the krays & The Richardsons
the krays
On the 24th of October 1933, Reggie Kray was born. Ten minutes later his identical twin Ronnie made an appearance. The proud parents, Violet and Charlie Kray already had a 7 year old son, young Charlie. Charlie loved the twins but he was to see himself being pushed more and more into the background. He didn't mind he knew his family loved him.The Twins had a sister who, sadly, died when she was a baby. Childhood deaths were commonplace then, with Pneumonia and Tuberculosis the greatest Killers followed by Diphtheria and Malnutrition.The Twins caught Diphtheria and were taken to hospital. Reggie recovered quite quickly but Ronnie nearly died. His mother thought that he should be taken home from hospital where she could look after him better. She was also of the mind that being separated from his brother Reggie slowed down his recuperation. She took him home and Ronnie was soon on the road to recovery.They lived in Stene Street in Hoxton, now called Shoreditch, until 1939, when they moved to 178 Vallance Road, Bethnal Green.
It was around this time, at the start of the Second World War, that old man Charlie Kray was conscripted into the Army. Old Charlie was a 'pesterer' a man who liked to go on the 'Knocker', roaming the country buying and selling Silver, Gold and Clothing. This nomadic existence suited Charlie but deprived the boys of a stable relationship with their father. Whenever old Charlie came home it was a time of excitement,like Christmas, party time and presents. The best tablecloth and crockery would be spread on the table something that was usually only reserved for Sundays and special occasions.Although Charlie was away quite a lot he earned enough money for Violet to be able to stay at home and look after the children.He was a man who didn't like to be tied down and joining the Army just didn't fit into his plans. It wasn't that he was a coward, he came from a family of boxers and enjoyed a good fight, but he had better things to do than getting shot by some German in a foreign land.Charlie was now on the run, a deserter from the British Army. The Police and the Military were always calling at the house looking for him, sometimes in the middle of the night, waking the whole family.The homecomings became less frequent, with the Authorities calling more times than Charlie. Although on many occasions Charlie was in the house when It was searched by the Police but they failed to find him.
The Twins began to associate their father's absence with the Authorities which instilled in them a deep hatred and resentment for anyone in a uniform.It was a hard life for Violet Kray with Old Charlie working away and then on the run but she held the family together. She had time for everyone. She was always singing and laughing, she had a great voice. Softly spoken but with great willpower and perseverance. She never criticized or complained about anything.Her one ambition in life was to bring up her children the best she could.The boys were always well dressed despite the apparent poverty of the local community. She taught them the value of prayer and to treat people less fortunate than them with the respect that they deserved.Violet loved her family and being surrounded by family.Her sisters Rose and May lived either side of her in Vallance Road, her brother Jimmy slept downstairs in the living room, while Grandad Jimmy 'Cannonball' Lee, Grandma Lee and their son John and his wife lived across the road in their cafe.Aunty Rose was the twins favourite. She was a great friend and confidante and could do battle with the best of men. When Ronnie was teased in school about his eyebrows being too close together, she told him that it was a sign that he was 'born to be hanged'. It was her death in later years that finally tipped Ronnie over the edge into madness.Grandad 'Cannonball' Lee was a great character. He was a bare knuckle fighter, a legend in his earlier years. Later he became a showman and entreupener. He was a teetotaler which led to frequent clashes with Old Charlie Kray.Grandad Lee was also famous for sticking a white hot poker on his tongue, walking on bottle tops, tap dancing, singing and playing a multitude of instruments.He used to fascinate the twins with stories of when he boxed, bare knuckle, for a few shillings, in Victoria Park on Sunday Mornings.He had always been a great athlete. Once, when his son Johnny drove a coach party to Southend, a distance of 42 miles, Grandad Lee turned up on his bike. He cycled there just for the fun of it.
He was prepared to cycle home again but his son insisted he took the coach. He was Seventy Five at the time!Young Charlie Kray was born in 1926 into an East End that was hit hard by the Depression. The family lived in Gorusch Street, Hackney.He went to Laburnum Street school, where he was picked for the football team. His Dad's passion was for boxing and when he wasn't down the pub he took Charlie to boxing matches.Young Charlie was brought up on stories about fighting and boxing, and often dreamt of winning the Lonsdale Belt as Champion of the world. Fighting was a way of life in the East End. It ran in the family so it was inevitable that Charlie would keep up the tradition.In 1932 the family moved to Stene street, near Kingsland road, Hackney.When Charlie was seven the twins were born. Everybody would fuss over them and ask if they could take them for a walk. Charlie too would take them out in their pram and he felt so proud when people would lean over and admire them.As he grew up he got more and more involved in sports such as football, athletics and boxing.He played football for his senior school in Scawfell street, Hackney and was in the team when they won the district finals.At the start of World War 2 In 1939, the family moved again, this time to 178 Vallance road , Bethnal Green.In 1940 Charlie, the twins and his Mum were evacuated to Hadleigh, a little village in Suffolk which they grew to love . After about a year away from home, Violet began to miss her friends and family and decided to take the boys back home to London. They were devastated.Young Charlie soon took up boxing again.When his Dad went on the run from the Army, Charlie was left as 'The Man of The House' a role he wanted to fill as best he could.He got a job as a messenger at Lloyds in the city where he worked five and a half days a week.Boxing began to play a bigger part in his life. He trained in the local gyms and his Grandad set up a punch bag in the top back room in Vallance road.After a spell of rheumatic fever, he joined the Naval Cadets, where he continued training seriously. Then he joined the Navy where his boxing career really took off. He boxed for the Navy as a Welterweight. After the war bouts were arranged to keep the men entertained while they were waiting to be demobbed.Charlie started to get terrible headaches and it wasn't long before he was discharged unfit from the Navy, on medical grounds, due to chronic migraine.When Charlie came out of the Navy he worked with his Dad on 'The Knocker' and carried on his boxing as a professional fighter.The twins by this time, had also been making a name for themselves in the ring and on one occasion all three brothers appeared on the same bill.Unfortunately, Charlie lost his fight, the last professional fight he ever fought.
The Twins, Ronnie and Reggie loved the attention they received as young kids growing up. They came to expect it and when it wasn't forthcoming it was demanded. Charlie says "Sometimes they looked up at me in a strange, adult sort of way, and I'd have this weird feeling that they knew all about me and what was going on around them. Their dark eyes seemed to lack that childlike innocence. It was as if each boy knew more than he ought. The mental and physical relationship between them was intense"Reg always liked the company of others, while Ron was more of a loner. He loved nothing better than going off with his Alsatian Freda, searching the bomb sites to see what he could find.They loved listening to the old Relay radio which their mother rented on a weekly basis. It had only two dials, one to switch it on and the other for the two stations that were available. 'Dick Barton, Special Agent' and 'Just William' were there favourites. Their first school was Wood Close in Brick Lane and then to Daniel Street School at the age of 12. School days were happy times for the twins, they got on with the Teachers as well as the other kids. Ron's best subject was general knowledge and Reg's was English. They both played football and boxed for the school.Their Dad used to take them to the Robert Browning Youth club, in South London for boxing lessons three times a week. From there they went on to join other clubs including the Repton Boys Club, which years later was to be the scene of a famous murder mystery.The war disrupted their education when they were evacuated to Suffolk, a place which they grew to love. When their mother decided to return to London they were devastated.London was still being bombed and at nights they would make their way to the air raid shelter, which were in the Railway Arches across the road. They showed no fear at the events taking place around them. The Twins would just hold hands and shut their eyes.Grandad Lee would entertain all the people in the Arches with his tricks and others would do a turn, singing or reciting. It was party time. Reggie gained a great love for the theatre through these war time theatrical evenings.The houses and factories left derelict by Hitler's bombs were their playground and pieces of shrapnel their treasure.They would push each other around the cobbled streets in a home made go cart, with a spike at the front to do damage to any rival cart that happened to crash into them.
When the Twins were about ten years old their uncle used to take them to Billingsgate Market on his cart pulled by two shire horses. Each trip a great adventure for the imaginary cowboys.Still aged ten they would hire a horse and cart, take it to where the old tar road blocks were being taken up, buy it by the sackful for a few shillings and then sell it for firewood around the houses. Even at a very young age they knew how to make a few bob.When they were fifteen they worked in Billingsgate Market for six months, the longest job they ever had. Reg was training to be a salesman and Ron was an Empty boy, collecting all the empty boxes for his employers.The Twins also took turns working for Grandad Jimmy Kray on his second hand clothes stall in Brick Lane.By now, the Twins were boxing at an amateur level, helped by brother Charlie who first introduced them into boxing.Once a fairground came to Bethnal Green with its Dodgems, Roller coaster and Boxing Booth. In those days the audience were invited to fight any of the fairground fighters for a cash prize. If they could last three rounds they won a pound. During the interval the crowd were invited to fight each other for cash. Reg and Ron stepped into the ring and proceeded to batter hell out of each other. They collected seven shillings and sixpence between them for the fight and ran home to tell the family. They considered themselves as paid fighters.
Although the Twins were very close, they would often fight each other toe to toe. After one of the many rows they had Ronnie climbed onto the Roof of a train station and threatened to kill himself by throwing himself onto the tracks. He never did but that was the intensity of their relationship.By the age of fifteen the local papers were writing about the Twins' exploits in the ring. In 1948 Reg was the Schoolboy Champion of Hackney and went on to win the London Schoolboy Boxing Championships as well as being a finalist for the Great Britain Schoolboys Championship. In 1949 he became the South Eastern Divisional Youth Club Champion and the London ATC Champion.Ron was also the Schoolboy Champion of Hackney and won the London Junior Championships, and a London ATC title.Their brother Charlie recalls "As boxers, the Twins were quite different from each other: Reggie was the cool, cautious one, with all the skills of a potential champion and importantly, he always listened to advice. Ronnie was a good boxer too, and very brave. But he would never listen to advice. He was a very determined boy with a mind of his own. If he made up his mind to do something, he'd do it, no matter what, and unlike Reggie he would never hold back. He would go on and on until he dropped".These same characteristics shown in the ring were to be seen later on in their business activities to devastating effects.By the age of sixteen Ronnie and Reggie were becoming notorious in the East End. They had their own gang and caused mayhem in the surrounding areas. They were barred from most of the cinemas and dance halls in the area.There were always gang fights in the East End so it was commonsense to have a weapon at hand or be able to get one pretty quick. The Twins usually carried a knife but could call on almost any weapon from their arsenal underneath their bed at Vallance Road. They were just as happy to use a weapon as use their fists, and they wouldn't stop until their opponents were completely subdued.
When they were twelve they had their first real brush with the law. They were put on probation for firing an air rifle in a public place.Now sixteen, they were arrested and charged with Grevious Bodily Harm for an attack on a rival gang outside a dance hall in Mare Street, Hackney. The Rev R. N. Hetherington stood as a character witness for the Twins. He ran a small youth club in the area and the boys would run errands for him. This association really paid off. They were acquitted of all charges due to lack of evidence!The Judge remarked "Dont go around thinking you are the Sabini brothers" (well known gangsters of the time). Years later the Sabini brothers and the Krays became friends.Aged seventeen the Twins were in trouble again. They were standing outside a cafe in Bethnal Green Road with some friends when a policeman told them to move on and he pushed Ron in the back. Ron didn't let anyone push him around, he hit the policeman and they all ran off. Later when the police tried to arrest Ron, Reggie got involved and they were both arrested and charged with assault. But thanks again to the Rev Hetherington they received probation.They were now boxing professionally. Ron had six fights, won four of them and lost two. Reg had seven fights and won them all. They could have made a career out of boxing had they not been called up into the Army a few months later.At eighteen years of age the Twins were called up to do their National Service. It wasn't something they wanted to do but thought that if the Army were to let them be Physical Training Instructors then they would suffer it. This wasn't to be and they spent the next two years either on the run or locked up in the guardhouse.While on the run they ended up in court again for assaulting a policeman. This time they were given a month in Wormwood Scrubs and on release they were sent to Canterbury barracks to be court-martialled. They escaped before they reached their destination but were captured twenty four hours later. They spent the rest of their National Service in the glasshouse at Shepton Mallet.It was here that the Twins first met Charlie Richardson, who, in later years became their gangland rival.When they were younger Ron and Reg made a vow that they would either be boxers or villains. Being called up into the Army ended their boxing career and put them firmly on the road to infamy as Britain's best known Gangsters.
When they came out of the Army they did various odd jobs including protection and bouncing for some small time villains but they didn't want to work for anyone but themselves. The turning point for them came when they bought a seedy snooker club in Bethnal Green. It was the type of club that always had trouble, fights all the time, getting smashed up on a regular basis, no self respecting person would ever set foot inside it. They approached the lease holder who said "Okay, if you think you can sort the club out then the lease is yours". They called it the Regal. In no time at all the club was turned around, the fighting had stopped and the clientele had improved.Did this miraculous recovery come about because of the Twins own reputation for violence or as it has been said by many, that they were responsible for all the trouble in the first place?
The Twins loved to drink, they could drink day and night and not get over drunk, a skill they inherited from their father, who was always in the pub. Their favourite tipple was a gin and tonic. So it was a natural sort of progression for them to acquire clubs where they could continue to drink at their leisure.It was at the Regal that a Maltese mob tried to collect protection money from the Twins. One of the gang had a bayonet thrust through his hand. The others were lucky to escape with their lives.The Twins started using a club called The Vienna Rooms, off Edgware Road. The club was frequented by two of the Twins heroes, Jack Spot and Billy Hill, who between them ran the whole of London. Ron and Reg would sit for hours with them listening and learning everything they could.They worked for Jack Spot for a while at the racecourses providing protection for the Bookmakers. Jack Spot would provide bucket boys to wash the chalk off the boards and the minders would make sure that the Bookmakers didn't get any trouble from irate punters or rival gangs.
Mad Frankie Fraser, gangland enforcer, also served his apprenticeship on the courses as a bucket boy for Darbo Sabini, when he was ten years old.They had learnt well from their brief time with Jack Spot and Billy Hill but it was time to move on.By now the Twins reputation went before them, they were into every scam you could think of.They hi-jacked lorries laden with everything from furniture to cigaretters. They dealt in National Service exemption certificates, and Dockers Tickets which allowed men to work on the docks for short hours and massive amounts of pay and anything else they could get their hands on.In 1957 Ron was sent to prison for three years for GBH on a man called Terry Martin outside a pub in Stepney. He was also charged with possessing a fire arm. Reg was also charged with GBH but was found not guilty.While Ron was away, Reg opened up another club in Bow and called it The Double R. Charlie, who was usually kept in the background away from any wheeling and dealing, put some money up for the club, for which he was given a percentage of the takings. The club flourished. Reg acquired many clubs that had previously been mysteriously firebombed. The Kray empire was gradually being built. It has been said that they owned or had a stake in more than thirty clubs and bars.The business seemed to operate a lot more smoothly without Ronnie's interference. The problem with the Kray 'Firm' as it came to be known was that there wasn't one Boss. Ron and Reg argued constantly about what they were doing and how they handled the proceeds. Ronnie, being the dominant twin usually won the arguements , sometimes at a cost to the business.Although Ronnie could be vicious and unforgiving, there was another side to his nature. He would always help people down on their luck. He was regarded as a soft touch for those in real need, especially people coming out of prison. He would open up the till in one of their clubs and take out what ever was in there and give it to some deserving cause. Although very commendable, it was not good for business. This caused constant rows with his brothers, but Ronnie didn't care, they needed it and he gave it to them. The thing about Ronnie was that once he had his mind made up to do something , he would it, good or bad , regardless of the consequences. It was probably this part of his personality, coupled with his oncoming schizophrenic tendencies that made the Krays as feared as they were.
So when Ronnie was imprisoned it was inevitable that it would reflect favourably in their business dealings.Ron first went to Wandsworth prison, then he was transferred to Camp Hill prison. While inside his favourite aunt Rose died. This seemed to tip him over the edge. He was sent to the psychiatric wing of Winchester prison where he was declared insane.He was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. His health slowly deteriorated . Reggie put this down to the different drugs they were giving Ron and decided to get him out of prison. As luck would have it they moved Ron to Long Grove mental hospital giving them a better chance of freeing him. The idea was to get Ron out and keep him out long enough for an independent psychiatrist to assess his state of mind. If the doctor found him to be sane then the authorities would have to re-assess him when he was captured or returned to the hospital. Reggie visited Ron and simply changed places with him. Ron walked out of the hospital and away. Reg sat reading a paper and then asked where Reg had gone because he was away so long. The hospital orderlies assumed that the man sitting in the chair was Ron. When thy realised what had happened it was too late. Ron had long gone. And they had to let Reg out as well!He remained on the run for five months.It wasn't too long before they realised what a dreadful mistake they had made. Ronnie really was ill. There were times when he didn't recognise Reg or his parents. He believed that these people in front of him were imposters.He had to be returned to hospital for his own sake. One night when he secretly returned to Vallance Road, the police raided the house and he was arrested.He was re-assessed and returned to prison where he remained until his release in May 1959.
When he came out in 1959 he had terrible mood swings and it was clear that he was still ill. He was uncontrollable, he would rant and rave, pace up and down, and thought that everyone was plotting against him. The family took him to hospital to get him the help he so desperately needed. Part of this help meant that he would have to take drugs and injections for the rest of his life.He not only had a mental Illness but the treatment that was to keep him calm and subdued affected him physically. He put on weight, his speech was slow and he walked laboriously. He was not the man he used to be. Although there were times when Ron looked and felt like his old self, what had gone before was just a taste of things to come.Unfortunately for Ron, Reggie was arrested in 1959 for demanding money with menaces. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison even though the victim retracted the allegation under oath. He was sent to Wandsworth where he first met Jack the Hat McVitie and The Mad Axeman Frank Mitchell, two men who were to play a major part , although posthumously, in their eventual downfall.
At the start of the 60's all the brothers were together again, Ron was getting back to his old self, the Firm had truly established itself, business was good and they were making inroads into the West End gambling and club scene.Their first toehold in this area was an upmarket gaming club called Esmeraldas. It was fronted by Lord Effingham, the sixth Earl of Effingham. He was paid by the Krays to welcome the customers as they entered the club.They also invested a lot of their own money in a seaside development in a place called Enugu in Nigeria. It was set up by their business manager Leslie Payne and Ernest Shinwell, son of Manny Shinwell, a labour MP. The Initial introduction into the project took place between Ronnie, a man called Leslie Holt and Lord Boothby, a Peer of The Realm. In the end the project collapsed and the money disappeared.Later, Leslie Holt was to die under very strange circumstances and another disappeared never to be seen again.
Ronnie Kray met Lord Boothby through one of the many gay parties that they both attended. He realised he was gay at a very early age when he fell in love with a boy across the road from where he lived. He didn't hide his sexuality but it wasn't until the sexual freedom of the sixties that it became widely known.The Krays were mixing with some very influential people and, it was thought, by some, that they were getting too powerful. They were being watched constantly by the Authorities. One of the reasons for their eventual downfall was their love of publicity. Ronnie in particular loved being photographed with celebrities and sports stars, He wanted to display himself as the stereotypical American Gangster as portrayed by James Cagney and George Raft in the American films of the 50's and 60's. The difference between The Krays and their real life, American counterparts, the Mafia, is that they kept a low profile and let others do their dirty work.
In 1965 the Twins were arrested for demanding money with menaces from a man called Hew McGowan, the owner of a club called the Hideaway. They were remanded in custody to Brixton prison. Their influence was so wide reaching that questions were asked in the House of Lords as to how long they were going to keep the Twins locked up. These questions, asked by Lord Boothby, caused a sensation. When they went to court they were cleared of all charges.In less than a month they owned the Hideaway club and changed the name to El Morocco. Also in April, 1965, Reggie married the love of his life, Francis Shea, the sister of his good friend Frank. She was twenty one years old. It was a marriage which would end in disaster. 8 months later they were living apart much to Reggie's disappointment. Ronnie and Reggie were now forging links with the Mafia. They went to America for a week and met their top men. Although they made some very useful connections on their trip, they didn't do as much business as they thought they would. They did however, provide protection, on behalf of the Mafia, for many American celebrities visiting or performing in England. And protected their gambling interests in the West End as well as entertaining them when they came to London..
The Krays shared control of London with the Richardson gang from South London. The main body of the Richardson gang consisted of, brothers, Charlie and Eddie, 'Mad' Frankie Fraser and George Cornell. They were already entrenched in the West End, supplying most of the clubs with one armed bandits, and the Krays wanted in.In March 1966 a gun battle took place in a club called Mr Smiths in Rushey Green. It has been said that The Richardson gang went there with the intentions of wiping out the Krays. There was only one member of the Kray gang present. He was shot dead. Frankie Fraser was shot in the hip and Eddie was shot in the backside. They were taken to hospital and on their release they were charged with affray and sentenced to 5 years in prison. Frankie Fraser was originally charged with the murder of Dickie Hart but was found not guilty. It has also been said that it was George Cornell who actually killed Dickie Hart but managed to escape before the police arrived, and that was one of the reasons why, on the 9th of April 1966, Ronnie Kray walked into the Blind Beggar public house and shot him in the head.
Ronnie laughed when he recounted the story of how he had killed that 'sadistic slag' Cornell.Some time after the killing of George Cornell, the Twins were arrested and put on an identification parade. The witnesses failed to pick them out and they were duly released.At the end of 1966, the Twins hatched a plot to free Frank Mitchell, the Mad Axeman. They had both met him on previous occasions in Wandsworth prison. He was serving a short term in prison when he escaped and broke into an old couple's house and held them hostage with an axe that he found. He was recaptured and sentenced to life without any release date.It was decided that they would break him out of prison and keep him out long enough for the newspapers to run the story with the promise of his case being investigated. He would then give himself up and return to prison.He was picked up from Dartmoor by Albert Donoghue and Billy Williams, two of the Kray Firm. However there was no investigation and the hunt for Mitchell continued. Frank Mitchell was subsequently killed on or about the 23rd of December, 1966. Reggie cried when he heard the news of Mitchell's death.
The Twins were later charged with his murder.At the beginning of 1967 things were looking up for the Krays and Reggie in particular. By June of that year, it looked as if he was getting back together with his wife Frances. However he didn't know that Frances was very ill. She had been mentally unstable before they married but the break-up, masterminded by her parents, caused her to have a mental breakdown. When she came out of hospital Reggie arranged for the two of them to go on holiday. The strain of the constant battles between her parents and Reg, who they disliked intensely, took it's toll. On the day they were to leave for Ibiza she took an overdose of pills and died.Reggie was heartbroken. He went into a deep depression for months. He was drinking all the time and was crazy with grief. It was through this very traumatic period in his life that he killed Jack 'The Hat' McVitie. Ron was always boasting about what he did to Cornell and it has been suggested by some, that he goaded Reg into killing McVitie. Reg has denied that his brother influenced him in any way but this was totally out of character for Reg, who under normal circumstances was always in control of his actions.
Jack 'The Hat' McVitie, so called because he would never take the hat off that was covering his bald patch, worked for the Twins doing small little jobs, nothing for him to lay claim as being part of the Firm. He was a dangerous man. He wasn't afraid of the Twins in any way and was often heard slagging them off. He was a drunkard, took drugs and beat up women. It was rumoured that he was paid to kill Leslie Payne, the Twins one time business manager, and that he took the money and never fulfilled the contract. He had been warned by Reg on numerous occasions about his attitude but to no avail.Jack was lured to a party in Evering Road, Stoke Newington, where he was stabbed to death by Reg Kray. This last action proved to be the end of the Krays and the Firm.
While the authorities let them get on with it in the past they had now gone 'beyond the accepted parameters' and had to be stopped at all costs. On the 8th of May 1968 The Kray Twins were arrested. 'Nipper' Read headed the raid on Brathwaite House in Old Street. Two of the many charges they had to answer to were the murders of George Cornell and Jack McVitie. Their arrest and continued confinement before their trial, loosened the grip of fear they had on the community and it wasn't too long until the East End code of silence had been broken. Within the next few months, with the help of some of the most respected members of the Firm, the police had made more arrests. All of those arrested pleaded not guilty with the exception of Albert Donoghue, a leading gang member. He was tried separately and was imprisoned for 2 years.
In January 1969 the trial started and lasted about 6 weeks.
The ten men who stood in the Dock were all convicted of various charges except for Tony Barry. He was acquitted of being an accessory to the murder of McVitie.
The remaining nine men in the dock were charged with, convicted of, and sentenced to the following:
Ronnie Kray, aged 35 * for the murder of George Cornell - guilty * for the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to Life imprisonment with a reccomendation to serve at least 30 years
Reggie Kray, aged 35 * for the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * for being an accessory to the murder of George Cornell - guilty * Sentenced to Life imprisonment with a reccomendation to serve at least 30 years
Charlie Kray, aged 41 * for being an accessory to the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to 10 years in prison
John 'Ian' Barrie, aged 31 * for the murder of George Cornell - guilty * Sentenced to Life imprisonment with a reccomendation to serve at least 20 years
Tony Lambrianou, aged 26 * for the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to Life imprisonment with a reccomendation to serve at least 15 years
Christopher Lambrianou, aged 29 * for the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to Life imprisonment with a reccomendation to serve at least 15 years
Ronnie Bender, aged 30 * for the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to Life imprisonment with a reccomendation to serve at least 20 years
Freddie Foreman, aged 36 * for being an accessory to the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to 10 years in prison
Cornelious 'Connie' Whitehead, aged 30 * Carrying a gun - guilty * Complicity in the murder of McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to 2 years for the gun and 7 years for the Complicity charge.
There was still another case to answer for the Krays and their associate Freddie Foreman.Ron Kray was charged with the murder of Frank Mitchell. He was found not guiltyCharlie Kray had the charge of murder dropped Reg Kray, receieved 5 years for freeing Frank Mitchell from Dartmoor and another 9 months for harbouring him, to run concurrently with his other sentences.Freddie Foreman was also found not guilty of murdering Frank Mitchell.Some of the men found guilty in these two trials were innocent, and some of those found not guilty had actually commited the crime
It was around this time, at the start of the Second World War, that old man Charlie Kray was conscripted into the Army. Old Charlie was a 'pesterer' a man who liked to go on the 'Knocker', roaming the country buying and selling Silver, Gold and Clothing. This nomadic existence suited Charlie but deprived the boys of a stable relationship with their father. Whenever old Charlie came home it was a time of excitement,like Christmas, party time and presents. The best tablecloth and crockery would be spread on the table something that was usually only reserved for Sundays and special occasions.Although Charlie was away quite a lot he earned enough money for Violet to be able to stay at home and look after the children.He was a man who didn't like to be tied down and joining the Army just didn't fit into his plans. It wasn't that he was a coward, he came from a family of boxers and enjoyed a good fight, but he had better things to do than getting shot by some German in a foreign land.Charlie was now on the run, a deserter from the British Army. The Police and the Military were always calling at the house looking for him, sometimes in the middle of the night, waking the whole family.The homecomings became less frequent, with the Authorities calling more times than Charlie. Although on many occasions Charlie was in the house when It was searched by the Police but they failed to find him.
The Twins began to associate their father's absence with the Authorities which instilled in them a deep hatred and resentment for anyone in a uniform.It was a hard life for Violet Kray with Old Charlie working away and then on the run but she held the family together. She had time for everyone. She was always singing and laughing, she had a great voice. Softly spoken but with great willpower and perseverance. She never criticized or complained about anything.Her one ambition in life was to bring up her children the best she could.The boys were always well dressed despite the apparent poverty of the local community. She taught them the value of prayer and to treat people less fortunate than them with the respect that they deserved.Violet loved her family and being surrounded by family.Her sisters Rose and May lived either side of her in Vallance Road, her brother Jimmy slept downstairs in the living room, while Grandad Jimmy 'Cannonball' Lee, Grandma Lee and their son John and his wife lived across the road in their cafe.Aunty Rose was the twins favourite. She was a great friend and confidante and could do battle with the best of men. When Ronnie was teased in school about his eyebrows being too close together, she told him that it was a sign that he was 'born to be hanged'. It was her death in later years that finally tipped Ronnie over the edge into madness.Grandad 'Cannonball' Lee was a great character. He was a bare knuckle fighter, a legend in his earlier years. Later he became a showman and entreupener. He was a teetotaler which led to frequent clashes with Old Charlie Kray.Grandad Lee was also famous for sticking a white hot poker on his tongue, walking on bottle tops, tap dancing, singing and playing a multitude of instruments.He used to fascinate the twins with stories of when he boxed, bare knuckle, for a few shillings, in Victoria Park on Sunday Mornings.He had always been a great athlete. Once, when his son Johnny drove a coach party to Southend, a distance of 42 miles, Grandad Lee turned up on his bike. He cycled there just for the fun of it.
He was prepared to cycle home again but his son insisted he took the coach. He was Seventy Five at the time!Young Charlie Kray was born in 1926 into an East End that was hit hard by the Depression. The family lived in Gorusch Street, Hackney.He went to Laburnum Street school, where he was picked for the football team. His Dad's passion was for boxing and when he wasn't down the pub he took Charlie to boxing matches.Young Charlie was brought up on stories about fighting and boxing, and often dreamt of winning the Lonsdale Belt as Champion of the world. Fighting was a way of life in the East End. It ran in the family so it was inevitable that Charlie would keep up the tradition.In 1932 the family moved to Stene street, near Kingsland road, Hackney.When Charlie was seven the twins were born. Everybody would fuss over them and ask if they could take them for a walk. Charlie too would take them out in their pram and he felt so proud when people would lean over and admire them.As he grew up he got more and more involved in sports such as football, athletics and boxing.He played football for his senior school in Scawfell street, Hackney and was in the team when they won the district finals.At the start of World War 2 In 1939, the family moved again, this time to 178 Vallance road , Bethnal Green.In 1940 Charlie, the twins and his Mum were evacuated to Hadleigh, a little village in Suffolk which they grew to love . After about a year away from home, Violet began to miss her friends and family and decided to take the boys back home to London. They were devastated.Young Charlie soon took up boxing again.When his Dad went on the run from the Army, Charlie was left as 'The Man of The House' a role he wanted to fill as best he could.He got a job as a messenger at Lloyds in the city where he worked five and a half days a week.Boxing began to play a bigger part in his life. He trained in the local gyms and his Grandad set up a punch bag in the top back room in Vallance road.After a spell of rheumatic fever, he joined the Naval Cadets, where he continued training seriously. Then he joined the Navy where his boxing career really took off. He boxed for the Navy as a Welterweight. After the war bouts were arranged to keep the men entertained while they were waiting to be demobbed.Charlie started to get terrible headaches and it wasn't long before he was discharged unfit from the Navy, on medical grounds, due to chronic migraine.When Charlie came out of the Navy he worked with his Dad on 'The Knocker' and carried on his boxing as a professional fighter.The twins by this time, had also been making a name for themselves in the ring and on one occasion all three brothers appeared on the same bill.Unfortunately, Charlie lost his fight, the last professional fight he ever fought.
The Twins, Ronnie and Reggie loved the attention they received as young kids growing up. They came to expect it and when it wasn't forthcoming it was demanded. Charlie says "Sometimes they looked up at me in a strange, adult sort of way, and I'd have this weird feeling that they knew all about me and what was going on around them. Their dark eyes seemed to lack that childlike innocence. It was as if each boy knew more than he ought. The mental and physical relationship between them was intense"Reg always liked the company of others, while Ron was more of a loner. He loved nothing better than going off with his Alsatian Freda, searching the bomb sites to see what he could find.They loved listening to the old Relay radio which their mother rented on a weekly basis. It had only two dials, one to switch it on and the other for the two stations that were available. 'Dick Barton, Special Agent' and 'Just William' were there favourites. Their first school was Wood Close in Brick Lane and then to Daniel Street School at the age of 12. School days were happy times for the twins, they got on with the Teachers as well as the other kids. Ron's best subject was general knowledge and Reg's was English. They both played football and boxed for the school.Their Dad used to take them to the Robert Browning Youth club, in South London for boxing lessons three times a week. From there they went on to join other clubs including the Repton Boys Club, which years later was to be the scene of a famous murder mystery.The war disrupted their education when they were evacuated to Suffolk, a place which they grew to love. When their mother decided to return to London they were devastated.London was still being bombed and at nights they would make their way to the air raid shelter, which were in the Railway Arches across the road. They showed no fear at the events taking place around them. The Twins would just hold hands and shut their eyes.Grandad Lee would entertain all the people in the Arches with his tricks and others would do a turn, singing or reciting. It was party time. Reggie gained a great love for the theatre through these war time theatrical evenings.The houses and factories left derelict by Hitler's bombs were their playground and pieces of shrapnel their treasure.They would push each other around the cobbled streets in a home made go cart, with a spike at the front to do damage to any rival cart that happened to crash into them.
When the Twins were about ten years old their uncle used to take them to Billingsgate Market on his cart pulled by two shire horses. Each trip a great adventure for the imaginary cowboys.Still aged ten they would hire a horse and cart, take it to where the old tar road blocks were being taken up, buy it by the sackful for a few shillings and then sell it for firewood around the houses. Even at a very young age they knew how to make a few bob.When they were fifteen they worked in Billingsgate Market for six months, the longest job they ever had. Reg was training to be a salesman and Ron was an Empty boy, collecting all the empty boxes for his employers.The Twins also took turns working for Grandad Jimmy Kray on his second hand clothes stall in Brick Lane.By now, the Twins were boxing at an amateur level, helped by brother Charlie who first introduced them into boxing.Once a fairground came to Bethnal Green with its Dodgems, Roller coaster and Boxing Booth. In those days the audience were invited to fight any of the fairground fighters for a cash prize. If they could last three rounds they won a pound. During the interval the crowd were invited to fight each other for cash. Reg and Ron stepped into the ring and proceeded to batter hell out of each other. They collected seven shillings and sixpence between them for the fight and ran home to tell the family. They considered themselves as paid fighters.
Although the Twins were very close, they would often fight each other toe to toe. After one of the many rows they had Ronnie climbed onto the Roof of a train station and threatened to kill himself by throwing himself onto the tracks. He never did but that was the intensity of their relationship.By the age of fifteen the local papers were writing about the Twins' exploits in the ring. In 1948 Reg was the Schoolboy Champion of Hackney and went on to win the London Schoolboy Boxing Championships as well as being a finalist for the Great Britain Schoolboys Championship. In 1949 he became the South Eastern Divisional Youth Club Champion and the London ATC Champion.Ron was also the Schoolboy Champion of Hackney and won the London Junior Championships, and a London ATC title.Their brother Charlie recalls "As boxers, the Twins were quite different from each other: Reggie was the cool, cautious one, with all the skills of a potential champion and importantly, he always listened to advice. Ronnie was a good boxer too, and very brave. But he would never listen to advice. He was a very determined boy with a mind of his own. If he made up his mind to do something, he'd do it, no matter what, and unlike Reggie he would never hold back. He would go on and on until he dropped".These same characteristics shown in the ring were to be seen later on in their business activities to devastating effects.By the age of sixteen Ronnie and Reggie were becoming notorious in the East End. They had their own gang and caused mayhem in the surrounding areas. They were barred from most of the cinemas and dance halls in the area.There were always gang fights in the East End so it was commonsense to have a weapon at hand or be able to get one pretty quick. The Twins usually carried a knife but could call on almost any weapon from their arsenal underneath their bed at Vallance Road. They were just as happy to use a weapon as use their fists, and they wouldn't stop until their opponents were completely subdued.
When they were twelve they had their first real brush with the law. They were put on probation for firing an air rifle in a public place.Now sixteen, they were arrested and charged with Grevious Bodily Harm for an attack on a rival gang outside a dance hall in Mare Street, Hackney. The Rev R. N. Hetherington stood as a character witness for the Twins. He ran a small youth club in the area and the boys would run errands for him. This association really paid off. They were acquitted of all charges due to lack of evidence!The Judge remarked "Dont go around thinking you are the Sabini brothers" (well known gangsters of the time). Years later the Sabini brothers and the Krays became friends.Aged seventeen the Twins were in trouble again. They were standing outside a cafe in Bethnal Green Road with some friends when a policeman told them to move on and he pushed Ron in the back. Ron didn't let anyone push him around, he hit the policeman and they all ran off. Later when the police tried to arrest Ron, Reggie got involved and they were both arrested and charged with assault. But thanks again to the Rev Hetherington they received probation.They were now boxing professionally. Ron had six fights, won four of them and lost two. Reg had seven fights and won them all. They could have made a career out of boxing had they not been called up into the Army a few months later.At eighteen years of age the Twins were called up to do their National Service. It wasn't something they wanted to do but thought that if the Army were to let them be Physical Training Instructors then they would suffer it. This wasn't to be and they spent the next two years either on the run or locked up in the guardhouse.While on the run they ended up in court again for assaulting a policeman. This time they were given a month in Wormwood Scrubs and on release they were sent to Canterbury barracks to be court-martialled. They escaped before they reached their destination but were captured twenty four hours later. They spent the rest of their National Service in the glasshouse at Shepton Mallet.It was here that the Twins first met Charlie Richardson, who, in later years became their gangland rival.When they were younger Ron and Reg made a vow that they would either be boxers or villains. Being called up into the Army ended their boxing career and put them firmly on the road to infamy as Britain's best known Gangsters.
When they came out of the Army they did various odd jobs including protection and bouncing for some small time villains but they didn't want to work for anyone but themselves. The turning point for them came when they bought a seedy snooker club in Bethnal Green. It was the type of club that always had trouble, fights all the time, getting smashed up on a regular basis, no self respecting person would ever set foot inside it. They approached the lease holder who said "Okay, if you think you can sort the club out then the lease is yours". They called it the Regal. In no time at all the club was turned around, the fighting had stopped and the clientele had improved.Did this miraculous recovery come about because of the Twins own reputation for violence or as it has been said by many, that they were responsible for all the trouble in the first place?
The Twins loved to drink, they could drink day and night and not get over drunk, a skill they inherited from their father, who was always in the pub. Their favourite tipple was a gin and tonic. So it was a natural sort of progression for them to acquire clubs where they could continue to drink at their leisure.It was at the Regal that a Maltese mob tried to collect protection money from the Twins. One of the gang had a bayonet thrust through his hand. The others were lucky to escape with their lives.The Twins started using a club called The Vienna Rooms, off Edgware Road. The club was frequented by two of the Twins heroes, Jack Spot and Billy Hill, who between them ran the whole of London. Ron and Reg would sit for hours with them listening and learning everything they could.They worked for Jack Spot for a while at the racecourses providing protection for the Bookmakers. Jack Spot would provide bucket boys to wash the chalk off the boards and the minders would make sure that the Bookmakers didn't get any trouble from irate punters or rival gangs.
Mad Frankie Fraser, gangland enforcer, also served his apprenticeship on the courses as a bucket boy for Darbo Sabini, when he was ten years old.They had learnt well from their brief time with Jack Spot and Billy Hill but it was time to move on.By now the Twins reputation went before them, they were into every scam you could think of.They hi-jacked lorries laden with everything from furniture to cigaretters. They dealt in National Service exemption certificates, and Dockers Tickets which allowed men to work on the docks for short hours and massive amounts of pay and anything else they could get their hands on.In 1957 Ron was sent to prison for three years for GBH on a man called Terry Martin outside a pub in Stepney. He was also charged with possessing a fire arm. Reg was also charged with GBH but was found not guilty.While Ron was away, Reg opened up another club in Bow and called it The Double R. Charlie, who was usually kept in the background away from any wheeling and dealing, put some money up for the club, for which he was given a percentage of the takings. The club flourished. Reg acquired many clubs that had previously been mysteriously firebombed. The Kray empire was gradually being built. It has been said that they owned or had a stake in more than thirty clubs and bars.The business seemed to operate a lot more smoothly without Ronnie's interference. The problem with the Kray 'Firm' as it came to be known was that there wasn't one Boss. Ron and Reg argued constantly about what they were doing and how they handled the proceeds. Ronnie, being the dominant twin usually won the arguements , sometimes at a cost to the business.Although Ronnie could be vicious and unforgiving, there was another side to his nature. He would always help people down on their luck. He was regarded as a soft touch for those in real need, especially people coming out of prison. He would open up the till in one of their clubs and take out what ever was in there and give it to some deserving cause. Although very commendable, it was not good for business. This caused constant rows with his brothers, but Ronnie didn't care, they needed it and he gave it to them. The thing about Ronnie was that once he had his mind made up to do something , he would it, good or bad , regardless of the consequences. It was probably this part of his personality, coupled with his oncoming schizophrenic tendencies that made the Krays as feared as they were.
So when Ronnie was imprisoned it was inevitable that it would reflect favourably in their business dealings.Ron first went to Wandsworth prison, then he was transferred to Camp Hill prison. While inside his favourite aunt Rose died. This seemed to tip him over the edge. He was sent to the psychiatric wing of Winchester prison where he was declared insane.He was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. His health slowly deteriorated . Reggie put this down to the different drugs they were giving Ron and decided to get him out of prison. As luck would have it they moved Ron to Long Grove mental hospital giving them a better chance of freeing him. The idea was to get Ron out and keep him out long enough for an independent psychiatrist to assess his state of mind. If the doctor found him to be sane then the authorities would have to re-assess him when he was captured or returned to the hospital. Reggie visited Ron and simply changed places with him. Ron walked out of the hospital and away. Reg sat reading a paper and then asked where Reg had gone because he was away so long. The hospital orderlies assumed that the man sitting in the chair was Ron. When thy realised what had happened it was too late. Ron had long gone. And they had to let Reg out as well!He remained on the run for five months.It wasn't too long before they realised what a dreadful mistake they had made. Ronnie really was ill. There were times when he didn't recognise Reg or his parents. He believed that these people in front of him were imposters.He had to be returned to hospital for his own sake. One night when he secretly returned to Vallance Road, the police raided the house and he was arrested.He was re-assessed and returned to prison where he remained until his release in May 1959.
When he came out in 1959 he had terrible mood swings and it was clear that he was still ill. He was uncontrollable, he would rant and rave, pace up and down, and thought that everyone was plotting against him. The family took him to hospital to get him the help he so desperately needed. Part of this help meant that he would have to take drugs and injections for the rest of his life.He not only had a mental Illness but the treatment that was to keep him calm and subdued affected him physically. He put on weight, his speech was slow and he walked laboriously. He was not the man he used to be. Although there were times when Ron looked and felt like his old self, what had gone before was just a taste of things to come.Unfortunately for Ron, Reggie was arrested in 1959 for demanding money with menaces. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison even though the victim retracted the allegation under oath. He was sent to Wandsworth where he first met Jack the Hat McVitie and The Mad Axeman Frank Mitchell, two men who were to play a major part , although posthumously, in their eventual downfall.
At the start of the 60's all the brothers were together again, Ron was getting back to his old self, the Firm had truly established itself, business was good and they were making inroads into the West End gambling and club scene.Their first toehold in this area was an upmarket gaming club called Esmeraldas. It was fronted by Lord Effingham, the sixth Earl of Effingham. He was paid by the Krays to welcome the customers as they entered the club.They also invested a lot of their own money in a seaside development in a place called Enugu in Nigeria. It was set up by their business manager Leslie Payne and Ernest Shinwell, son of Manny Shinwell, a labour MP. The Initial introduction into the project took place between Ronnie, a man called Leslie Holt and Lord Boothby, a Peer of The Realm. In the end the project collapsed and the money disappeared.Later, Leslie Holt was to die under very strange circumstances and another disappeared never to be seen again.
Ronnie Kray met Lord Boothby through one of the many gay parties that they both attended. He realised he was gay at a very early age when he fell in love with a boy across the road from where he lived. He didn't hide his sexuality but it wasn't until the sexual freedom of the sixties that it became widely known.The Krays were mixing with some very influential people and, it was thought, by some, that they were getting too powerful. They were being watched constantly by the Authorities. One of the reasons for their eventual downfall was their love of publicity. Ronnie in particular loved being photographed with celebrities and sports stars, He wanted to display himself as the stereotypical American Gangster as portrayed by James Cagney and George Raft in the American films of the 50's and 60's. The difference between The Krays and their real life, American counterparts, the Mafia, is that they kept a low profile and let others do their dirty work.
In 1965 the Twins were arrested for demanding money with menaces from a man called Hew McGowan, the owner of a club called the Hideaway. They were remanded in custody to Brixton prison. Their influence was so wide reaching that questions were asked in the House of Lords as to how long they were going to keep the Twins locked up. These questions, asked by Lord Boothby, caused a sensation. When they went to court they were cleared of all charges.In less than a month they owned the Hideaway club and changed the name to El Morocco. Also in April, 1965, Reggie married the love of his life, Francis Shea, the sister of his good friend Frank. She was twenty one years old. It was a marriage which would end in disaster. 8 months later they were living apart much to Reggie's disappointment. Ronnie and Reggie were now forging links with the Mafia. They went to America for a week and met their top men. Although they made some very useful connections on their trip, they didn't do as much business as they thought they would. They did however, provide protection, on behalf of the Mafia, for many American celebrities visiting or performing in England. And protected their gambling interests in the West End as well as entertaining them when they came to London..
The Krays shared control of London with the Richardson gang from South London. The main body of the Richardson gang consisted of, brothers, Charlie and Eddie, 'Mad' Frankie Fraser and George Cornell. They were already entrenched in the West End, supplying most of the clubs with one armed bandits, and the Krays wanted in.In March 1966 a gun battle took place in a club called Mr Smiths in Rushey Green. It has been said that The Richardson gang went there with the intentions of wiping out the Krays. There was only one member of the Kray gang present. He was shot dead. Frankie Fraser was shot in the hip and Eddie was shot in the backside. They were taken to hospital and on their release they were charged with affray and sentenced to 5 years in prison. Frankie Fraser was originally charged with the murder of Dickie Hart but was found not guilty. It has also been said that it was George Cornell who actually killed Dickie Hart but managed to escape before the police arrived, and that was one of the reasons why, on the 9th of April 1966, Ronnie Kray walked into the Blind Beggar public house and shot him in the head.
Ronnie laughed when he recounted the story of how he had killed that 'sadistic slag' Cornell.Some time after the killing of George Cornell, the Twins were arrested and put on an identification parade. The witnesses failed to pick them out and they were duly released.At the end of 1966, the Twins hatched a plot to free Frank Mitchell, the Mad Axeman. They had both met him on previous occasions in Wandsworth prison. He was serving a short term in prison when he escaped and broke into an old couple's house and held them hostage with an axe that he found. He was recaptured and sentenced to life without any release date.It was decided that they would break him out of prison and keep him out long enough for the newspapers to run the story with the promise of his case being investigated. He would then give himself up and return to prison.He was picked up from Dartmoor by Albert Donoghue and Billy Williams, two of the Kray Firm. However there was no investigation and the hunt for Mitchell continued. Frank Mitchell was subsequently killed on or about the 23rd of December, 1966. Reggie cried when he heard the news of Mitchell's death.
The Twins were later charged with his murder.At the beginning of 1967 things were looking up for the Krays and Reggie in particular. By June of that year, it looked as if he was getting back together with his wife Frances. However he didn't know that Frances was very ill. She had been mentally unstable before they married but the break-up, masterminded by her parents, caused her to have a mental breakdown. When she came out of hospital Reggie arranged for the two of them to go on holiday. The strain of the constant battles between her parents and Reg, who they disliked intensely, took it's toll. On the day they were to leave for Ibiza she took an overdose of pills and died.Reggie was heartbroken. He went into a deep depression for months. He was drinking all the time and was crazy with grief. It was through this very traumatic period in his life that he killed Jack 'The Hat' McVitie. Ron was always boasting about what he did to Cornell and it has been suggested by some, that he goaded Reg into killing McVitie. Reg has denied that his brother influenced him in any way but this was totally out of character for Reg, who under normal circumstances was always in control of his actions.
Jack 'The Hat' McVitie, so called because he would never take the hat off that was covering his bald patch, worked for the Twins doing small little jobs, nothing for him to lay claim as being part of the Firm. He was a dangerous man. He wasn't afraid of the Twins in any way and was often heard slagging them off. He was a drunkard, took drugs and beat up women. It was rumoured that he was paid to kill Leslie Payne, the Twins one time business manager, and that he took the money and never fulfilled the contract. He had been warned by Reg on numerous occasions about his attitude but to no avail.Jack was lured to a party in Evering Road, Stoke Newington, where he was stabbed to death by Reg Kray. This last action proved to be the end of the Krays and the Firm.
While the authorities let them get on with it in the past they had now gone 'beyond the accepted parameters' and had to be stopped at all costs. On the 8th of May 1968 The Kray Twins were arrested. 'Nipper' Read headed the raid on Brathwaite House in Old Street. Two of the many charges they had to answer to were the murders of George Cornell and Jack McVitie. Their arrest and continued confinement before their trial, loosened the grip of fear they had on the community and it wasn't too long until the East End code of silence had been broken. Within the next few months, with the help of some of the most respected members of the Firm, the police had made more arrests. All of those arrested pleaded not guilty with the exception of Albert Donoghue, a leading gang member. He was tried separately and was imprisoned for 2 years.
In January 1969 the trial started and lasted about 6 weeks.
The ten men who stood in the Dock were all convicted of various charges except for Tony Barry. He was acquitted of being an accessory to the murder of McVitie.
The remaining nine men in the dock were charged with, convicted of, and sentenced to the following:
Ronnie Kray, aged 35 * for the murder of George Cornell - guilty * for the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to Life imprisonment with a reccomendation to serve at least 30 years
Reggie Kray, aged 35 * for the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * for being an accessory to the murder of George Cornell - guilty * Sentenced to Life imprisonment with a reccomendation to serve at least 30 years
Charlie Kray, aged 41 * for being an accessory to the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to 10 years in prison
John 'Ian' Barrie, aged 31 * for the murder of George Cornell - guilty * Sentenced to Life imprisonment with a reccomendation to serve at least 20 years
Tony Lambrianou, aged 26 * for the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to Life imprisonment with a reccomendation to serve at least 15 years
Christopher Lambrianou, aged 29 * for the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to Life imprisonment with a reccomendation to serve at least 15 years
Ronnie Bender, aged 30 * for the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to Life imprisonment with a reccomendation to serve at least 20 years
Freddie Foreman, aged 36 * for being an accessory to the murder of Jack McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to 10 years in prison
Cornelious 'Connie' Whitehead, aged 30 * Carrying a gun - guilty * Complicity in the murder of McVitie - guilty * Sentenced to 2 years for the gun and 7 years for the Complicity charge.
There was still another case to answer for the Krays and their associate Freddie Foreman.Ron Kray was charged with the murder of Frank Mitchell. He was found not guiltyCharlie Kray had the charge of murder dropped Reg Kray, receieved 5 years for freeing Frank Mitchell from Dartmoor and another 9 months for harbouring him, to run concurrently with his other sentences.Freddie Foreman was also found not guilty of murdering Frank Mitchell.Some of the men found guilty in these two trials were innocent, and some of those found not guilty had actually commited the crime
the boothby Affair
The Twins invested thousands of pounds in a doomed project that was to see them catapulted into the media spotlight and led them to believe that they were 'untouchable'. The project consisted of a major housing and factory development in Enugu, Nigeria.
The project had been touted around for quite a while by Ernest Shinwell son of Manny Shinwell, Labour MP, with no takers.
Leslie Payne, the Twins business manager took the project up and convinced Ron and Reg that it would be a good investment if they joined the Consortium.
During negotiations with Shinwell Ron was wined and dined at the Houses of Parliament. It was here that he was first introduced to Lord Boothby . Boothby was a bisexual who had declared that he wasn't quite sure if he preferred young boys or young girls.
The Twins and their fellow members made many visits to the development site during the ensuing months.
In the beginning, they were treated like royalty and met all the local dignitaries and ministers of the region. On one occasion Ron was given a tour of the local jail and even had his photo taken with a warder.
On another trip to Enugu Leslie Payne and Freddie Gore were arrested and Gordon Anderson and Charlie Kray had their passports confiscated until they could come up with £5,000 said to be the amount of money owed to one of the contractors involved in the project.
Charlie contacted his brothers who raised the cash to secure their release.
The problem with this long distance investment project was that the Twins had no real control of the finances and how it was being spent and had to put their 'trust' in others.
As time passed the project and its funds were slowly disappearing.
More investors were needed to keep the project afloat.
Ron approached Lord Boothby.
Lord Boothby and Ron had become great friends through their mutual love of young men and elicit sex.
A meeting was set up by Boothby's gay lover Leslie Holt, cat burglar by profession and Ron Kray with the hope of persuading Boothby to invest in the Enugu project.
Also present was 'Mad Teddy' Smith another homosexual and friend of Tom Driberg MP. Smith was later involved in the escape of Frank Mitchell and his imprisonment until the time of his death.
This meeting, which was photographed, was to have repercussions later on that involved the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.
A leading newspaper got hold of the association with Boothby and Ron Kray and ran an article about 'The Peer and the Gangster'. They didn't name names but it was quite clear who the main contenders were.
The Mirror newspaper printed the whole story that left no doubt who was involved.
Boothby, on holiday in France when the story broke, knew he was in trouble and telephoned his friend Driberg.
Prime Minister Harold Wilson knew about the love lives of his two wayward MPs and took matters into his own hands to protect himself and his position.
He appointed a top QC who advised Boothby to sue the Mirror.
He won and was awarded £40,000 compensation.
Boothby was also having an affair with Harold Macmillan's wife Dorothy and made her pregnant.
He later got married and pushed his homosexual acquaintances and activities into the background.
Hew McCowan, owner of the Hideaway club and the son of a baronet was also approached for money. The Krays say that he was asked to invest in the Enugu Project but McCowan insists that it was nothing more than an attempt to extort money from the profits of his club.
The Twins were arrested in January for demanding money with menaces and had spent more than five weeks in prison when Lord Boothby stood up in the House of Lords and spoke on their behalf.
They were eventually acquitted.
Months later McCowan's club became Kray property and was renamed the El Morocco.
Leslie Holt later took up with a Dr Kells who supplied him with customers for his cat burglary business.
Things worked quite well until the police became suspicious of the double act.
Holt later died mysteriously while being operated on by Kells for a foot complaint.
Dr Kells was charged with murder but, mysteriously, was acquitted.
And 'Mad Teddy' Smith?...He mysteriously disappeared at the beginning of 1968 never to be seen again..... But proof he was still alive after 1968 exists in a way of his passport!
The project had been touted around for quite a while by Ernest Shinwell son of Manny Shinwell, Labour MP, with no takers.
Leslie Payne, the Twins business manager took the project up and convinced Ron and Reg that it would be a good investment if they joined the Consortium.
During negotiations with Shinwell Ron was wined and dined at the Houses of Parliament. It was here that he was first introduced to Lord Boothby . Boothby was a bisexual who had declared that he wasn't quite sure if he preferred young boys or young girls.
The Twins and their fellow members made many visits to the development site during the ensuing months.
In the beginning, they were treated like royalty and met all the local dignitaries and ministers of the region. On one occasion Ron was given a tour of the local jail and even had his photo taken with a warder.
On another trip to Enugu Leslie Payne and Freddie Gore were arrested and Gordon Anderson and Charlie Kray had their passports confiscated until they could come up with £5,000 said to be the amount of money owed to one of the contractors involved in the project.
Charlie contacted his brothers who raised the cash to secure their release.
The problem with this long distance investment project was that the Twins had no real control of the finances and how it was being spent and had to put their 'trust' in others.
As time passed the project and its funds were slowly disappearing.
More investors were needed to keep the project afloat.
Ron approached Lord Boothby.
Lord Boothby and Ron had become great friends through their mutual love of young men and elicit sex.
A meeting was set up by Boothby's gay lover Leslie Holt, cat burglar by profession and Ron Kray with the hope of persuading Boothby to invest in the Enugu project.
Also present was 'Mad Teddy' Smith another homosexual and friend of Tom Driberg MP. Smith was later involved in the escape of Frank Mitchell and his imprisonment until the time of his death.
This meeting, which was photographed, was to have repercussions later on that involved the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.
A leading newspaper got hold of the association with Boothby and Ron Kray and ran an article about 'The Peer and the Gangster'. They didn't name names but it was quite clear who the main contenders were.
The Mirror newspaper printed the whole story that left no doubt who was involved.
Boothby, on holiday in France when the story broke, knew he was in trouble and telephoned his friend Driberg.
Prime Minister Harold Wilson knew about the love lives of his two wayward MPs and took matters into his own hands to protect himself and his position.
He appointed a top QC who advised Boothby to sue the Mirror.
He won and was awarded £40,000 compensation.
Boothby was also having an affair with Harold Macmillan's wife Dorothy and made her pregnant.
He later got married and pushed his homosexual acquaintances and activities into the background.
Hew McCowan, owner of the Hideaway club and the son of a baronet was also approached for money. The Krays say that he was asked to invest in the Enugu Project but McCowan insists that it was nothing more than an attempt to extort money from the profits of his club.
The Twins were arrested in January for demanding money with menaces and had spent more than five weeks in prison when Lord Boothby stood up in the House of Lords and spoke on their behalf.
They were eventually acquitted.
Months later McCowan's club became Kray property and was renamed the El Morocco.
Leslie Holt later took up with a Dr Kells who supplied him with customers for his cat burglary business.
Things worked quite well until the police became suspicious of the double act.
Holt later died mysteriously while being operated on by Kells for a foot complaint.
Dr Kells was charged with murder but, mysteriously, was acquitted.
And 'Mad Teddy' Smith?...He mysteriously disappeared at the beginning of 1968 never to be seen again..... But proof he was still alive after 1968 exists in a way of his passport!
the switch to escape
One of the patients at Long Grove accepted was the notorious London Criminal, Ronnie Kray, who was committed to the hospital in February 1958.
Upon receipt of Ronnie, he was diagnosed with being a schizophrenic – the hospital failed to diagnose that he was a paranoid schizophrenic.
The doctors noticed a small improvement with his condition whilst he was there, but they decided that he should stay. His brother, aware that he was desperate to escape, hatched a plan to set him free.
On 26 May 1958, Reggie accompanied by a friend, George Osborne, walked into the visiting room at the hospital. Reggie was wearing a fawn raincoat and Ronnie was there to greet them, smartly dressed in a blue suit and maroon colored tie. Although there was always a male nurse on duty during visiting hours, Ronnie did nothing to arouse his concern. He and his brother and Osborne sat chatting until afternoon tea was ready. This was prepared in a kitchen along a corridor from the visiting room, and as patients were not allowed to leave the room, guests were allowed to collect it. The twin in the fawn raincoat left the room and disappeared in the direction of the kitchen. About twenty minutes later, the nurse realized that the guest had not returned and went to check with Ronnie and the other guest. Of course it wasn’t Ronnie sitting there, but Reggie.
He and his brother had agreed to wear identical clothes, and Ronnie had flown the coop by now and was on his way to London. The police were called and questioned Reggie and Osborne for over an hour, but as usual were helpless in the face of the intractable fact, that yet again, the twins had used their identities to fool the authorities. As Reggie said to an officer, “It’s not as if we actually done anything. We’ve been sitting here waiting for a cup of tea that never came.”
Upon receipt of Ronnie, he was diagnosed with being a schizophrenic – the hospital failed to diagnose that he was a paranoid schizophrenic.
The doctors noticed a small improvement with his condition whilst he was there, but they decided that he should stay. His brother, aware that he was desperate to escape, hatched a plan to set him free.
On 26 May 1958, Reggie accompanied by a friend, George Osborne, walked into the visiting room at the hospital. Reggie was wearing a fawn raincoat and Ronnie was there to greet them, smartly dressed in a blue suit and maroon colored tie. Although there was always a male nurse on duty during visiting hours, Ronnie did nothing to arouse his concern. He and his brother and Osborne sat chatting until afternoon tea was ready. This was prepared in a kitchen along a corridor from the visiting room, and as patients were not allowed to leave the room, guests were allowed to collect it. The twin in the fawn raincoat left the room and disappeared in the direction of the kitchen. About twenty minutes later, the nurse realized that the guest had not returned and went to check with Ronnie and the other guest. Of course it wasn’t Ronnie sitting there, but Reggie.
He and his brother had agreed to wear identical clothes, and Ronnie had flown the coop by now and was on his way to London. The police were called and questioned Reggie and Osborne for over an hour, but as usual were helpless in the face of the intractable fact, that yet again, the twins had used their identities to fool the authorities. As Reggie said to an officer, “It’s not as if we actually done anything. We’ve been sitting here waiting for a cup of tea that never came.”
the Firm
The Kray 'Firm' consisted of the Colonel Ronnie Kray, his twin brother Reg Kray, Ronnie Hart their cousin, Albert Donoghue, Ian Barrie, Pat Connolly, Big Tommy Brown, known as the Bear, Billy Donovan, Connie Whitehead, Sammy Lederman, Dave simmonds, Nobby Clark, Scotch Jack Dickson, John Barry, Tony and Chris Lambrianou and Ronnie Bender.
Charlie Kray didn't play a big part in the Firm and was often left out of many of the Twins enterprises, he was however, a partner in the Double R club and ran others.
Leslie Payne and Tommy Cowley were the brains of the outfit, often giving credibility and respectability to many of their dubious deals.
Some gang members were recruited after acts of violence had been inflicted upon them by the Twins. For example Albert Donoghue had been shot in the leg by Reg for uttering a threat against them, weeks later he was welcomed into the Firm and put on a pension. He became one of their most trusted members.
The Firm worked on an information basis. The Twins would always help small time crooks who had just been released from prison or when they were down on their luck in return for favours in the future. They were to be the eyes and ears of the Kray Firm. Nothing happened in London without the Twins knowing or without them getting their piece of the action.
The Firm also worked on a sort of franchise system where certain members of the gang, such as Tony and Chris Lambrianou, who would use the Kray name and reputation to conduct their business activities. The Lambrianou brothers operated all over the country content in the knowledge that they had the backing and the muscle of the Firm. The Twins weren't interested in what they were doing so long as they received their percentage.
Martin Short summed up the Firm beautifully when he said in his book 'The Kray's Lieutenant', "With the benefit of hindsight, it seems astonishing that the Firm lasted as long as it did. It was brilliantly organised in an instinctive way, but hopelessly disarrayed when it came to expansion".
It was felt by many that if the Twins had taken more of a back seat when it came to settling disputes, and recruited more able business partners then the history of gangland Britain would probably have to be rewritten.
However, The Twins eventual downfall came about with the help of many of the "loyal and trusted" members of their the Firm.
Charlie Kray didn't play a big part in the Firm and was often left out of many of the Twins enterprises, he was however, a partner in the Double R club and ran others.
Leslie Payne and Tommy Cowley were the brains of the outfit, often giving credibility and respectability to many of their dubious deals.
Some gang members were recruited after acts of violence had been inflicted upon them by the Twins. For example Albert Donoghue had been shot in the leg by Reg for uttering a threat against them, weeks later he was welcomed into the Firm and put on a pension. He became one of their most trusted members.
The Firm worked on an information basis. The Twins would always help small time crooks who had just been released from prison or when they were down on their luck in return for favours in the future. They were to be the eyes and ears of the Kray Firm. Nothing happened in London without the Twins knowing or without them getting their piece of the action.
The Firm also worked on a sort of franchise system where certain members of the gang, such as Tony and Chris Lambrianou, who would use the Kray name and reputation to conduct their business activities. The Lambrianou brothers operated all over the country content in the knowledge that they had the backing and the muscle of the Firm. The Twins weren't interested in what they were doing so long as they received their percentage.
Martin Short summed up the Firm beautifully when he said in his book 'The Kray's Lieutenant', "With the benefit of hindsight, it seems astonishing that the Firm lasted as long as it did. It was brilliantly organised in an instinctive way, but hopelessly disarrayed when it came to expansion".
It was felt by many that if the Twins had taken more of a back seat when it came to settling disputes, and recruited more able business partners then the history of gangland Britain would probably have to be rewritten.
However, The Twins eventual downfall came about with the help of many of the "loyal and trusted" members of their the Firm.
charlie kray
Charlie Kray once described himself as a "human punchbag" for his ferocious twin brothers, Ronnie and Reggie, who thought, apparently, that he was "a bit soft". Leonard "Nipper" Read, the detective who had all three of them convicted in the 60s, suspected otherwise. He described Charlie as the brains behind the Kray empire. "He was well and truly part of the firm. When the twins were in trouble, he was the first person they turned to."
As ever with the Krays, it is hard to distinguish myth from reality. Perhaps only one thing is certain. Charlie, who has died aged 73 at St Mary's Hospital, near Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight, owed nearly everything that came to him in life - both good and bad, whether he liked it or not - to the twins. He lived and died a Kray.
Born in east London, the son of Charles and Violet Kray, he lived most of his life in the long shadow cast by his brothers, who were seven years younger. The three boys shared the same room at 178 Vallance Road, Bethnal Green, and Charlie became, in effect, the twins' guardian during the second world war when they were evacuated from London to Suffolk.
An accomplished amateur boxer, Charlie represented the navy as a welterweight against the army and the air force, and encouraged the twins to join a local gym. It was something he later said he regretted. Charlie helped to train them and thought that the discipline that was being instilled would stand them in good stead in later life.
What Ronnie and Reggie learned, however, were the tools of intimidation. In his book, Me and My Brothers, Charlie described how he remonstrated with the boys for knocking out two men who had insulted a friend of theirs. "I should have saved my breath. (They) were not interested in what I had to say or what I felt." Ronnie and Reggie were 14 at the time.
As the twins grew up, their reputation spread. In no time, they had developed from small time gangleaders to running an extortion racket which they called "The Firm". Charlie claimed to have been a peripheral figure in this organisation. He did not mete out the beatings that the twins did, nor did he abandon them in disgust at their behaviour. Instead, he became his brothers' theatrical agent, responsible for booking acts at their bars and nightclubs, including The Double R. A goodlooking and affable man, he appeared to enjoy the glitz, becoming a confidant of Jackie Collins, Judy Garland, the boxer Sonny Liston and Christine Keeler. He had an affair with Barbara Windsor in the early 1960s, but this fizzled out when he refused to leave his wife, Dolly. He later divorced her when he found out she was having an affair.
When the twins' empire came crashing down in 1969, Charlie was inevitably dragged with them. Ronnie was convicted of shooting George Cornell at the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel. Reggie was found guilty of stabbing Jack "The Hat" McVitie. On limited evidence, Charlie was accused of helping the twins dispose of McVitie's body. He denied involvement (and continued to do so for the rest of his life), but was jailed for 10 years.
When he was released in 1975 he tried a variety of jobs; from selling cutlery and silverware at the Ideal Home Exhibition to managing a pop group and property development - but he quickly realised that steady work would be hard to find.
"I discovered that the minor irritations the name Kray had caused me before my sentence were now major problems," he said. "The name Kray spelt NO in giant capital letters, not only in London but throughout the whole country."
Instead of fighting the notoriety, he decided to cash in on it, attending charity events and promotions, writing books and agreeing to make a film of their life story. Friends of the Krays say the twins frowned on Charlie for this, and were angry that he did not put more effort into securing their release. What money he had he spent, which might have lured him back into the underworld.
In June 1997 he was jailed at Woolwich crown court for 12 years for his role in plotting to bring cocaine worth £39m into the country. He was convicted of offering to supply the drug to undercover police officers and also of supplying two kilos of the drug worth £63,500. He claimed he was set up by the police.
Charlie suffered a stroke and was readmitted to hospital in March following a heart attack. Reggie was taken to see him earlier this week - the first time they had seen each other since the funeral of Ronnie in 1995. Charlie's girlfriend, Diane Buffini, and two other friends were at his bedside when he died. His son Gary died in 1996.
One former criminal, who knew the Krays well, said last night: "It's plain wrong to say Charlie was the brains behind the Kray empire. Reggie was. Charlie wasn't like the twins, whatever others say. He was a gentler man.
"It's true that he reaped some benefits from being their brother, but he also paid a very, very heavy price."
As ever with the Krays, it is hard to distinguish myth from reality. Perhaps only one thing is certain. Charlie, who has died aged 73 at St Mary's Hospital, near Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight, owed nearly everything that came to him in life - both good and bad, whether he liked it or not - to the twins. He lived and died a Kray.
Born in east London, the son of Charles and Violet Kray, he lived most of his life in the long shadow cast by his brothers, who were seven years younger. The three boys shared the same room at 178 Vallance Road, Bethnal Green, and Charlie became, in effect, the twins' guardian during the second world war when they were evacuated from London to Suffolk.
An accomplished amateur boxer, Charlie represented the navy as a welterweight against the army and the air force, and encouraged the twins to join a local gym. It was something he later said he regretted. Charlie helped to train them and thought that the discipline that was being instilled would stand them in good stead in later life.
What Ronnie and Reggie learned, however, were the tools of intimidation. In his book, Me and My Brothers, Charlie described how he remonstrated with the boys for knocking out two men who had insulted a friend of theirs. "I should have saved my breath. (They) were not interested in what I had to say or what I felt." Ronnie and Reggie were 14 at the time.
As the twins grew up, their reputation spread. In no time, they had developed from small time gangleaders to running an extortion racket which they called "The Firm". Charlie claimed to have been a peripheral figure in this organisation. He did not mete out the beatings that the twins did, nor did he abandon them in disgust at their behaviour. Instead, he became his brothers' theatrical agent, responsible for booking acts at their bars and nightclubs, including The Double R. A goodlooking and affable man, he appeared to enjoy the glitz, becoming a confidant of Jackie Collins, Judy Garland, the boxer Sonny Liston and Christine Keeler. He had an affair with Barbara Windsor in the early 1960s, but this fizzled out when he refused to leave his wife, Dolly. He later divorced her when he found out she was having an affair.
When the twins' empire came crashing down in 1969, Charlie was inevitably dragged with them. Ronnie was convicted of shooting George Cornell at the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel. Reggie was found guilty of stabbing Jack "The Hat" McVitie. On limited evidence, Charlie was accused of helping the twins dispose of McVitie's body. He denied involvement (and continued to do so for the rest of his life), but was jailed for 10 years.
When he was released in 1975 he tried a variety of jobs; from selling cutlery and silverware at the Ideal Home Exhibition to managing a pop group and property development - but he quickly realised that steady work would be hard to find.
"I discovered that the minor irritations the name Kray had caused me before my sentence were now major problems," he said. "The name Kray spelt NO in giant capital letters, not only in London but throughout the whole country."
Instead of fighting the notoriety, he decided to cash in on it, attending charity events and promotions, writing books and agreeing to make a film of their life story. Friends of the Krays say the twins frowned on Charlie for this, and were angry that he did not put more effort into securing their release. What money he had he spent, which might have lured him back into the underworld.
In June 1997 he was jailed at Woolwich crown court for 12 years for his role in plotting to bring cocaine worth £39m into the country. He was convicted of offering to supply the drug to undercover police officers and also of supplying two kilos of the drug worth £63,500. He claimed he was set up by the police.
Charlie suffered a stroke and was readmitted to hospital in March following a heart attack. Reggie was taken to see him earlier this week - the first time they had seen each other since the funeral of Ronnie in 1995. Charlie's girlfriend, Diane Buffini, and two other friends were at his bedside when he died. His son Gary died in 1996.
One former criminal, who knew the Krays well, said last night: "It's plain wrong to say Charlie was the brains behind the Kray empire. Reggie was. Charlie wasn't like the twins, whatever others say. He was a gentler man.
"It's true that he reaped some benefits from being their brother, but he also paid a very, very heavy price."
the richardsons
Eddie, along with his older brother, Charlie, were the founding members of the notorious Richardson Gang during the 1960s.
The gang had a criminal empire which was equally feared and respected. Their flirtation with illegality and their merciless manner eventually gave them their infamous nickname - 'The Torture Gang'.
The Richardsons made a lot of their money working in slot machines and scrap metal yards, but their legitimate businesses acted as a front for other activities, including racketeering, fraud, money lending, theft and stolen goods.
The gang comprised of three main members - Eddie, Charlie and, later, 'mad' Frankie Fraser.
The brothers grew up together in Camberwell, south London, and eventually went into business with their father when Eddie was 17. Regardless of their criminal activity, the gang's shrewdness and business acumen is impressive.
Whenever he's managed to stay away from prison cells, Eddie has run many businesses, including a scrap metal company - something he's keen reiterate. "I've done proper legitimate companies, you know," he says worryingly.
The gang's infamy and business acumen was almost unrivalled, if it wasn't for the other mob over in east London: The Kray twins. The two opposing gangs had a tempestuous relationship. If you were to believe local folklore, you would assume the two gangs had gun-toting, Jesse James-type wars, both spraying bullets like swarms of locusts across London. But, in reality, the two tried to avoid each other. The Krays went out looking for the headlines, and the Richardsons went looking for money.
Eddie doesn't like the Krays, or what they've become. Today, the brothers are idolised figures of the London underworld, but, to Eddie, they were the opposite of gangland icons. "They was two lost sheep in the prison," he says with a smile. He even reminds us of the hierarchy behind bars by the way they queued, "Reggie Kray used to walk behind me."
The 2015 film, 'Legend', starring Tom Hardy and Emily Browning, has cemented the Krays' status as bona fide gangster royalty, but Eddie says the film depiction of the twins couldn't be further from the truth. "It was a load of rubbish - they were both gay," he says.
"Reggie never came out straight away, he came out at the end. I mean he [Reggie] married that girl and never consummated the marriage. Terrible life for her. He was just trying to prove something, that he wasn't gay like his brother or something, I don't know the idea of it. It was a shame for her."
The film has sparked discussions about the Krays' sexuality, but Eddie insists 'Legend' is riddled with inaccuracies. "The film makes him [Reggie] heterosexual and also makes him the governor of the two of them. Ronnie Kray was 100 per cent the governor of the two of them."
Though the spotlight shone firmly on The Kray twins in the '60s, the guile of the Richardsons was their ability to stay in the dark. They ran businesses and committed crimes, while making much more money.
In 1963, Eddie left his brother and started businesses on his own. This is where he met 'Mad' Frankie Fraser. Frankie had a fearful reputation as a henchman. According to Eddie, his reputation was unwarranted, and mainly owed to time Frankie served in Broadmoor, the high-security psychiatric hospital.
When Frankie joined the Richardson Gang it was described by a rival as akin to 'China getting the atom bomb'. He was ruthless, and nobody was likely to cross the gang with Frankie there. He also played a key role in the acquisition of the Torture Gang nickname. It's hard to find out how the nickname officially started, but inevitably it was one poor soul who found themselves on the end of the depraved acts before word quickly got around.
Before he died, Charlie Richardson was desperate to make a film about his legacy. He succeeded. The film, 'Charlie', starred Luke Goss and was released in 2004. It tracked the trial of their brutal crimes as well as his dealings with a South African businessman. However, when Eddie is asked about the film, he becomes increasingly aggravated.
Eddie: "That [the film] is nothing to do with me, that's my brother who made them fucking shitty ones. If I had been involved they would have been much better."
Us: "What was it your brother did wrong?"
Eddie: "Trying to make out he was a straight businessman; it was a load of rubbish."
Us: "What was the true story then?"
Eddie: "The true story was he was a bigger fucking villain than me. Torturing fucking people; I never tortured people, it was him."
Us: "He did do it then?"
Eddie: "Yeah, he had them for three days sometimes, people. Trying to control them, trying to make them work for him. With tools and that."
Us: "Do you know what he did to them?"
Eddie: "Well, he would humiliate them. A lot of things he done. I don't really want to go into it."
According to London folklore, the gang carried out mock trials where an unfortunate individual would face questions based on their actions. Charlie would head these and once the trial was done the torture would begin. Typical forms of torture would involve whippings, having toes removed with bolt cutters, cigarette burns, electric shocks (sometimes to the genitals), and having teeth pulled out with pliers. Frankie was particularly notorious with the latter, earning the nickname 'The Dentist'. Once the depravity was finished, the victim was usually covered in so much blood that they needed a change of clothes. This part of the trial was wickedly given the nickname 'taking a shirt from Charlie'.
Aside from the torture, Charlie was now getting wrapped up in the world of the long firm. He would set up companies and run them legitimately for months, and then place an order on credit for goods. Eventually the company would sell all the goods and disappear, while Charlie kept all the profits. "He got involved with all these long firm people," says Eddie. "Running these long firms, and he was trying to control them. So he was giving them the fucking treatment if you like, and trying to control them. But they was like a trained load of monkeys."
This period of the Richardsons' tenure would be cagey, with it all blowing up in a fight with some rivals on a night in Catford. They were at Smithy's, a club that was under the Richardsons' protection. "They was out for trouble, the other little mob, and they had guns, two guns, and one of them wanted to have a straightening with me," Eddie recalls. "Peter Hennessey, a big lump, he wanted to have a fight with me. So, we went on the dance floor, and I done him. I really want to punch his head through the fucking floor boards, to be honest. But I'd been shot in the back, hadn't I?" He laughs at the thought.
After he was shot, a brawl ensued and men were arrested. Eddie and Frankie were taken to Lewisham Hospital.
Eddie and the rest of the gang were arrested on the day of the 1966 World Cup final. Eddie got five years for affray due to the Catford incident, but then the Torture trial came up at the Old Bailey, and his sentence was extended by 10 years. Charlie got 25 years, and Frankie got 10 years.
From his spell in prison, which included time at a jail in Durham in the north east of England, Eddie has some great stories, ranging from the bizarre to the violent. "I was away with the IRA," he says. "Brian Keenan, the number one man in the IRA, was my bridge partner." It's also clear, that whilst he was young, disobedience got the better of him in prison.
"I lost a lot of remission on the first sentence," he remembers. "I lost 450 days' remission, which is a lot. People lose a week and they cry their eyes out."
In a woodwork class in jail, the prisoners were instructed to make some shelves. They instead chose to make two 26-foot ladders and had a go at a break out. "We had an escape plot," explains Eddie. "And it could easily have worked but we had one in the firm that let us down a bit.
"I was in a mutiny at Durham [prison]. I didn't lose remission for that because we managed to get through to the Daily Mirror," Eddie tells me. "So we broke into the deputy governor's office, barricaded it up and got straight on the phone to the Mirror and told them what was happening."
When Eddie was released from prison, he tried to go back into normal business, but the murky underworld tempted him to return. He was involved in a cannabis and cocaine importation gig, but it didn't work out. "Well, there was someone in the plot that was obviously giving out information and that was how it came on top," he says.
However, that wasn't his original intention for his new lease of life. He set out to make a clean break. "I set up quite a successful company in Greenwich," he explains. "It wasn't gonna last long; it was being taken over. A lot of the companies in Greenwich was moving out, being offered more money. I was losing customers, left, right and centre, and I had people working for me like my brother's son, and people like that. That's what really got me involved in the bloody drugs. I knew it wasn't gonna last and I couldn't keep them forever so I thought I'd get a lump [of money] and sort them out. But it didn't quite happen."
Eddie was sentenced to another 35 years but only served 25. On his second sentence there was a change in mentality. He wasn't the same young man who was trying to get in trouble. "On the second sentence, that's when I started to paint," he says. "I'm a lot older now and I'm not running round tearing up visiting rooms like what I was doing before. I've calmed down a bit. I've always had a good work ethic."
Eddie continues to paint, and has seen success in his work. "I had a one-day exhibition about 10 years ago at Cabins Square and took £30,000 in one day," he says. "I made it pay even in prison."
For now, Eddie is the last man standing of the infamous London gang bosses of the 1960s. He's candid and selectively honest about his reign and the gang's reputation.
Charlie Richardson died in 2012, but the two brothers didn't speak after Eddie's last sentence.
The gang had a criminal empire which was equally feared and respected. Their flirtation with illegality and their merciless manner eventually gave them their infamous nickname - 'The Torture Gang'.
The Richardsons made a lot of their money working in slot machines and scrap metal yards, but their legitimate businesses acted as a front for other activities, including racketeering, fraud, money lending, theft and stolen goods.
The gang comprised of three main members - Eddie, Charlie and, later, 'mad' Frankie Fraser.
The brothers grew up together in Camberwell, south London, and eventually went into business with their father when Eddie was 17. Regardless of their criminal activity, the gang's shrewdness and business acumen is impressive.
Whenever he's managed to stay away from prison cells, Eddie has run many businesses, including a scrap metal company - something he's keen reiterate. "I've done proper legitimate companies, you know," he says worryingly.
The gang's infamy and business acumen was almost unrivalled, if it wasn't for the other mob over in east London: The Kray twins. The two opposing gangs had a tempestuous relationship. If you were to believe local folklore, you would assume the two gangs had gun-toting, Jesse James-type wars, both spraying bullets like swarms of locusts across London. But, in reality, the two tried to avoid each other. The Krays went out looking for the headlines, and the Richardsons went looking for money.
Eddie doesn't like the Krays, or what they've become. Today, the brothers are idolised figures of the London underworld, but, to Eddie, they were the opposite of gangland icons. "They was two lost sheep in the prison," he says with a smile. He even reminds us of the hierarchy behind bars by the way they queued, "Reggie Kray used to walk behind me."
The 2015 film, 'Legend', starring Tom Hardy and Emily Browning, has cemented the Krays' status as bona fide gangster royalty, but Eddie says the film depiction of the twins couldn't be further from the truth. "It was a load of rubbish - they were both gay," he says.
"Reggie never came out straight away, he came out at the end. I mean he [Reggie] married that girl and never consummated the marriage. Terrible life for her. He was just trying to prove something, that he wasn't gay like his brother or something, I don't know the idea of it. It was a shame for her."
The film has sparked discussions about the Krays' sexuality, but Eddie insists 'Legend' is riddled with inaccuracies. "The film makes him [Reggie] heterosexual and also makes him the governor of the two of them. Ronnie Kray was 100 per cent the governor of the two of them."
Though the spotlight shone firmly on The Kray twins in the '60s, the guile of the Richardsons was their ability to stay in the dark. They ran businesses and committed crimes, while making much more money.
In 1963, Eddie left his brother and started businesses on his own. This is where he met 'Mad' Frankie Fraser. Frankie had a fearful reputation as a henchman. According to Eddie, his reputation was unwarranted, and mainly owed to time Frankie served in Broadmoor, the high-security psychiatric hospital.
When Frankie joined the Richardson Gang it was described by a rival as akin to 'China getting the atom bomb'. He was ruthless, and nobody was likely to cross the gang with Frankie there. He also played a key role in the acquisition of the Torture Gang nickname. It's hard to find out how the nickname officially started, but inevitably it was one poor soul who found themselves on the end of the depraved acts before word quickly got around.
Before he died, Charlie Richardson was desperate to make a film about his legacy. He succeeded. The film, 'Charlie', starred Luke Goss and was released in 2004. It tracked the trial of their brutal crimes as well as his dealings with a South African businessman. However, when Eddie is asked about the film, he becomes increasingly aggravated.
Eddie: "That [the film] is nothing to do with me, that's my brother who made them fucking shitty ones. If I had been involved they would have been much better."
Us: "What was it your brother did wrong?"
Eddie: "Trying to make out he was a straight businessman; it was a load of rubbish."
Us: "What was the true story then?"
Eddie: "The true story was he was a bigger fucking villain than me. Torturing fucking people; I never tortured people, it was him."
Us: "He did do it then?"
Eddie: "Yeah, he had them for three days sometimes, people. Trying to control them, trying to make them work for him. With tools and that."
Us: "Do you know what he did to them?"
Eddie: "Well, he would humiliate them. A lot of things he done. I don't really want to go into it."
According to London folklore, the gang carried out mock trials where an unfortunate individual would face questions based on their actions. Charlie would head these and once the trial was done the torture would begin. Typical forms of torture would involve whippings, having toes removed with bolt cutters, cigarette burns, electric shocks (sometimes to the genitals), and having teeth pulled out with pliers. Frankie was particularly notorious with the latter, earning the nickname 'The Dentist'. Once the depravity was finished, the victim was usually covered in so much blood that they needed a change of clothes. This part of the trial was wickedly given the nickname 'taking a shirt from Charlie'.
Aside from the torture, Charlie was now getting wrapped up in the world of the long firm. He would set up companies and run them legitimately for months, and then place an order on credit for goods. Eventually the company would sell all the goods and disappear, while Charlie kept all the profits. "He got involved with all these long firm people," says Eddie. "Running these long firms, and he was trying to control them. So he was giving them the fucking treatment if you like, and trying to control them. But they was like a trained load of monkeys."
This period of the Richardsons' tenure would be cagey, with it all blowing up in a fight with some rivals on a night in Catford. They were at Smithy's, a club that was under the Richardsons' protection. "They was out for trouble, the other little mob, and they had guns, two guns, and one of them wanted to have a straightening with me," Eddie recalls. "Peter Hennessey, a big lump, he wanted to have a fight with me. So, we went on the dance floor, and I done him. I really want to punch his head through the fucking floor boards, to be honest. But I'd been shot in the back, hadn't I?" He laughs at the thought.
After he was shot, a brawl ensued and men were arrested. Eddie and Frankie were taken to Lewisham Hospital.
Eddie and the rest of the gang were arrested on the day of the 1966 World Cup final. Eddie got five years for affray due to the Catford incident, but then the Torture trial came up at the Old Bailey, and his sentence was extended by 10 years. Charlie got 25 years, and Frankie got 10 years.
From his spell in prison, which included time at a jail in Durham in the north east of England, Eddie has some great stories, ranging from the bizarre to the violent. "I was away with the IRA," he says. "Brian Keenan, the number one man in the IRA, was my bridge partner." It's also clear, that whilst he was young, disobedience got the better of him in prison.
"I lost a lot of remission on the first sentence," he remembers. "I lost 450 days' remission, which is a lot. People lose a week and they cry their eyes out."
In a woodwork class in jail, the prisoners were instructed to make some shelves. They instead chose to make two 26-foot ladders and had a go at a break out. "We had an escape plot," explains Eddie. "And it could easily have worked but we had one in the firm that let us down a bit.
"I was in a mutiny at Durham [prison]. I didn't lose remission for that because we managed to get through to the Daily Mirror," Eddie tells me. "So we broke into the deputy governor's office, barricaded it up and got straight on the phone to the Mirror and told them what was happening."
When Eddie was released from prison, he tried to go back into normal business, but the murky underworld tempted him to return. He was involved in a cannabis and cocaine importation gig, but it didn't work out. "Well, there was someone in the plot that was obviously giving out information and that was how it came on top," he says.
However, that wasn't his original intention for his new lease of life. He set out to make a clean break. "I set up quite a successful company in Greenwich," he explains. "It wasn't gonna last long; it was being taken over. A lot of the companies in Greenwich was moving out, being offered more money. I was losing customers, left, right and centre, and I had people working for me like my brother's son, and people like that. That's what really got me involved in the bloody drugs. I knew it wasn't gonna last and I couldn't keep them forever so I thought I'd get a lump [of money] and sort them out. But it didn't quite happen."
Eddie was sentenced to another 35 years but only served 25. On his second sentence there was a change in mentality. He wasn't the same young man who was trying to get in trouble. "On the second sentence, that's when I started to paint," he says. "I'm a lot older now and I'm not running round tearing up visiting rooms like what I was doing before. I've calmed down a bit. I've always had a good work ethic."
Eddie continues to paint, and has seen success in his work. "I had a one-day exhibition about 10 years ago at Cabins Square and took £30,000 in one day," he says. "I made it pay even in prison."
For now, Eddie is the last man standing of the infamous London gang bosses of the 1960s. He's candid and selectively honest about his reign and the gang's reputation.
Charlie Richardson died in 2012, but the two brothers didn't speak after Eddie's last sentence.
'mad' frank fraser
Frankie fraser was a notorious torturer and hitman, who worked as an enforcer for some of london's most feared gang leaders, including billy hill in the 1950s and the richardson gang in the 1960s. his greatest moment of national notoriety came during what was known as the 'torture trial' of the richardson gang in 1967, which became one of the longest in british criminal history.
With sawn-off shotguns as toys, the kray twins as family friends and a mother who urged them as teenagers to 'get out of bed and rob a bleedin' bank', it is little wonder that frank fraser's boys were heavily involved in organized crime by the time they were in their twenties. frank and his sons have, together, spent more than sixty years behind bars. patrick and david's criminal career includes armed robbery and drug-running.
With sawn-off shotguns as toys, the kray twins as family friends and a mother who urged them as teenagers to 'get out of bed and rob a bleedin' bank', it is little wonder that frank fraser's boys were heavily involved in organized crime by the time they were in their twenties. frank and his sons have, together, spent more than sixty years behind bars. patrick and david's criminal career includes armed robbery and drug-running.
george cornell
George Cornell was born in 1928. George was an English criminal and member of the Richardson Gang, who were scrap metal dealers and criminals. He was shot and killed by Ronnie Kray at the Blind Beggar public house in Bethnal Green, east London. Kray was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder three years later and remained in Broadmoor Hospital until his death in 1995.
Cornell hailed from east London and was originally known as George Myers but had changed his surname some years earlier. Cornell was a tough, loyal enforcer who worked for the Richardson Gang; he was known for being totally fearless. A childhood friend of the Kray twins, Cornell was a prominent criminal in east London during the 1960s. Upon moving to South London he joined up with the Kray twins' rivals, the Richardson Gang, led by brothers Charlie Richardson and Eddie Richardson.
Cornell, along with Richardson Gang colleague and friend "Mad" Frankie Fraser, became an enforcer for the Richardsons and was primarily used by them for talks with the Krays. Meetings were often held in pubs such as The Grave Maurice.
Cornell hailed from east London and was originally known as George Myers but had changed his surname some years earlier. Cornell was a tough, loyal enforcer who worked for the Richardson Gang; he was known for being totally fearless. A childhood friend of the Kray twins, Cornell was a prominent criminal in east London during the 1960s. Upon moving to South London he joined up with the Kray twins' rivals, the Richardson Gang, led by brothers Charlie Richardson and Eddie Richardson.
Cornell, along with Richardson Gang colleague and friend "Mad" Frankie Fraser, became an enforcer for the Richardsons and was primarily used by them for talks with the Krays. Meetings were often held in pubs such as The Grave Maurice.
On 9 March 1966, Cornell and his friend Albie Woods entered the Blind Beggar pub, ordered some light ales and then sat upon stools next to the bar. At around 8:30pm, both men were approached by Ronnie Kray and a Kray associate, Ian Barrie; upon seeing him, Cornell smiled and said sardonically, "Well, just look who's here". As a warning to the barmaid and the few others in the pub, Barrie fired two shots into the ceiling, while Kray walked towards Cornell, took out a 9 mm Luger, and calmly shot him once in the forehead, just above his right eye. The men turned and departed to a waiting car on the street.
Cornell slumped against a nearby pillar, the bullet, apparently, passing straight through him. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died at around 3:30am.
Cornell was buried in Camberwell New Cemetery, south London.
Cornell slumped against a nearby pillar, the bullet, apparently, passing straight through him. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died at around 3:30am.
Cornell was buried in Camberwell New Cemetery, south London.
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