holds his father’s cap as he is comforted by Great Train Robbery ringleader Bruce Reynolds’ son Nick

Tribute: Biggs’s granddaughter Ingrid and son Michael speak during the funeral service

Emotion: Biggs’s granddaughter Ingrid is consoled by her father Michael, after delivering her speech

In loving memory: A copy of the order of service for the funeral of Ronnie Biggs

Nick Reynolds, son of Great Train Robber Bruce Reynolds gives a reading during the funeral service

Charles Bronson, one of the country’s longest-serving prisoners, sent a bouquet containing an old ten-bob note with the words ‘Ronnie Biggs RIP’ scrawled across it.

Biggs, who spend 36 years on the run in total, died last month aged 84 after a long battle with illness.

When Bruce Reynolds, the mastermind behind the notorious Great Train Robbery in 1963, died last year, Biggs took the opportunity to swear at journalists one last time.

Today Bruce’s son Nick was among the mourners at Golders Green Crematorium, in north London.

Freddie Foreman, a notorious East End crook with links to the Kray twins, and self-proclaimed former gangster Dave Courtney were also in attendance.

Final journey: Ronnie Biggs’ body is taken to his funeral escorted by Hells Angels outriders

Defiance: A two-fingered floral tribute is displayed in the back of Ronnie Biggs’ hearse this afternoon as his body is taken to the crematorium. He died last month aged 84

Funeral: Flanked by a posse of Hells Angels, the coffin is driven to the crematorium draped in two flags – and with Biggs’ cap on top

Final journey: Ronnie Biggs’ coffin is carried into the crematorium by Nick Reynolds, son of the Great Train Robbery ringleader Bruce

Respects: Ronnie Biggs’ coffin is carried into the crematorium this afternoon

Mourners: Hells Angel bikers and other wellwishers attend the funeral in north London

Escort: A police van and a row of cars follow the hearse to the funeral in north London

Grief: Michael Biggs, the Great Train Robber’s son, is seen in sunglasses at the funeral in north London

Send off: The Hells Angels bikers arrive at the funeral, leading the coffin to the crematorium

Send-off: The bikers arrive at the crematorium in Golders Green, north London, this afternoon

Tribute: A six-piece Dixie band joined the procession for the final part of the journey to the crematorium.
Leading the hearse and funeral cars, it played songs including When the Saints Come Marching In

Criminal: Notorious prisoner Charles Bronson sent a bouquet of flowers with an old ten bob note with ‘Ronnie Biggs RIP’ written on it

Final journey: The coffin is carried into Golders Green Crematorium this afternoon as Biggs is given a final send-off from family, gangsters and rogues

Defiance: Ronnie Biggs, seen last year when he made his final public appearance (left), gives a two-fingered salute. He was involved in the Great Train Robbery when he was much younger (right) in 1963

 

Friends say final farewell to Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs

Biggs’ coffin had both the Union Jack and the Brazilian flag draped across it – in reference to the time he spent on the run.

The robber and his co-conspirators made off with £2.6million – which is £46million in today’s money – when they hijacked a Royal Mail train in Ledburn, Buckinghamshire.

Jack Mills, the driver, was coshed over the head with an iron bar and never properly recovered from his injuries.

At Biggs’ funeral today, the Reverend Dave Thompson said: ‘People have asked me “How can you take part in the funeral of a Great Train Robber?”

‘What we need to remember is that Jesus didn’t hang out with hoity-toity folk, he just treated people as people.’

Mourners entered the church to the sound of the London Dixieland Jazz Band before the service began with the hymn Abide With Me by Scottish Anglican Henry Francis Lyte

A eulogy was read by Biggs’s son Michael before a Shakespeare sonnet chosen by Charmain Biggs and two of Biggs’s own poems read by his friend Cookie

Grief: Michael Biggs, pictured at the funeral this week, will tattoo in some of his father’s ashes into his arm

Respects: The actor Steven Berkoff was among the mourners at the funeral in north London today

Ex-wife: Charmain Powell, the former wife of Ronnie Biggs, is seen today on her way to the funeral

Mourner: Charmain Powell, the ex-wife of Ronnie Biggs, makes her way to his funeral in north London today

Old criminal: Freddie Foreman, a notorious East End crook with links to the Kray twins, arrives at Ronnie Biggs’ funeral

Tribute: Nick Reynolds, son of Bruce Reynolds who was the ringleader of the Great Train Robbery, arrives at Golders Green crematorium in north London

Mourner: Howard Marks arrives at the funeral this afternoon in north London

Mourner: His face covered in tattoos, a mourner arrives at Ronnie Biggs’ funeral in Golders Green, north London, this afternoon

Biggs’s son Michael cried as he paid homage to his father, saying; ‘I’m here to talk about Ron, Ronnie, to me simply dad.

‘Dad always had a way of looking at things and saying something that was fair and often funny.

‘Dad never made enemies and after arriving in Brazil he embraced the culture and became a carioca, someone from Rio.

‘He always had soft spot for the underdog and he considered himself to be one, he always had a few pennies for the street beggars.

‘He spoke the lingo and enjoyed the samba.

‘And parties, he knew about great parties, some were memorable and to this day there are still old hippies that I meet in Rio and say the biggest party they ever went to were with dad.

‘Dad thank you for all your love and strength when necessary, your screwed up way of parenting that many people did not understand, however it has worked.

‘Let’s celebrate his life with a proper booze up later on, ashes to ashes and dust to the beach.

‘Don’t worry mate, you are not paying for the booze.’

Funeral selfie: Hells Angel bikers pose for a selfie as they arrive at Ronnie Biggs’ funeral at Golders Green crematorium this afternoon

Mourner: A man arrives at Ronnie Biggs’ funeral at Golders Green crematorium this afternoon

Mourners: Ronnie Biggs, the Great Train Robber who spent 36 years on the run, died last month at the age of 83Bruce Reynolds’ son Nick described Biggs as ‘a great character, with charisma and what he called his kind of luck’.

Speaking about the ill health he had suffered in his last years, Mr Reynolds said: ‘Ronnie managed to hang on to life with great tenacity, dignity and humour.

‘The house was a wreck but the lights were on and Ron was very much at home.

‘The word legend is defined in the dictionary as an extremely famous or notorious person, especially in a particular field, and Ron certainly fits that description.’

He also read out an email from Bronson, who described Biggs as ‘staunch, solid, loyal to the end’.

‘Much respect to a diamond geezer,’ Bronson wrote. ‘I do hope the royal family show their respect with a nice train wreath.

‘Three cheers to you Ron, we love you buddy.’

Tribute: A man carries a floral tribute sent by Charles Bronson to the funeral. A note from the notorious criminal, daubed on an old ten bob note read ‘Ronnie Biggs RIP’

Grief: Guests arrive at Ronnie Biggs’ funeral in north London today after he died last month following a long illness

Crowd: Old criminals, family and friends of Ronnie Biggs attend the funeral of the convicted thief who spent 36 years on the run

‘From all your friends’: A bouquet of flowers from the Hells Angels bikers with a note which says ‘rest in peace Ron, love and respect’

Funeral: Self-proclaimed English former gangster Dave Courtney arrives at Ronnie Biggs’ funeral at Golders Green Crematorium today

Earlier, the funeral cortege, with a guard of honour formed by 13 Hells Angels bikers, left the home of Biggs’ son Michael and daughter-in-law Veronica in Barnet, north London.

Michael, who was wearing dark glasses and jeans with a skull and crossbones belt, met with mourners before the cortege set off.

Ronald Arthur ‘Ronnie’ Biggs, who spent more than three decades on the run, had been cared for at Carlton Court Care Home in East Barnet, north London, after suffering several strokes in recent years.

Funeral: Two men embrace outside Golders Green crematorium where Ronnie Biggs’ funeral was held

Mourners: Dressed in black, these people arrive at Ronnie Biggs’ funeral in Golders Green this afternoon

His carers at the home were among those joining the funeral procession today.

Close friend and writer Chris Pickard, who helped Biggs put together his autobiography Odd Man Out, said: ‘I am going to remember him as a great friend. He was great fun to be around.

‘I knew him in Rio and he was a great host and a very generous man.

‘People forget he was involved in just one major incident, one of the iconic crimes of the 20th century.

‘He always said he was the best witness to the Great Train Robbery, he played a very minor part in it, but people always link it to him.

‘But if he hadn’t gone over the prison wall, he wouldn’t have been remembered – there were 16 people at the track but it’s only people like him, Buster Edwards and Bruce Reynolds that get remembered all these years later.

‘Ronnie kept in the news by being on the run for all those years, getting himself kidnapped, it is amazing – he has been in the news virtually every year for the last 50 years and very few people can say that.’

Press pack: Photographers compete for space outside Golders Green Crematorium

Grief: The crowd of mourners at Golders Green crematorium in north London this afternoon

Crowd: People watch as Ronnie Biggs’ coffin leaves his home and heads to the crematorium in north LondonAsked about the presence of former gangsters at the funeral, Mr Pickard said: ‘He probably wouldn’t know them – he wasn’t involved in that, he was more involved, especially in Brazil, with the arts, music, things like that.

‘His friends were from a huge base of artists and musicians, he didn’t really have that many friends in the criminal fraternity.’

Biggs was released from prison in 2009 on compassionate grounds due to ill health, despite being re-arrested in 2001 upon his return to the UK after evading the authorities since his first escape from Wandsworth Prison in 1965.

At the time of his escape, Biggs had served just 15 months of the 30-year sentence he was handed for his part in the robbery of a Royal Mail freight train between London and Glasgow on August 8, 1963.

After having plastic surgery, he lived as a fugitive for 36 years first in Australia then Brazil, where Michael was born. His son later became the key to him being allowed to stay in the country and not face extradition. Biggs’s money eventually ran out and he traded on his notoriety to scrape a living.

Speaking last year, he said he was proud to have been part of the gang behind the robbery, which saw 15 men escape with a record haul.

Biggs, who could not speak due to his strokes and communicated through a spelling board, said: ‘If you want to ask me if I have any regrets about being one of the train robbers, my answer is, “No”.

‘I will go further: I am proud to have been one of them.’

He did admit to some regrets, however.

‘It is regrettable, as I have said many times, that the train driver was injured,’ he said.

Final sendoff: Draped in both a British flag and a Brazilian flag – in honour of the South American country where he spent so many years on the run – Ronnie Biggs’ coffin is taken to his funeral

Hells Angels: The bikers went in front of the funeral cortege as the coffin was driven to the crematorium

Tribute act: The bikers arrive at Ronnie Biggs’ family’s home in Barnet, north London, to make the journey to the crematorium

Defiant to the last: Thief Ronnie Biggs swears at photographers at the funeral of fellow Great Train Robber Bruce Reynolds last year

Living it up: Ronnie Biggs relaxes in Brazil in 1997 where he spent 36 years on the run from British justice before returning to get medical care

Notorious: Ronnie Biggs, who died last month, revelled in the fame his heinous crime brought him

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R.I.P GREAT TRAIN ROBBER AND ICONIC FIGURE RONNIE BIGGS …8TH AUGUST 1929 – 18TH DECEMBER 2013

LOVE HIM OR LOATHE HIM …. CERTAINLY ONE OF THE UK’S MOST ICONIC PETTY CRIMINALS WHO BECAME A HOUSEHOLD NAME WORLDWIDE AS A RESULT OF BEING PART OF THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY GANG OF 1963. SUBSEQUENTLY ESCAPING TO A CELEBRITY LIFESTYLE IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL BEFORE RETUNING TO THE UK WHERE HE SERVED A FURTHER TERM IN PRISON BEFORE BEING RELEASED IN 2009 ON COMPASSIONATE GROUNDS. SPENDING THE REMAINDER  OF HIS LIFE UNDER PRISON LICENCE IN A CARE HOME IN BARNET UNTIL HIS SUDDEN DEATH ON 18TH DECEMBER  2013 , AGED 84.

 

 

‘I hope he will be remembered as a gentle, fine man’: Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs’ son pays tribute to his father as he reveals he plans to scatter his ashes in Brazil

• Legendary criminal dies at North London home at the age of 84
• He had been in poor health since returning to Britain from Brazil in 2001
• Found fame as he taunted the authorities during his decades on the run
  
• Biggs was part of the gang which targeted a train in 1963 and made off with £2.6million in cash – worth £40million today
• Two-part drama about the Great Train Robbery begins tonight on BBC1

The son of Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs today paid tribute to his son saying he hoped he would be remembered as ‘gentle, generous and fine man’.

His son Michael announced the death of his father this morning – less than 24 hours before a TV drama about the notorious crime is broadcast on BBC1.

Speaking from his house on Stanhope Road, which is close to the care home, Michael, 39, said: ‘I want to say thanks to him for all the love he gave me and who he turned me into as a person.

Old age: Biggs with his son Michael who paid tribute to his father and said he hoped to bury his ashes in Brazil

 

‘He was always present, very present in my life. He was always there for me and when my mother left, he was my mum and my dad all my life.

‘I always knew about everything growing up but it was just part of my life.

‘I’m sad for all the family. Hopefully he will be remembered as a good father, and a gentle, generous and fine man.

‘I haven’t thought about the funeral yet as it’s only been 12 hours since he died but I’ll maybe scatter his ashes in Brazil.’

But today many people spoke out against such warm descriptions of Biggs, saying that his crimes mean he does not deserve to be celebrated.

Mugshot: Biggs was jailed for his role in the Great Train Robbery, but escaped after just 15 months

 

‘Ronnie Biggs was a violent criminal who evaded facing justice for decades,’ tweeted Tory MEP candidate Daniel Hamilton. ‘I find today’s gushing eulogies slightly offensive.’

Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, added: ‘While naturally we feel sorry for Mr Biggs’s family at this time, we have always regarded Biggs as a nonentity, and a criminal, who took part in a violent robbery which resulted in the death of a train driver.

‘Jack Mills, who was 57 at the time of the robbery, never properly recovered from the injuries he suffered after being savagely coshed by the gang of which Biggs was a member that night.’

In a remarkable coincidence, tonight the BBC is showing the first part of a drama series which marks the 50th anniversary of the 1963 Great Train Robbery.

The first film, A Robber’s Tale, focuses on the story of mastermind Bruce Reynolds as he masterminds the raid on the Royal Mail train, while the second instalment, A Copper’s Tale, tells the story from the perspective of DCS Tommy Butler, the officer leading the investigation.

Biggs became a household name as a result of his part in the gang which stole £2.6million (the equivalent of £40million today) from a train that they forced to stop at a bridge in Cheddington, Buckinghamshire.

He shot to legendary status a couple of years later, however, when he escaped from prison and went on the run and he was one of the last known robbers from the incident still alive.

Taunting: Ronnie Biggs, who has died at the age of 84, pictured while on the run in Brazil

Defiant: Biggs flashed the V-sign at photographers at the funeral of Bruce Reynolds in March

Arrest: Biggs pictured after being apprehended by police in the wake of robbery

 

 

He spent 30 years evading British justice, getting plastic surgery in France before heading to Australia and later Brazil where he had a son with a local woman meaning he could not be extradited.

The last time he was seen in public was in March this year when his character shone through as he flicked Vs at photographers despite appearing to be extremely unwell.

More…

• ‘Peru Two’ could be freed in less than three years and serve part of sentence in UK: Girls jailed for attempting to smuggle £1.5m worth of cocaine
• Doomsday comes for preacher who predicted world would end in 2011 as he dies, age 92
• Ronnie Biggs: The small time crook whose first crime was stealing pencils who went on become Britain’s most notorious villain

 

 

He returned to the UK from exile in Rio de Janeiro in 2001 against the wishes of his family, saying he wanted to go to a pub in Margate ‘as an Englishman and buy a pint of bitter’ – a wish he never got to fulfil.

Announcing his death at Carlton Court Care Home in East Barnet, his son Michael said today: ‘I’m sorry to say my Dad passed away in the early hours.’

Biggs’s involvement in the Great Train Robbery has long been debated with some suggesting he was only involved because he could recruit a train driver to move the train once it had been stopped at a false set of signals.

Others suggest that he was the one who hit train driver Jack Mills around the head causing injuries that he never fully recovered from.

 

 

 

 

Still sticking two fingers up: Ronnie Biggs’ defiant March 2013

Biggs, pictured with his wife Charmian in 1974, was sentenced to 30 years’ behind bars on April 15, 1964, but was to serve just 15 months in prison

 

 

The wreckage of the car in which Biggs’s son Nicholas, aged 10, was killed in a two car crash near Melbourne

Speaking to Nicky Campbell on Radio 1 in 2000 – before his return to the UK – Biggs said his share of the money had been £147,000, but he had quickly spent the loot.

‘I squandered it totally – within three years it was all gone,’ he said. Since then he had been ‘living on my name only,’ he added.

His ghostwriter said today that Biggs would be known as ‘one of the great characters’ – but an expert on the robbery dismissed him as an ‘idiot’.

Christopher Pickard, who collaborated on the thief’s memoirs, told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4: ‘People will remember him as one of the great characters of the last 50 years.

Youth: Biggs pictured in an early police mugshot, before he left Britain for a life in exile

Biggs and 11 other robbers were jailed for a combined total of more than 300 years for the robbery. Pictured is Biggs’s police record sheet

Decades earlier: Three of the robbers covered in blankets leave a court hearing in 1963

‘You have people who would still say hanging is too good for him and others who like him.’

However, Anthony Delano, who has written a book on the Great Train Robbery, said that Biggs was an ‘idiot’, adding: ‘He was a small-time South London crook who nobody wanted on the team because he was a weak link.’

Biggs always portrayed himself as a lovable personality who spurned violence, insisting he was a ‘crook’ rather than a ‘criminal’.

Lobbyist Alex Deane added: ‘Biggs wasn’t a cuddly heart of gold cockney character to be feted. His gang beat a man with an iron bar, ruining his life.’

And writer Sali Hughes said: ‘RIP member of gang who beat an innocent train driver minding his own business with an iron bar. You were a real “character”.’

Target: The train after it had been ransacked by Biggs and his fellow thieves in Buckinghamshire

Scene: The train parked on an embankment in Buckinghamshire in the aftermath of the robbery

 

Investigation: Police walk along the railway lines while looking into the circumstances of the crime

The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association today tweeted: ‘In case today’s media confuses you: attacking railway staff with an iron bar to the extent they’re barely able to work again really isn’t OK.’

The retired police officer who was the first person to discover the robbers’ hideaway at Leatherslade Farm said today that Biggs was a ‘self-publicist’ who had managed to inflate his own role at the expense of his fellow plotters.

‘The reality is that amongst the robbers, Ronnie Biggs was a bit of a nonentity – not at all involved in planning the robbery or even carrying it out,’ John Woolley told MailOnline.

‘He’s the man who has had all the publicity, and arguably he’s had the benefits because he lived the high life for 30 years.

‘He was a colourful character. Being a bit of a self-publicist, he absolutely capitalised on being involved in the “crime of the century”.’

Conspirators: Bruce Reynolds, left, and Charlie Wilson, right, two of the ringleaders of the Great Train Robbery

Gang: Buster Roberts, left, and John Daly, right, were both arrested in the wake of the heist

 

Jailed: Roy James spent 12 years in prison for his part in the Great Train Robbery

Mr Woolley added that it is important to remember the violent nature of the Great Train Robbery, even if Biggs was less responsible for this than some of the others.

‘It’s too easy to forget that this was a greedy, vicious crime that completely shattered the life of at least one person,’ he said.

‘The only reason the Great Train Robbery wasn’t recorded as a veritable bloodbath was because the only person who stood in their way was the train driver.’

A detective who was part of the original investigation said he was pleased to have outlived Biggs, who he claimed lived ‘a charmed life’.

Retired Detective Constable John Bailey was first on the scene of the robbery, and took hundreds of photographs which were used as evidence.

The former policeman said today: ‘When I found out about Ronnie Biggs’s death I was glad, he has lived a charmed life, quite frankly.

‘Despite his crimes, he has been living it up. He then came back here on the scrounge and got put in a nursing home.

‘He was a very ordinary bloke really, he needed the money as we all do I suppose. But when this came along he knew the right people as he used to be part of a clan or gang of those sorts.

‘I am glad I have outlived him because otherwise my work would not have been worthwhile.’

But Nick Reynolds, an artist and musician who is the son of robbery mastermind Bruce, insisted that Biggs was a ‘great guy’ who was misunderstood.

‘He was like an uncle figure to me,’ he told Sky News. ‘I used to visit him in Brazil – in fact, I was with him when he flew back.

‘Before he lost the power of speech, he was a great guy. There was a lot more to him that the media cartoon figure that was portrayed – he was very intelligent, very well-read, loved jazz.

‘He was a great wit and raconteur – he was a man’s man.’

 

The gang hid at Leatherslade Farm (pictured) following the train robbery but they quit the site hurriedly after they became aware police were hot on their scent

 

A spade in a hole dug at Leatherslade Farm by the train robbers to burn the mailbags

Victim: Train driver Jack Mills was unable to work after being attacked during the robbery

 

HOW THE ‘CRIME OF THE CENTURY’ UNFOLDED LEADING TO THE THEFT OF £2.6MILLION IN BANKNOTES

The country was left stunned after a train was hijacked and robbed 35 miles from its London destination in August 1963.

A 17-strong gang launched the raid on the overnight service from Glasgow at the Bridego Railway Bridge in Ledburn, Buckinghamshire in the early hours of August 8 in what has been dubbed the ‘crime of the century’.

Led by the charismatic Bruce Reynolds, the group of criminals pulled off the notorious heist, making off with £2.6million – the equivalent of £40million today.

The train was stopped at a set of fixed signals which the gang had switched, leading driver Jack Mills to go and investigate.

He was knocked out by an iron bar wielded by an unknown member of the gang, forcing him to give up work, and he died seven years later.

Following an outcry over Charmian Biggs cashing in on her husband’s crime by selling her story to the Press, the Daily Mail sponsored a fund to help Mills’s family, raising more than £34,000 by the time of his death.

The bulk of the huge haul has never been recovered.

The gang shared out the proceeds at isolated Leatherslade Farm – Biggs taking around £148,000 – but thereafter things started to go badly wrong, with nearly all the gang members being rounded up by the police.

In fact, the Leatherslade Farm hide-out was a huge mistake on the part of the gang. The police were telling reporters that they were looking for an isolated farm which had just changed hands and which was 25 miles from the scene of the crime. Leatherslade met every one of these requirements.

When the gang became aware that the police were hot on their scent, they quit the farm hurriedly, leaving behind scores of tell-tale fingerprints.

Most of the ringleaders were quickly rounded up, and 11 of the robbers got jail sentences ranging from 14 to 30 years.

Despite Biggs’s elevated reputation as a ‘Great Train Robber’, his one job in the robbery on August 8, 1963 – to provide the team with a train driver – was an utter failure.

The robbers needed to move the mail train around half a mile from the signal box where it was stopped to Bridego Bridge, where a truck was waiting to load the loot.

Biggs was tasked with finding a driver and provided a retired railway man known as ‘Stan Agate’. But despite his years of experience, the driver was unable to operate the new-style locomotive.

When it became clear the driver was useless, he and Biggs were banished to the waiting truck to help load the mail bags.

No guns were used, but driver Jack Mills was coshed and left unconscious by an unidentified assailant, suffered constant headaches for the rest of his life and died in 1970 from leukaemia.

Two of the robbers, Charlie Wilson and Biggs, escaped from Wandsworth Prison within two years of being jailed – Biggs scaled a wall with a rope ladder.

Biggs then spent 36 years on the run, living mainly in Brazil where he would taunt the British police and boast about his notoriety to unsuspecting tourists.

However, in 2001 he returned home to face arrest, when he had grown tired of his life in exile and required medical treatment which he could not afford to pay for, after he had suffered three strokes.

He was eventually freed from jail in 2009 on ‘compassionate grounds’ by then Justice Secretary Jack Straw.

Three years before the robbery, Biggs married his wife Charmian, with whom he had three sons.

They joined him in Australia after his escape from prison, and began a new life together using fake new identities.

When police discovered who he really was, they raided the family home – but Biggs had fled a day earlier, leaving his wife and children behind.

The fugitive ended up in Brazil while Charmian and the boys continued living in Australia, where in 1970 son Nicholas died in a car accident at the age of 10.

While living in Rio, Biggs began an affair with Raimunda de Castro, a nightclub dancer 18 years his junior, and the couple had a son, Michael, in 1974.

The birth of the boy meant that Biggs could no longer be extradited, as the parents of Brazilian citizens cannot be deported from the country.

Michael – who later became a well-known musician in his homeland – tried to dissuade his father from returning to Britain, and been one of his most outspoken supporters.

By contrast, his other two surviving sons, Farley and Chris, are said to have little contact with him, as they are angry at him for abandoning them and betraying their mother.

BBC show The Great Train Robbery to air on Wed 18 Dec

Reconstruction: A scene from a BBC drama on the Great Train Robbery which premieres tonight

Cast: The gang of robbers as depicted in the BBC’s drama, including Jack Gordon as Biggs, second right

 

Gang: The programme’s depiction of the thugs who orchestrated the carefully planned robbery

Portrayal: Jack Gordon playing Biggs in the BBC television drama which will begin tonight

 

Biggs divorced Charmian even though she had flown to Rio to try and save their marriage, and in 2002 he married Raimunda in a prison chapel.

In July, just days before the 50th anniversary of the Great Train Robbery, Biggs insisted he was ‘proud’ of the crime that made him a household name.

‘If you want to ask me if I have any regrets about being one of the train robbers, my answer is no,’ he said via an alphabet board.

‘I will go further: I am proud to have been one of them. I was there that August night and that is what counts. I am one of the few witnesses – living or dead – to what was the crime of the century.’

The small-time crook who became one of the world’s most wanted men but crafted a ‘cheeky chappy’ persona to court public favour

Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs’s place in the annals of crime owed more to his status as a notorious fugitive than his prowess as a villain.

His conviction for his part in the most celebrated robbery in the history of British crime and his subsequent escape and high-profile life in Rio de Janeiro brought him worldwide notoriety in which he seemed to revel.

But at the age of 71, and in failing health after three strokes, Biggs announced he was ending his 35-year exile.

He was penniless and needed vital medical treatment in Britain which he could not afford in Brazil.

Biggs holds his son Michael, aged six weeks, while the baby’s mother, Raimunda Nascimento de Castro, fixes the infant’s clothing

Biggs, pictured with his son Michael in 1981, the same year the Great Train Robber was kidnapped in Rio by a gang of adventurers

Ignoring protests from his family, including son Michael who begged him to reconsider, he sent an email to Scotland Yard informing them that he wanted to give himself up and needed a passport.

He struck a deal with The Sun newspaper which flew him back to Britain in May 2001 on an executive jet stocked with curry, Marmite and beer.

Explaining his reasons for turning himself in, Biggs said: ‘I am a sick man. My last wish is to walk into a Margate pub as an Englishman and buy a pint of bitter. I hope I live long enough to do that.’

But he was immediately arrested on his arrival in this country and found himself back in a dock later that day, a dribbling husk of the cocky cockney villain he had been last time he faced a judge.

Lambeth-born Ronald Arthur Biggs had been, essentially, a small-time crook who suddenly and unexpectedly found himself in the big league.

He was born on August 8, 1929, and his first court appearance came as a 15-year-old in January 1945 – for stealing pencils from Littlewoods.

In 1950, Biggs cut an absurd figure in the robbery of a bookie in Lambeth Road. His contribution was to ask the bookie’s wife for her handbag.

‘When she did not have one, Biggs picked up a vase as though to hit her,’ reads the court report of the case.

Nine convictions and 13 years later he was given the chance to play a bit part in a robbery on an altogether grander scale and, by accepting it, set himself on the path to a lifetime of infamy.

ARCHIVE: Royal Mail train Biggs held up in Great Train Robbery

 

 

Courting notoriety: Biggs pictured in Brazil in 1992, when he was one of the world’s most wanted criminals

 

Ronnie Biggs, pictured in Brazil in 1992, spent 36 years on the run, during which time he would taunt the British police and boast about his notoriety

 

Biggs, pictured in Brazil in 1992, raised money during lean times in Rio by selling T-shirts of himself and entertaining Japanese tourists, posing in pictures with them for £25 a time

 

He joined the gang which held up the Royal Mail night train from Glasgow to London on his 34th birthday, August 8, 1963, and stole £2.6million worth of banknotes.

Biggs’s role was to find a driver for the train, but the man he found was unable to control it properly.

The hold-up, at Sears Crossing in Buckinghamshire, was planned in minute detail and, initially at least, was a spectacular success.

‘One report said that since my time on the run I’ve had 2,500 girlfriends. I mean you got to realise, I’ve been on the run for more than 30 years, I have got to have had more than that.’

The gang shared out the proceeds at isolated Leatherslade Farm – Biggs taking around £148,000 – but thereafter things started to go badly wrong, with nearly all the gang members being rounded up by the police.

When the gang became aware that the police were hot on their scent, they quit the farm hurriedly, leaving tell-tale fingerprints.

It was then but a matter of time before most of the ringleaders were rounded up. Eleven of the robbers got jail sentences ranging from 14 to 30 years.

Sentenced to 30 years’ behind bars on April 15, 1964, Biggs was to serve just 15 months in prison.

On July 8, 1965, he made a daring escape from Wandsworth prison. While other prisoners created a diversion in the exercise yard, Biggs scaled a wall with a rope ladder and dropped onto a furniture van parked alongside.

After a brief stopover in Paris for £40,000 worth of plastic surgery to change his appearance, he travelled to Australia, entering the country on a false passport using an assumed name.

 

Return: Biggs being transported to court after he came back to Britain in 2001

In the dock: Biggs pictured in court in 2001 after finally agreeing to return to Britain

For several months he ran a boarding house in Adelaide, using the name Terry King, and in June 1966 his wife Charmian and two children joined him, also on false passports.

The family moved first to Perth and then to Melbourne, where Biggs took a job as a foreman carpenter at a local airport in the name of Cooke.

In 1968 came a breakthrough for his pursuers. Biggs had formed a business partnership with another fugitive from British justice. His partner was arrested and the trail began to hot up.

‘There’s a difference between criminals and crooks. Crooks steal. Criminals blow some guy’s brains out. I’m a crook.’

But a year later, a security slip allowed the elusive Biggs to slip the net yet again. A Melbourne newspaper published a story that the manhunt was being renewed in the city and the report was taken up by TV.

A day before police swooped on his home, Biggs had packed a suitcase and disappeared – without even taking the family.

Once again the trail went cold. Throughout 1970 and 1971, there were reports of sightings in Hong Kong, South Africa and Japan, but there were no firm leads as to Biggs’s precise whereabouts.

In fact, he was building a new life for himself in Brazil. In the sunshine city of Rio de Janeiro the fugitive, now calling himself Michael Haynes, carved out a new career as a jobbing carpenter.

Reunion: Biggs with Bruce Reynolds, said to be the mastermind of the robbery, at his 70th birthday party

 

His peace was shattered on February 1, 1974, when he was tracked down in Rio by the Daily Express reporter Colin MacKenzie – and shortly afterwards by Detective Inspector Jack Slipper of Scotland Yard.

But the Yard’s efforts to get Biggs back to Britain were foiled by Brazilian law.

Biggs had got his Brazilian lover Raimunda de Castro pregnant, and, as the father of a Brazilian child, had won himself immunity from extradition.

‘It has been rumoured that I was the brains of the robbery, but that was totally incorrect. I’ve been described as the tea boy, which is also incorrect.’

Michael, his son, was later to find fame in Brazil as a pop star.

In March, 1981, Biggs was kidnapped in Rio by a gang of adventurers and smuggled to Barbados by boat. Their aim was to bring him back to Britain.

But the Barbados High Court decided the rules governing extradition to Britain had not been properly put before the island’s Parliament, and Biggs pulled off another Houdini-like escape, being allowed to return to Rio.

In 1978, Biggs made a record, No One is Innocent, with the Sex Pistols. During lean times in Rio, he also raised money by selling T-shirts of himself and entertaining Japanese tourists, posing in pictures with them for £25 a time.

He suffered his first stroke in 1998 and two more quickly followed, ending his days of beaches and parties, and starting the chain of events that led to his return to Britain and a life as prisoner 002731.

Old age: Biggs shown launching his memoirs in 2011, when he was afflicted with illness

Frail: This picture released by Biggs’s lawyers in 2009 shows how ill he was during his last few years

Barely a month back in his home country, a fourth stroke followed and Biggs was moved from prison to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich.

He was returned to the top-security Belmarsh Prison in south-east London after a week where he was fed through a drip as his health continued to decline.

In August, a few days after his 72nd birthday, he was rushed back to hospital for an emergency blood transfusion.

He was rushed to hospital again three months later after vomiting and passing blood.

On July 10, 2002 Biggs finally married his son Michael’s Brazilian mother Raimunda in a ceremony at Belmarsh jail. He was too ill to say his vows and held up a card which read ‘I do’.

Although permanently linked together by their participation in one of Britain’s most notorious crimes, Biggs and the surviving train robbers saw each other rarely in later years.

The Monopoly set played by the Great Train Robbers while lying low at Leatherslade Farm

 

The robbers were rumoured to have used real cash stolen from the job to play the board game with

But the gang’s leader Bruce Reynolds did visit his old partner in crime in Belmarsh, and found that he could only communicate using a pointer and alphabet.He said: ‘By that time Ronnie had had three major strokes and he found it difficult to communicate. This guy was a very jovial character with a great sense of humour and a very strong guy physically and my heart was saddened by the condition he was in.’

‘I am no longer a criminal. I gave up that practice years ago.’

Appeals to have Biggs released met with deaf ears. In October 2003 an appeal against his sentence was thrown out by a High Court judge as ‘hopeless’ and ‘misconceived’.

Biggs was moved from Belmarsh to Norwich Prison in July 2007 to live on a unit for elderly inmates.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw refused him parole in 2009 and accused him of being ‘wholly unrepentant’ about his crimes.

But Biggs was old and severely ill, lying in a bed in Norwich Hospital with pneumonia, fractures of the hip, pelvis and spine.

After his four strokes he was unable to eat, speak or walk.

He was finally granted compassionate release from his prison sentence on August 6 2009, just two days before his 80th birthday.

Audacious thieves who shocked the nation: Where all of the Great Train Robbers ended up

Bruce Reynolds (left): The crook regarded as the mastermind of the Great Train robbery died in February aged 81. A career criminal who enjoyed the high life and drove an Aston Martin, Reynolds was a notorious jewel thief and housebreaker who formed the 17-strong gang which held up the Royal Mail travelling post office in Buckinghamshire as it ran between Glasgow and London. After the robbery, using a series of aliases and a false passport, Reynolds went on the run in Mexico and Canada for five years with his wife and young son before returning to Britain when the cash ran out. Justice eventually caught up with him in Torquay in 1968 and he was sentenced to 25 years in jail. He was released on parole in 1978 and moved, penniless, into a tiny flat off London’s Edgware Road. In the 1980s he was jailed for three years for dealing amphetamines. He died earlier this year.

Charles Frederick (Charlie) Wilson (right): The treasurer whose role was to give the robbers their cut of the haul. He earned the nickname ‘the silent man’ after he was captured because he refused to say anything during his trial. Jailed for 30 years but escaped after four months. Was captured in Canada four years later and severed another ten years in jail. Moved to Spain in 1978 where he was shot and killed by a hitman on a bicycle in 1990.

Ronald ‘Buster’ Edwards (left): Fled to Mexico after the robbery but gave himself up in 1966. After nine years in jail he became a familiar figure selling flowers outside London Waterloo. Killed himself in 1994 at the age of 62. He was played by singer Phil Collins in the 1988 film Buster.

Roy James (right): The chief getaway driver left a fingerprint at the gang’s farm hideout and was caught following a rooftop chase. He moved to Spain after serving 12 years of a 30 year sentence. He was jailed again for six years in 1993 for shooting his wife’s father and hitting her with a pistol, and died soon after being released, at the age of 62.

Tommy Wisbey (left): One of the ‘heavies’ of the gang, Wisbey was there to frighten the train staff. Was jailed for 30 years and released in 1976 before being jailed for another ten years in 1989 for dealing cocaine. After being released he lived in north London, where he suffered a number of strokes. He is still alive.

Jimmy Hussey (right): ‘Big Jim’ died last year after apparently making a deathbed confession claiming he was the gang member who coshed the train driver. He was sentenced to 30 years for the robbery. After he was released in 1975 he eventually opened a restaurant in Soho after working on a market stall. He was convicted for assault in 1981. He was then jailed for seven years, eight years later, for a drug smuggling conspiracy, along with Wisbey. He died in November 2012, aged 79, from cancer.

Roger Cordrey (left): Was jailed for 20 years after being arrested in Bournemouth. He was caught after renting a lock-up from a policeman’s widow. His sentence was reduced to 14 years on appeal. The florist returned to the flower business after he was released in 1971 and moved to the West Country. He has now died.

Jimmy White (right): The ‘quartermaster’ for the robbery. The former Paratrooper was caught in Kent after being on the run for three years and was sentenced to 18 years. He moved to Sussex after being released in 1975. He has now died.

 

Douglas Gordon Goody (below): Was released in 1975 after being sentenced to 30 years in jail. After being released the hairdresser moved to Spain to run a bar, and he still lives there.

Douglas Gordon Goody was sentenced to 30 years in jail and was released in 1975

 

Bobby Welch: Was also jailed for 30 years and released in 1976. The nightclub boss was left crippled after an operation on his leg went wrong. After being released from jail he became a gambler and a car dealer in London. He is still alive

Brian Field: The solicitor was used to make the arrangement to buy the farm hideout used after the robbery. Jailed for 25 years, which was later reduced to five. He later died in a motorway crash in 1979.

John Wheater: A solicitor who was sentenced to three years for conspiring to pervert the course of justice. He was released in 1966 and went to live in Surrey. Believed to be dead.

Bill Boal: An engineer who was arrested with Roger Cordrey in possession of £141,000. Reynolds said he had never heard of Boal. He claimed Boal was not involved in the robbery and was ‘an innocent man’. Boal was charged with receiving stolen goods and jailed for 24 years, which was reduced to 14 on appeal. He died of cancer in jail in 1970.

Leonard Field: A former merchant seaman, Field was sentenced to 25 years, which was later reduced to five. He was released from jail in 1967 and went to live in north London. Believed to be dead.

 

 

 

THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY 50TH ANNIVERSARY …. 8TH AUGUST 2013

5O YEARS ON ….. HERE’S A BIT MORE INTERACTIVE MATERIAL , AND VIDEO FOOTAGE ETC RELATING TO THIS NOW TIMELESS AND ICONIC GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY 

Police investigation into the Great Train Robbery is commemorated on 50th anniversary of infamous crime

Detectives who investigated the Great Train Robbery were praised for solving the ‘crime of the century – 50 years after the infamous heist took place.

Eighteen retired Buckinghamshire Constabulary investigators and backroom staff were reunited at Eynsham Hall in Witney, Oxfordshire.

They received commendations on the eve of the £2.6 million robbery’s 50th anniversary from Thames Valley Police chief constable Sara Thornton.

Twelve of the robbers were jailed for a combined total of more than 300 years after they stopped the Glasgow to Euston overnight mail train, which was carrying huge numbers of used bank notes, as it passed through the Buckinghamshire countryside close to Cheddington on August 8 1963.

Praised: John Woolley (left) and Keith Milner who worked on the case of the Great Train Robbery at a ceremony where they received commendations from current Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Sara Thornton

 

Anniversary: A cake made to mark the 50th anniversary of the Great Train Robbery

 

Well done: Keith Milner, who worked on the case of the Great Train Robbery, at a ceremony where he received a commendation from current Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Sara Thornton at Eynsham Hall, Witney, Oxfordshire

Evidence: A Monopoly board used by the robbers in their hideout and some notes stolen from the train were on show at last night’s celebration

Keith Milner, now 78, was the duty detective at Aylesbury on the night of the robbery.

Then aged 28, he was woken by a call at 5am letting him know there had been a burglary near Cheddington.

‘I said “what’s gone?” and they said “a train”,’ he explained last night.

 

 

‘An early call generally meant a long day and this was no exception. In those days we got dressed – suit, collar and tie – and off we went.’

After first collecting evidence on the railtrack, Mr Milner spent nine months attached to the investigation as the officer in charge of exhibits.

He was instrumental during the subsequent court case and worked shoulder to shoulder with Scotland Yard legends such as Leonard ‘Nipper’ Read, later responsible for bringing down the East End gangland empire ruled by the Kray twins.

Infamous: Detectives pictured at the scene near Cheddington following the most notorious heist of the 20th century, The Great Train Robbery

Manhunt: Police Superintendent Malcom Fewtrell of Buckinghamshire Constabulary C.I.D. is pictured (left) with Detective Gerald McArthur (right) of Scotland Yard investigating the mail train robbery

 

Looking for clues: Investigators are pictured examining the train after the robbery 50 years ago

 

Investigation: Police offfered a £10,000 reward for information on the robbery. Their investigation eventually saw 12 gang members jailed for a combined total of more than 300 years

Closing in: Detective Superintendent Gerald McArthur is pictured searching for clues in the grounds of the suspects’ hideout

John Woolley was a 25-year-old PC who had been on the job for four years when he discovered Leatherslade Farm, the abandoned hideout the men had used after committing their crime.

Now 75, he explained how he was sent to the property to investigate ‘suspicious comings and goings’ after police received a tip off.

Among items officers found at the scene was a Monopoly set which the robbers had used to kill time, playing with real £5 notes taken from their loot.

The original board game was on display last night at the commendation ceremony after it was discovered by TV’s Antiques Roadshow.

‘I just happened to be at that place at that time,’ Mr Woolley said at the ceremony.

‘What I did any of my colleagues could and would have done and perhaps done better.’

Asked about robber Ronnie Biggs, the former policeman said: ‘He is perhaps one of the robbers who got some enjoyment, some satisfaction, out of his share of the loot.

‘He did, for a while, live the high life in Brazil, no doubt about that.

 

How the scene of the infamous Great Train Robbery looks today

Success: The investigation led to 12 of the robbers being caught and jailed for their role in the crime. Here three of the suspects are pictured being led away from Linslade Court with blankets over their heads

 

Clues: Police officers look pleased with themselves as they load evidence from the gang’s hideaway into police cars

 

Breakthrough: Police stand guard outside Leatherslade Farm at Oakley in Buckinghamshire, used as a hide-out by the Great Train Robbers

 

Wanted: Police issued mugshots of the men wanted in connection with the robbery in the weeks that followed including this one of Buster Edwards and his wife June

Hunted: Mugshots of Bruce Reynolds (left) and Roy James (right) were also issued by detectives in the aftermath of the £2.6 million robbery

‘But he was finally arrested, he is now a very sick man and I’m surprised that he is making all these comments after we have been told time and time again that he is hardly able to speak.

‘Good luck to him, but he is a sick man.

‘Me? I’m still surviving, I shall be going home tonight to my home to my supper – he won’t.’

Mr Woolley also said he had been saddened to learn of Reynolds’ death and recalled how the criminal mastermind had even sent him a Christmas card one year.

Chief Constable Thornton said: ‘The coverage in the newspapers and the discussion is always about the offenders in this notorious crime.

‘I wanted to balance that by thanking the police officers and police staff who played a very important role in making sure that those men were brought to justice 50 years ago.’

Scene guard: Police officers are pictured at Leatherslade Farm hideout shortly after it was discovered by officers

 

Evidence: Items seized from Leatherslade Farm, including a Monopoly set used by the gang, are pictured

 

Hiding place: Police eventually found £35,000 stashed in the walls of a caravan owned by Great Train Robber James White

Enlarge 

No regrets: Ronnie Biggs, whose Interpol notice is pictured (left) said recently that his only regret in connection with the robbery is that train driver Jack Mills (right) and the families of those involved suffered

Two of the robbers, Charlie Wilson and most famously Biggs, escaped jail, with Biggs spending more than 30 years on the run after returning to Britain in 2001 to face arrest.

He was eventually freed in 2009 on ‘compassionate grounds’ by then Justice Secretary Jack Straw.

The mastermind behind the gang, Bruce Reynolds fled to Mexico and later Canada following the crime but returned to the UK and was jailed for 25 years in 1968.

He served 10 years before his release and died back in February.

Two police officers who were involved in the investigation will attend tonight’s event alongside serving Thames Valley Police officers at Eynsham Hall in Witney, Oxfordshire.

Keith Milner was a detective at Aylesbury at the time of the robbery, while John Woolley was a PC and discovered Leatherslade Farm, where the men hid after committing the crime.

Memories: Retired Chief inspector John Wolley is pictured sharing a laugh with Bruce Reynolds, the mastermind behind the crime on the 40th anniversary of the heist ten years ago

Mastermind: Bruce Reynolds at Oakley Village Hall, Buckinghamshire, during a village fete on the 40th anniversary of the robbery

Last month Biggs insisted he was proud to have been part of the gang.

He is currently being cared for in a north London nursing home and said he has few regrets about the crime that made him a household name.

Biggs, who cannot speak and communicates through a spelling board, said: ‘If you want to ask me if I have any regrets about being one of the train robbers, my answer is, “No!”.

‘I will go further: I am proud to have been one of them. I am equally happy to be described as the “tea-boy” or “The Brain”.

‘I was there that August night and that is what counts. I am one of the few witnesses – living or dead – to what was The Crime of the Century.’

But although he is proud to have been involved in the headline-grabbing crime, he admitted he does have some regrets.

Half a century on: The scene of the Great Train Robbery near Cheddington, Buckinghamshire, today

 

‘It is regrettable, as I have said many times, that the train driver was injured,’ he said. ‘And he was not the only victim.

‘The people who paid the heaviest price for the Great Train Robbery are the families. The families of everyone involved in the Great Train Robbery, and from both sides of the track.

‘All have paid a price for our collective involvement in the robbery. A very heavy price, in the case of my family.

‘For that, I do have my regrets.’

A new book has been published to mark the 50th anniversary – The Great Train Robbery – 50th Anniversary – 1963-2103, and is said to explain first-hand the complete story of the robbery.

Both Biggs and Reynolds, who died in February, contributed to the book, which has been written by Reynolds’ son Nick, along with Biggs’ autobiographer Chris Pickard.

Mr Reynolds and Mr Pickard said the book was an aim at ‘setting the record straight’, and putting right any inaccuracies in a tale that has become folklore.

THE MASTERMIND BEHIND THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1963) BRUCE REYNOLDS FUNERAL 20TH MARCH 2013

R.I.P BRUCE REYNOLDS

NICK REYNOLDS DEVOTED SON OF HIS FATHER BRUCE , HIS BOYS , FAMILY , FRIENDS , ACQUAINTANCES AND MANY OTHERS SAY FAREWELL TO ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC FOLKLORE FIGURES IN BRITISH MODERN HISTORY AT ST BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT CHURCH, SMITHFIELDS , LONDON, UK . 

FOLLOWED UP BY THE WAKE IN HIS HONOUR HELD AT THE KING’S HEAD PUB , KINGSLAND ROAD , LONDON. 

ON A PERSONAL LEVEL I  WOULD WISH TO ADD THAT IT WAS A GREAT DAY AND A GREAT SEND-OFF AND FURTHERMORE ALL THOSE THAT WERE THERE THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND EVENING HAD A FANTASTIC TIME . 

BELOW IS THE ORDER OF SERVICE FRONT COVER  , VARIOUS PERSONAL IMAGES TAKEN ON THE DAY AND THROUGHOUT THE EVENING BY OUR OWN ALWAYS LOYAL FACEBOOK ADMIN GEEZER………….. JULES,  AS WELL AS SOME OTHER PRESS USED FEATURES AND VIDEO ETC RELATING TO BRUCE REYNOLDS AND HIS LIFE……../

NICK REYNOLDS AND HIS SONS SAY THEIR LAST FAREWELLS TO BRUCE 

FOR MORE OF OUR IMAGES TAKEN BY JULES PLEASE VISIT

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151359471518457.1073741834.597178456&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151360319213457.1073741835.597178456&type=1&notif_t=like

 

 

Two fingers to you all: Frail and wheelchair-bound, Ronnie Biggs, 83, makes a feeble gesture of defiance at the funeral of one of his train robber pals

• The former criminal mastermind Bruce Reynolds died in his sleep last month aged 81
• Reynolds referred to the train robbery as ‘his Sistine Chapel’, says his son Nick
• Brains behind £2.6million robbery of mail train with 16 accomplices
• Jailed for 25 years for role and later wrote of experiences in memoir
• Fellow gang member Ronnie Biggs attended private funeral in city of London

 

Even half a century later, he speaks of it as ‘an adventure’.

Ronnie Biggs might be a pathetic figure in a wheelchair these days but he still has fond memories of the Great Train Robbery and his 36-year flight from justice.

An engine driver coshed on the skull with an iron bar. A life on the run. A circle of friends including gangsters, hard-men, thugs and petty criminals.

Scroll down for video

Partner-in-crime: Ronnie Biggs makes an obscene gesture as he attends the funeral of Bruce Reynolds, the mastermind behind the Great Train Robbery

Event: Hundreds of mourners attended the service which took place at St Bartholomew the Great, in London

Colourful life: Bruce Reynolds, left, was the brains behind the Great Train Robbery (pictured in 1963 right)

Notorious: Mourners comfort each other outside the church. The funeral was very well attended

Biggs said farewell to one of them yesterday – and found the strength to raise two fingers for the cameras.

Frail, 83, and unable to stray far from medical care, he made a rare public outing from his nursing home to join mourners at the funeral of his old pal Bruce Reynolds, fellow ex-fugitive and so-called ‘mastermind’ of the 1963 robbery.

In a tribute read out on his behalf, Biggs told a 200-strong congregation: ‘It was Bruce who set me off on an adventure that was to change my life, and it was typical of Bruce that he was there at the end to help me back from Brazil to  Britain. I am proud to have had Bruce Richard Reynolds as a friend. He was a good man.’

Well-known associate of the Kray brothers Freddie Foreman (centre) leads a group of mourners to the funeral, including former celeb and football agent Eric Hall (right)

Respects: Mourners at the funeral of Bruce Reynolds who was jailed for 25 years for his part in the Great Train robbery

Underworld: Self-styled gangster Dave Courtney, who was jailed in the Eighties for attacking five men with a meat cleaver, at the funeral

A mourner makes a display of his underworld connections at the funeral of Bruce Reynolds

EastEnders actor Jamie Foreman – the son of former gangster Freddie Foreman, left, and another of the surviving Great Train robbers Bobby Welch, right

NICK REYNOLDS: GANGSTER’S SON WHOSE BAND FOUND FAME WITH THE SOPRANOS THEME TUNE

Nick Reynolds’ band, Alabama 3, was founded at an Acid House party in Brixton, London, in 1995, when members agreed that a fusion of country music with acid house was a possibility.

They were signed to Geffen Records for a million dollars which, in their words, was spent: ‘ on ‘various contraband items and with the rest we made an over-produced, brilliant situationist masterpiece called ‘Exile on Coldharbour Lane’

They achieved international fame when the producers of The Sopranos, a hit TV series about a Mafia family living in the U.S., chose their track ‘Woke Up This Morning‘ for the show’s opening credits.

That tune, written by band member Rob Spragg,’bought someone a swimming pool, but it sure wasn’t any of us…’, they claim.

Their music has also appeared in a number of films including Gone in 60 Seconds and A Life Less Ordinary.

That ‘good man’ was part of the gang that needlessly attacked train driver Jack Mills and left him bleeding in his cab.

Although Mills died seven years later from cancer, his family maintains the trauma never left him, insisting the blow contributed to his early death.

The robbery netted more than £2.6million in used bank notes, around  £40million in today’s money and the biggest of its kind.

Despite the unnecessary brutality, it captured public imagination for decades, spawned a succession of films and books, and earned leading gang members dubious celebrity.

Hence, other names from the past joined Biggs yesterday for the private church service in St Bartholomew The Great in the City of London.

Among them were former Kray brothers’ henchmen Freddie Foreman, known as ‘Brown Bread Fred’ for the assistance he gave in disposing of one of the twins’ high profile victims; fellow member of ‘The Firm’, Chris Lambrianou; and self-proclaimed gangster Dave Courtney.

Yesterday Courtney said of Reynolds: ‘He was a real class act.

‘He used to wear the cravat and everything. He was a monarch for naughty people. The Great Train Robbery – that was the big one for him. He always used to call it his Moby Dick.’

Reynolds, an antique dealer nicknamed ‘Napoleon’, boasted that he wanted to pull off a crime that would go down in  history and make him rich.

He succeeded in one of those ambitions – but was broke by the time he was arrested five years later in Torquay after returning to Britain from a  succession of hideouts in Mexico and Canada.

He was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in jail. In the 1980s he was jailed again, for drug dealing.

He died in his sleep on February 28, aged 81, a few months before the 50th anniversary of the robbery.

It might have been hailed as one of the most audacious of the 20th century, but Reynolds, the service was told, was not looking forward to celebrating it. In his 1995 memoirs, he labelled it ‘a curse’ that followed him for the rest of his life.

Yesterday his son Nick described his father as ‘a romantic, a true adventurer… a journeyman who chose a lunatic path and paid the price.’

He added: ‘He was an artist at heart and although he referred to the train robbery as his Sistine Chapel, his greatest triumph was in reassessing himself and changing his attitude about what is important in life.’

Having left the church to the strains of Let’s Face the Music and Dance, guests were invited afterwards to remember Reynolds at an East End pub.

Biggs was joined by a number of associates of Reynolds. A note (left) placed by a mourner at the funeral of Bruce Reynolds

Nick Reynolds’ leads his family into the service where tributes and readings were made

An ailing Ronnie Biggs (left) shakes Nick Reynolds’ hand after an emotional service, while self-styled gangster Dave Courtney turns up with a toy train

Nick Reynolds performs with his band Alabama 3 during his father’s funeral

A statement read out on behalf of Ronnie Biggs described Bruce Reynolds as a ‘true friend’

Flowers left by well-known associate of the Kray brothers Freddie Foreman

A tribute from Reynolds’ deputy Gordon Goody was also read out at the service

Emotional: Tributes were read out by Bruce Reynolds’ son Nick and his friend and fellow robber Gordon Goody

The coffin leaves St Bartholomew the Great church followed by mourners in the City of London

Nick Reynolds paid tribute to his father describing him as his best friend and greatest inspiration

Ronnie Biggs, centre, said he was ‘proud’ to count Bruce Reynolds as a friend

Arrest: Reynolds being taken away by police in November 1968 after spending five years on the run

Family: Reynolds, left, with his wife Frances as well as fellow robber John Daly and his wife Barbara

Gang: Reynolds, centre, with his accomplices Buster Edwards, Tom Wisbey, Jim White, Roger Cordrey, Charles Wilson and Jim Hussey in 1979

Heist: The train which was targeted by the robbers pictured soon after the crime

Scene: The bridge where the bandits held up the train and attacked its workers

Carnage: Inside a carriage of the mail train in the aftermath of the robbery in 1963

Cash: Detectives search through sacks of banknotes which were stolen in what was then a record robbery

Investigation: A policeman picks up the train driver’s hat from the railway tracks near the ambush site

Father and son: Reynolds with his son Nick, an artist who is a member of the band Alabama 3

THE FUNERAL OF BRUCE REYNOLDS: A CONGREGATION OF MURDERERS AND ASSORTED VILLAINS

THE MEAT CLEAVER MAN

Dave Cortney (left) and Chris Lambriano attend the funeral of Bruce Reynolds, the mastermind behind the Great Train Robbery of 1963 at St Bartholomew The Great Church in Smithfield, London

Dave Courtney, 54, (pictured left – speaking to Chris Lambrianou, right) claims to have been shot, stabbed and had his nose bitten off. He also says he’s had to kill to stay alive.

The underworld hardman, who was jailed in the Eighties for attacking five men with a meat cleaver, is said to have been a debt collector for the Kray twins.

In this role, he cultivated a reputation for using the knuckleduster. He claims he was the model for Vinnie Jones’s character in the 1998 film Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. However, it’s been suggested that he’s embellished his past so his books sell better.

THE KILLER TURNED CHRISTIAN

Chris Lambrianou, 75, was involved in the attempt by the Krays to muscle in on Birmingham in the 1960s – but failed to wrest control of the city’s bars. He was handed 15 years in prison for his part in the 1967 murder of Jack ‘the Hat’ McVitie.

Lambrianou later turned to religion and after his release he moved to Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, to live a quiet life.

BROWN BREAD FRED
Freddie Foreman – aka ‘Brown Bread Fred’ – was a key associate of the Krays. Now 80, he was linked to the 1960s killings of ‘Mad Axeman’ Frank Mitchell and Tommy ‘Ginger’ Marks.

Foreman (right) has admitted he was asked by the Krays to kill  Mitchell. He shot him in the back of a van and had his body dumped at sea.

Marks was killed for arranging the shooting of Foreman’s brother George. Foreman was jailed for ten years in 1975 as an accessory to the killing of McVitie and served six years from 1989 for his role in the 1983 £7million Security Express robbery.

Notorious: Ronnie Biggs, pictured left at the time of the robbery and right in 2011, is the best-known of the gang after escaping from prison and spending decades on the run

Injuries: Jack Mills, driver of the train which the gang targeted, after being beaten by the robbers

Police: Jack Slipper, left, and Gerald McArthur, right, were two officers intimately involved with the investigation

Audacious thieves who shocked the nation: Where the Great Train Robbers ended up

By James Rush

Ronnie Biggs (left): The most famous of the train robbers, even though he played a minor role as a contact for the replacement train driver. He is best known for his escape from prison in 1965 and living as a fugitive for 36 years. He voluntarily returned to the UK in 2001 and spent several years in prison. During this time his health rapidly declined and on August 6, 2009, he was released from prison on compassionate grounds.

Charles Frederick (Charlie) Wilson (right): The treasurer whose role was to give the robbers their cut of the haul. He earned the nickname ‘the silent man’ after he was captured because he refused to say anything during his trial. Jailed for 30 years but escaped after four months. Was captured in Canada four years later and served another ten years in jail. Moved to Spain in 1978 where he was shot and killed by a hitman on a bicycle in 1990.

Ronald ‘Buster’ Edwards (left): Fled to Mexico after the robbery but gave himself up in 1966. After nine years in jail he became a familiar figure selling flowers outside London Waterloo. Killed himself in 1994 at the age of 62. He was played by singer Phil Collins in the 1988 film Buster.

Roy James (right): The chief getaway driver left a fingerprint at the gang’s farm hideout and was caught following a rooftop chase. He moved to Spain after serving 12 years of a 30 year sentence. He was jailed again for six years in 1993 for shooting his wife’s father and hitting her with a pistol, and died soon after being released, at the age of 62.

Tommy Wisbey (left): One of the ‘heavies’ of the gang, Wisbey was there to frighten the train staff. Was jailed for 30 years and released in 1976 before being jailed for another ten years in 1989 for dealing cocaine. After being released he lived in north London, where he suffered a number of strokes.

Jimmy Hussey (right): ‘Big Jim’ died last year after apparently making a deathbed confession claiming he was the gang member who coshed the train driver. He was sentenced to 30 years for the robbery. After he was released in 1975 he eventually opened a restaurant in Soho after working on a market stall. He was convicted for assault in 1981. He was then jailed for seven years, eight years later, for a drug smuggling conspiracy, along with Wisbey.

Roger Cordrey (left): Was jailed for 20 years after being arrested in Bournemouth. He was caught after renting a lock-up from a policeman’s widow. His sentence was reduced to 14 years on appeal. The florist returned to the flower business after he was released in 1971 and moved to the West Country.

Jimmy White (right): The ‘quartermaster’ for the robbery. The former Paratrooper was caught in Kent after being on the run for three years and was sentenced to 18 years, He moved to Sussex after being released in 1975.

Douglas Gordon Goody (left): Was released in 1975 after being sentenced to 30 years in jail. After being released the hairdresser moved to Spain to run a bar.

John Daly (right): Reynold’s brother-in-law was arrested after his fingerprints were discovered on a Monopoly set linked to the case, but was acquitted when he successfully argued this did not prove he was involved.

Bobby Welch: Was also jailed for 30 years and released in 1976. The nightclub boss was left crippled after an operation on his leg went wrong. After being released from jail he became a gambler and a car dealer in London.

Brian Field: The solicitor was used to make the arrangement to buy the farm hideout used after the robbery. Jailed for 25 years, which was later reduced to five. He later died in a motorway crash in 1979.

Bill Jennings: The criminal who was hired to decouple the carriage with the cash in it was never caught and brought to justice.

Four other people were believed to be involved in the heist, but have never been identified. They include ‘The Ulsterman’, a key figure whose real name is a complete mystery.

R.I.P. BRUCE REYNOLDS …………….. IN MEMORY OF THE ADMIRAL

TRUE CRIME AND MUCH MUCH MORE ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , FOREST OF DEAN , GLOUCESTERSHIRE,UK.

R.I.P. BRUCE REYNOLDS …………….. IN MEMORY OF THE ADMIRAL

Bruce Reynolds, mastermind behind the Great Train Robbery and inspiration for Michael Caine’s ‘Harry Palmer’, dies aged 81

• Bruce Reynolds robbed £2.6million mail train with 16 accomplices
• Jailed for 25 years for role and later wrote of experiences in memoir
• Passed away peacefully in his sleep yesterday morning
• The haul, which would be worth £40million today, was never fully recovered
• Reynolds considered inspiration for Caine’s 1965 depiction of fictional spy Harry Palmer in film The Ipcress File

Bruce Reynolds, the crook regarded as the mastermind of the Great Train Robbery, died yesterday aged 81.

His death after a short illness came months before the 50th anniversary of the 1963 heist in which a gang escaped with a then record £2.6million – about £40million in today’s money.

A career criminal who enjoyed the high life and drove an Aston Martin, Reynolds was a notorious jewel thief and housebreaker who formed the 17-strong gang which held up the Royal Mail travelling post office in Buckinghamshire as it ran between Glasgow and London.

Mastermind: Bruce Reynolds, who organised the Great Train Robbery, has died aged 81

Arrest: Reynolds being taken away by police in November 1968 after spending five years on the run

Family: Reynolds, left, with his wife Frances as well as fellow robber John Daly and his wife Barbara

Reynolds was considered the inspiration for Michael Caine’s 1965 depiction of fictional spy Harry Palmer (above) in the film The Ipcress File

Nicknamed Napoleon, he bought his shoes at Lobb, his shirts from Jermyn Street and his suits in Savile Row  and was considered the inspiration for Michael Caine’s 1965 depiction of fictional spy Harry Palmer in the film The Ipcress File.

After the robbery, using a series of aliases and a false passport, Reynolds went on the run in Mexico and Canada for five years with his wife and young son before returning to Britain when the cash ran out.

More…

• Murder on the Hackney Express: The first-class train killing that terrified the Victorian middle-classes
• Raid that went off the rails: THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY: CRIME OF THE CENTURY BY NICK RUSSELL-PAVIER AND STEWART RICHARDS

Justice eventually caught up with him in Torquay in 1968.

When Tommy Butler, the Flying Squad detective who arrested him there, said: ‘Hello, Bruce, it’s been a long time’, Reynolds replied: ‘C’est la vie’. The last of the robbers to be caught, Reynolds was sentenced to 25 years in jail.

He was released on parole in 1978 and moved, penniless, into a tiny flat off London’s Edgware Road.

In the 1980s he was jailed for three years for dealing amphetamines.

Gang: Reynolds, centre, with his accomplices Buster Edwards, Tom Wisbey, Jim White, Roger Cordrey, Charles Wilson and Jim Hussey in 1979

His wife Frances, who had changed her name to Angela, died a couple of years ago, and he lived out his last years in Croydon, south London.

In his memoirs, written in 1995, he said the Great Train Robbery proved a curse which followed him around and no-one wanted to employ him, legally or illegally. ‘I became an old crook living on hand-outs from other old crooks,’ he said.

His musician son Nick Reynolds, whose group Alabama 3 produced The Sopranos theme tune Woke Up This Morning, yesterday announced the death of the Great Train Robber.

Heist: The train which was targeted by the robbers pictured soon after the crime

Record: The haul, worth over £40million in today’s money, was the biggest robbery in British history

‘He hadn’t been well for a few days and I was looking after him,’ he said. ‘I really can’t talk at the moment. I can confirm that he has passed away and he died in his sleep.’

The robbery went on to be the subject of several films and books, with a tawdry glamour attaching itself to the notorious crime – even though the train driver was violently attacked and all the robbers eventually caught.

No guns were used, but driver Jack Mills was coshed and left unconscious by an unidentified assailant, suffered constant headaches for the rest of his life and died in 1970 from leukaemia.

Scene: The bridge where the bandits held up the train and attacked its workers

Carnage: Inside a carriage of the mail train in the aftermath of the robbery in 1963

More than £2million of the gang’s haul was never recovered.

Seven of the gang, including its most infamous member Ronnie Biggs, were given 30-year sentences in 1964 after judge Edmund Davies called it ‘a crime which in its impudence and enormity is the first of its kind in this country’ and said he hoped the length of the sentences would ‘ensure that it is the last of its kind’.

Biggs lived as a fugitive in Brazil for 36 years after escaping from Wandsworth Prison before finally returning to Britain to face jail in 2001.

Aged 83, he was released on ‘compassionate grounds’ in 2009, has suffered a series of strokes and is now so frail he is unable to speak.

Cash: Detectives search through sacks of banknotes which were stolen in what was then a record robbery

Investigation: A policeman picks up the train driver’s hat from the railway tracks near the ambush site

Father and son: Reynolds with his son Nick, an artist who is a member of the band Alabama Three

Yesterday Biggs’s son Michael said: ‘Regardless of whatever mistakes Bruce made in his life, Bruce was a very, very kind person who was a true gentlemen who made many friends in his life. Bruce was my father’s closest friend, they met in borstal when they were 13.

Biggs’s son claimed: ‘He was very old school. He was absolutely against violence and deeply upset about what happened in the Great Train Robbery.

‘He believed that if you are going to be a criminal then be one but don’t go mugging old ladies. The attack on the driver was something that did upset everyone involved.’

Leonard ‘Nipper’ Read, the Scotland Yard detective who successfully pursued the robbers, said: ‘It really is the end of an era. It was certainly a well-organised operation and Reynolds was the pioneer.’

Notorious: Ronnie Biggs, pictured left at the time of the robbery and right in 2011, is the best-known of the gang after escaping from prison and spending decades on the run

Injuries: Jack Mills, driver of the train which the gang targeted, after being beaten by the robbers

Police: Jack Slipper, left, and Gerald McArthur, right, were two officers intimately involved with the investigation

Audacious thieves who shocked the nation: Where the Great Train Robbers ended up

By JAMES RUSH

Ronnie Biggs (left): The most famous of the train robbers, even though he played a minor role as a contact for the replacement train driver. He is best known for his escape from prison in 1965 and living as a fugitive for 36 years. He voluntarily returned to the UK in 2011 and spent several years in prison. During this time his health rapidly declined and on August 6, 2009, he was released from prison on compassionate grounds.

Charles Frederick (Charlie) Wilson (right): The treasurer whose role was to give the robbers their cut of the haul. He earned the nickname ‘the silent man’ after he was captured because he refused to say anything during his trial. Jailed for 30 years but escaped after four months. Was captured in Canada four years later and severed another ten years in jail. Moved to Spain in 1978 where he was shot and killed by a hitman on a bicycle in 1990.

Ronald ‘Buster’ Edwards (left): Fled to Mexico after the robbery but gave himself up in 1966. After nine years in jail he became a familiar figure selling flowers outside London Waterloo. Killed himself in 1994 at the age of 62. He was played by singer Phil Collins in the 1988 film Buster.

Roy James (right): The chief getaway driver left a fingerprint at the gang’s farm hideout and was caught following a rooftop chase. He moved to Spain after serving 12 years of a 30 year sentence. He was jailed again for six years in 1993 for shooting his wife’s father and hitting her with a pistol, and died soon after being released, at the age of 62.

Tommy Wisbey (left): One of the ‘heavies’ of the gang, Wisbey was there to frighten the train staff. Was jailed for 30 years and released in 1976 before being jailed for another ten years in 1989 for dealing cocaine. After being released he lived in north London, where he suffered a number of strokes.

Jimmy Hussey (right): ‘Big Jim’ died last year after apparently making a deathbed confession claiming he was the gang member who coshed the train driver. He was sentenced to 30 years for the robbery. After he was released in 1975 he eventually opened a restaurant in Soho after working on a market stall. He was convicted for assault in 1981. He was then jailed for seven years, eight years later, for a drug smuggling conspiracy, along with Wisbey.

Roger Cordrey (left): Was jailed for 20 years after being arrested in Bournemouth. He was caught after renting a lock-up from a policeman’s widow. His sentence was reduced to 14 years on appeal. The florist returned to the flower business after he was released in 1971 and moved to the West Country.

Jimmy White (right): The ‘quartermaster’ for the robbery. The former Paratrooper was caught in Kent after being on the run for three years and was sentenced to 18 years, He moved to Sussex after being released in 1975.

Douglas Gordon Goody (left): Was released in 1975 after being sentenced to 30 years in jail. After being released the hairdresser moved to Spain to run a bar.

John Daly (right): Reynold’s brother-in-law was arrested after his fingerprints were discovered on a Monopoly set linked to the case, but was acquitted when he successfully argued this did not prove he was involved.

Bobby Welch: Was also jailed for 30 years and released in 1976. The nightclub boss was left crippled after an operation on his leg went wrong. After being released from jail he became a gambler and a car dealer in London.

Brian Field: The solicitor was used to make the arrangement to buy the farm hideout used after the robbery. Jailed for 25 years, which was later reduced to five. He later died in a motorway crash in 1979.

Bill Jennings: The criminal who was hired to decouple the carriage with the cash in it was never caught and brought to justice.

Four other people were believed to be involved in the heist, but have never been identified. They include ‘The Ulsterman’, a key figure whose real name is a complete mystery.

RONNIE BIGGS … THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY 1963 ….

RONNIE BIGGS POLICE MUGSHOT 

Ronald Arthur “Ronnie” Biggs is an English criminal, known for his role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963, for his escape from prison in 1965, for living as a fugitive for 36 years and for his various publicity stunts while in exile

16TH JULY 2013 – RONNIE BIGGS WITH ANDY JONES FROM THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION

ABOVE ARE A  FEW PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN DURING A RECENT PRIVATE VISIT WITH RONNIE BIGGS AT HIS NURSING HOME RETREAT ( 16TH JULY 2013 ) . CERTAINLY ON FORM DURING THE VISIT AND ENJOYING THE GREAT BRITISH SUNSHINE !!

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VARIOUS PICTORIAL SLIDESHOW, VIDEO FOOTAGE, PICTURES AND NEWSPAPER REPORTS COVERING THE PRESS CONFERENCE FOR RONNIE BIGGS’S NEW AUTOBIOGRAPHY BOOK LAUNCH “ODD MAN OUT: THE LAST STRAW” HELD AT THE SHOREDITCH HOUSE , LONDON ON THE 17TH NOVEMBER 2011 . THE EVENT WAS ATTENDED BY MANY PHOTOGRAPHERS AND JOURNALISTS EAGER TO ASK RONNIE LOTS OF QUESTIONS DESPITE HIS CLEAR DISABILITY IN BEING UNABLE TO VOICE HIS ANSWERS . RELIANT SOLEY ON HIS SON MIKE AND HIS SPELLBOARD

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RONNIE BIGGS …THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBER USING HIS SPELLBOARD AT HIS BOOK LAUNCH … NOW ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL ALONG WITH VARIOUS OTHER GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY MEMORABILIA ITEMS .

THE SPELLBOARD USED BY RONNIE BIGGS AT HIS BOOK LAUNCH AND NOW ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL

RONNIE BIGGS WITH AJ BACKSTAGE AT HIS BOOK LAUNCH PRESS CALL .

ALSO PICTURED HERE WITH HIS SPELLBOARD USED BY HIM DURING THE DAY AND NOW ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL

RONNIE BIGGS SAT WITH AJ DURING PRESS CALL , PICTURED HERE LOOKING AT HIMSELF PICTURED WITHIN THE LITTLEDEAN JAIL TOURISM LEAFLET.

A J CHATTING TO LEGENDARY DJ (AND SON OF BLUES GUITARIST LEGEND JOHN MAYALL) GAZ  MAYALL  AKA GAZ’S ROCKIN BLUES

OUR … CRIME THROUGH TIME  @ LITTLEDEAN JAIL FACEBOOK ADMIN JULES SEEN HERE LOOKING AS IF HE’S JUST ABOUT TO CLOBBER RONNIE BIGGS AT THE BOOK LAUNCH …

• Ronnie Biggs: I’ll be remembered as a loveable rogue

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 November 2011 20.29 GMT

Ronnie Biggs at a press conference in London to launch his book. Photograph: David Levene

Ronnie Biggs said he would be remembered as Britain’s “loveable rogue” as he made an appearance in public. The 82-year-old Great Train Robber said he was proud of his achievements, despite remorse for his crimes.

Unable to physically speak after several strokes, Biggs responded to questions at a press event to publicise his book, Odd Man Out: The Last Straw by pointing to a word and letter board. Asked how the country perceived him, he spelled out “loveable rogue”.

His son, Michael, speaking on his behalf at the east London event, said Biggs had no regrets about voluntarily returning from Brazil in 2001 to face justice for the 1963 robbery.

He had been working on the book since he was released from jail on compassionate grounds in 2009, the family said.

Biggs is unable to walk or talk. His son described how he developed a life-threatening chest infection every three or four weeks. “This is probably the first and last time he is holding a press conference.”

Launching his book, Biggs expressed sorrow over the fate of Jack Mills, the driver of the robbed mail train, who died in 1970 having never made a full recovery after being coshed. But when asked whether any proceeds from the book would go to Mills’s family, the ex-fugitive’s son said: “That has not been discussed yet.”

The book updates Biggs’s 1994 autobiography and has chapters covering his return to the UK, his time in prison, his release on compassionate grounds and his life since.

He Biggs first suffered a stroke in 1998 and has been admitted to hospital several times since returning to Britain.

Biggs was a member of a gang that made off with £2.6m from a Glasgow to London mail train. He was sentenced to 30 years, but escaped from Wandsworth prison, south London, in a furniture van 15 months later and spent more than 30 years on the run, living in Spain, Australia and Brazil. Biggs says in the book that he is a “very different man to the one who went on the run from HMP Wandsworth back in July 1965”. “Not only are there many, many more miles on the clock, but also there is the damage done to my body and soul by the strokes and other health problems that should have killed me already; and may have already done so by the time you get around to reading this,” he writes.

“I lay no claim to having been a perfect man who has led a faultless life, and never have, but I am a better man for the experiences of the past 50 years, a period in which I spent over three-quarters of my life trying to honestly maintain my family and myself as best I could.

“It has been said by those who don’t know me – and who have never met me – that I have no regrets, but that simply isn’t true. I have always regretted the hurt I caused by my actions, and especially to my own family and friends.”

BELOW SHOWS PICTURE FROM PORTUGESE NEWSPAPER WHICH ALSO SHOWS  OUR JULES (ADMIN) IN ACTION …..THE LARGER THAN LIFE (OR THE OTHER SNAPPERS) CHARACTER SEEN HERE ON THE FRONT ROW

MADAM CYNTHIA PAYNE AND HER ALLEGED HOUSE OF ILL REPUTE, FAVOURED BY A GREAT MANY BRITISH MP’S AND WEALTHY ARISTOCRATS.

R.I.P. CYNTHIA PAYNE ….born December 24 1932, died November 15 2015

BROTHEL QUEEN CYNTHIA IN HER PRIME

Sad to hear the news of one of our truly “Great British icons” … Cynthia Payne’s death on Sunday 15 November 2015, whom we have long featured here at Littledean Jail.

For a more in depth  insight into the life and times of Cynthia please click HERE

TITILLATION , A BIT OF FETISH & THE TABOO HERE AT THE JAIL
As an allegedly … self proclaimed – politically incorrect tourist attraction , we of course touch upon this industry .
On display we have personal exhibit items & signed ephemera from brothel madame … Cynthia Payne including one of her personal & well used whips , luncheon vouchers etc
DO NOT FORGET … IF EASILY OFFENDED STAY AWAY FROM LITTLEDEAN JAIL.

CLICK ON ABOVE IMAGE TO WATCH CYNTHIA PAYNE NEWS VIDEO

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1987: Mrs Payne is no brothel Madam Party planner Cynthia Payne has been acquitted of nine charges of controlling prostitutes at her home in south west London.The courtroom burst into applause after decision of the jury – of eight men and four women – was announced after just over five hours of deliberation. Mrs Payne, 53, said: “This is a victory for common sense. But I have to admit all this has put me off having parties for a bit.” Mrs Payne first hit the headlines in 1978 when police raided her home to find a sex party in full swing, attended by middle-aged and elderly men exchanging luncheon vouchers for sexual entertainment. After a trial in 1980 she was sentenced to 18 months which was then reduced to six months and a fine on appeal. This time she ended up in court after holding an “end of film” party following the production of the movie Personal Services, starring Julie Walters. Author of a book about Mrs Payne’s life, Paul Bailey, described her as “a chirpy little Cockney woman going round telling people to behave themselves.” After the 13-day trial she sent Judge Brian Pryor QC a copy of the book, An English Madam, with the inscription: “I hope this book will broaden your rather sheltered life”. Legal costs reimbursed During proceedings at the Inner London Crown Court Judge Pryor told the court: “You must be sure that the particular woman was acting as a prostitute and that that particular girl’s movements were influenced one way or another by Mrs Payne.” He ordered defence costs – in a trial costing £117,000 – to be paid from central funds and Mrs Payne’ s £5,000 legal aid costs to be reimbursed. The prosecution said Mrs Payne provided facilities for prostitutes in her home in Ambleside Avenue, Streatham including, food, drink, condoms and bedrooms. Mrs Payne emerged from the court beaming with smiles as she was mobbed by a crowd of 100 media and well-wishers. Conservative MP Geoffrey Dickens said: “It seems astounding that all this public money should be poured into bringing these charges.” Police said they would not be reviewing their policy over the prosecution of brothel madams. Cynthia Payne is due to face further charges of brothel keeping at magistrates’ court. ———————————————————- SEE BELOW A FEW SIGNED ITEMS FROM OUR MADAMME CYNTHIA PAYNE DISPLAY HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL A  SIGNED XMAS CARD WITH PERSONALLY SIGNED PHOTO FROM CYNTHIA PAYNE FRONT AND REAR FACE OF CYNTHIA PAYNE’S A BOARD , INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY HER BACK IN 1987 THAT WAS ORIGINALLY ON HER STAIRWELL AT HER HOUSE OF SIN AND ILL REPUTE (BROTHEL) AT 32 AMBLESIDE AVENUE , STREATHAM .LONDON . NOW ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL ABOVE…. INSCRIBED AND  HAND SIGNED  PHOTOGRAPH BY HER LADYSHIP CYNTHIA PAYNE ABOVE… HAND SIGNED ELECTION FLYER FEATURING CYNTHIA PAYNE ——————————————————– FROM WIKIPEDIA Cynthia Payne Cynthia Payne Born December 24, 1932 (age 78) Bognor Regis, West Sussex,England Nationality British Occupation Madam Known for Running a brothel Notable works Entertaining at Home Website CynthiaPayne.co.uk Cynthia Payne (born 24 December 1932, in Bognor Regis, West Sussex) is a retired English party hostess who made the headlines in the 1970s and 1980s when she was accused of being a madam and of running her brothel at 32 Ambleside Avenue, in Streatham, in the south-west of London, England.[1] Payne first came to national attention in 1978 when police raided her home and found a sex party was in progress. Elderly men paid in Luncheon Vouchersto dress up in lingerie and be spanked by young women.[2] When the case came to trial in 1980, she was sentenced to eighteen months in prison, reduced to a fine and six months on appeal.[3] She served four months in Holloway prison.[2] In 1986, the police raided her home again, this time during a “special party” she was hosting after shooting the film of her life had been completed. Although she was acquitted on this occasion,[3] the resulting court case in 1987 made headlines for several weeks with lurid tales, some details of which she aired onThe Dame Edna Experience in 1988, with co-guests Sir John Mills and Rudolf Nureyev, where she also launched her book, Entertaining at Home. The court case ended her career as a party giver. On this programme, she expressed an interest in becoming an MP, in order to change Britain’s anti sex laws, which she followed through with by standing for Parliament as a candidate for the Payne and Pleasure Party in the Kensington by-election in July 1988, followed by her standing in her own area ofStreatham in the 1992 UK General Election. She did not gain a parliamentary seat. There have been two films made that are loosely based on her life. Wish You Were Here (1987), about her adolescence with Emily Lloyd in the lead role, and Personal Services (also 1987) about her adult life starred Julie Walters. Both were written (and Wish You Were Here was directed) by David Leland, but are vague in their similarities. Cynthia Payne has made appearances as an after-dinner speaker and launched a new range of adult services and products in 2006.

1960’s SLEAZE AND SCANDAL REVISITED HERE AT THE JAIL-THE PROFUMO AFFAIR

‎1960’S REVISITED AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL – CHRISTINE KEELER & THE PROFUMO AFFAIR
Our many diverse collections here also includes an insight into our endless array of Politicians behaving badly, caught with their trousers down and of course as always …apparently on the fiddle with their expenses etc.
On display here we have various personally signed ephemera , memorabilia etc pieced together within an intriguing montage from the likes of John Profumo, Christine Keeler , Mandy Rice-Davies and Stephan Ward .

See more interactive video footage below relating to one of Britain’s most infamous scandals

Profumo Affair

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Profumo Affair was a 1963 British political scandal named after John Profumo, Secretary of State for War. His affair with Christine Keeler, the reputed mistress of an alleged Russian spy, followed by lying in the House of Commons when he was questioned about it, forced the resignation of Profumo and damaged the reputation of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan‘s government. Macmillan himself resigned a few months later due to ill health.

Profumo’s relationship with Keeler

Christine Keeler—the iconic Lewis Morley image, taken in May 1963, became an instant national talking point when a stolen copy was published by the Sunday Mirror, adding yet more fuel to the fire under Profumo. As the scandal intensified, it was endlessly republished.^[1]

In the early 1960s, Profumo was the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan‘s Conservative government and was married to actress Valerie Hobson. In 1961, Profumo met Christine Keeler, a London call girl,^[2] at a house party at Cliveden, the Buckinghamshire mansion owned by Lord Astor. Many years later Profumo would claim, in discussion with his son, David, that he had met Keeler previously at a night club in London called Murray’s and “probably had a drink with her.”^[3] Also present at the Cliveden party were Profumo’s wife and the fashionable osteopath, Dr Stephen Ward, a long-standing acquaintance of Keeler. The relationship with Keeler lasted only a few weeks before Profumo ended it. However, rumours about the affair became public in 1962, as did the allegation that Keeler had also had a relationship with Yevgeny “Eugene” Ivanov, a senior naval attaché at the Soviet embassy in London. Given Profumo’s position in the government and with the Cold War at its height, the potential ramifications in terms of national security were grave, and this, along with the adulterous nature of Profumo’s relationship with Keeler, quickly elevated the affair into a public scandal.

Exposure of the affair

In 1962, Keeler became involved in an altercation with her former live-in lover Johnny Edgecombe. When she announced the end of their relationship, a confrontation followed 10 days before Christmas 1962. Edgecombe attempted to force his way into Stephen Ward’s flat where Keeler was staying and fired several shots at the doorlock. Meanwhile, Keeler had become involved with a Jamaican drug dealer named Aloysius “Lucky” Gordon. When that relationship ended Gordon attacked her with an axe and held her hostage for two days. Keeler turned to Edgecombe for help and in the ensuing fight between him and Gordon, the latter received a knife wound to his face. Fearful of reprisals from Gordon, Edgecombe asked Keeler to help him find a solicitor so that he could turn himself in. She refused and instead told him that she intended to give evidence against Edgecombe in court for wounding Gordon. As a result of her refusal, Edgecombe hatched a plot to murder Keeler. Three months later, when she failed to turn up in court for Edgecombe’s trial, previous press suspicions boiled over and the affair became front page news with headlines like “WAR MINISTER SHOCK”.^[4]

Announcement in Parliament

In March 1963, Profumo stated to the House of Commons that there was “no impropriety whatever” in his relationship with Keeler and that he would issue writs for libel and slander if the allegations were repeated outside the House.^[5] (Within the House, such allegations are protected by Parliamentary privilege.) However, in June, Profumo confessed that he had misled the House and lied in his testimony and on 5 June, he resigned his Cabinet position, as well as his Privy Council and Parliamentary membership.

Peter Wright, in his autobiography Spycatcher,^[6] relates that he was working at the British counter-intelligence agency MI5 at the time and was assigned to question Keeler on security matters. He conducted a fairly lengthy interview and found Keeler to be poorly educated and not well informed on current events, very much the “party girl” described in the press at the time. However, in the course of questioning her, the subject of nuclear missiles came up, and Keeler, on her own, used the term “nuclear payload” in relation to the missiles. This alerted Wright’s suspicions. According to Wright, in the very early 1960s in Britain, the term “nuclear payload” was not in general use by the public, and even among those who kept up with such things, the term was not commonly heard. For a young woman with such limited knowledge to casually use the term was more than suspicious. In fact, Wright came away convinced that at the very least there had been an attempt by the Soviet attaché (perhaps through Stephen Ward) to use Keeler to get classified information from Profumo.

Lord Denning released the government’s official report on 25 September 1963, and, one month later, the prime minister, Harold Macmillan, resigned on the grounds of ill health, which had apparently been exacerbated by the scandal. He was replaced by the Foreign Secretary, the Earl of Home, who renounced his title to become Sir Alec Douglas-Home. However, the change of leader failed to save the Conservative Party’s place in government; they lost the general election to Harold Wilson’s Labour a year later.

Stephen Ward was prosecuted for living on the immoral earnings of prostitution and he committed suicide in August. He was defended by James Burge QC (who was later the basis for John Mortimer‘s character Rumpole of the Bailey). Keeler was found guilty on unrelated perjury charges and was sentenced to nine months in prison.^[7] Profumo died on 9 March 2006.

The Profumo Affair in film and theatre

The relationship between a senior politician and a prostitute^[2] caught the public imagination and led to the release of a number of films and documentaries detailing the event. The Danish film The Keeler Affair^[8] was released in 1963 followed in 1989 by the British film Scandal. The musical A Model Girl premiered at The Greenwich Theatre on 30 January 2007.^[9] In theatre Hugh Whitemore‘s playA Letter of Resignation, first staged at the Comedy Theatre in October 1997, dramatises the occasion when Harold Macmillan, staying with friends in Scotland, received a political bombshell, a letter of resignation from Profumo, his war minister. Edward Fox portrayed Macmillan. ^[10][11]

The Profumo Affair in popular music

• The Song “Christine” by “Miss X” (a pseudonym of Joyce Blair) in 1963 is said to be about Christine Keeler and the Profumo Affair.^{[12][citation needed]}
• Adam Ant referenced the Profumo scandal in a song called “High Heels In High Places”.
• American folk singer Phil Ochs wrote and recorded a song about the affair, “Christine Keeler”, in 1963. It is available on The Broadside Tapes 1, released in 1989.^[13]
• The Jamaican band The Skatalites recorded an instrumental song called “Christine Keeler” in 1964.^[14]
• Billy Joel’s song We Didn’t Start the Fire depicts this affair in the line “British Politician Sex.”^[15]
• Christine Keeler is mentioned in the song “Post World War Two Blues” from the album Past, Present and Future^[16] (1973), written and performed by Al Stewart, and the Ray Davies song “Where Are They Now?” from the Kinks album Preservation: Act 1.^[17]
• The British post-punk group Glaxo Babies released a 7-inch single in 1979 entitled “Christine Keeler” that included a song of the same name.^[18]
• The affair is central to the hit songs “Nothing Has Been Proved” and “In Private“, performed by Dusty Springfield and written by Pet Shop Boys. These songs were used over the opening and closing titles of the 1989 film Scandal.^[19]
• The Lewis Morley image of Christine Keeler is used on the cover of The Charlatans 1997 single release “Telling Stories”.^[20]