Web Page No 2678

17th April 2020

1st Picture. The site of the robbery

 2nd Picture. The arrest

 3rd Picture. Bruce Reynolds

4th Picture. Royal Mail carriage

The Great Train Robbery

In the most daring crime in British history on the night of August 8th 1963 a 15-member gang intercepted the Glasgow-to-London mail train and made off with £2.6m in used bank notes. The audacious nature of the crime captivated Britain and launched a massive police hunt.

By the very nature of the crime and the way in which it was executed, police immediately believed the job was pulled with inside knowledge. The train, which was carrying used bank notes on their way to being destroyed, was stopped by a fake red signal at a secluded spot at Cheddington in Buckinghamshire. Ordinarily these notes would have been transported by high security train carriages but at the time many of them were broken or had been taken out of service forcing the Royal Mint to transport them by a standard 'travelling Post Office.' With meticulous timing at 3.10am, the engine and front two carriages were uncoupled before being driven up the line. Whilst this was happening the gang were smashing their way to overpower sorting staff. 800 yards later the train was stopped where two vans were waiting to be loaded with 120 mailbags. The whole operation took just forty minutes.

The alarm was raised ten minutes later by train driver Jack Mills and his fireman, David Whitby. The driver, aged 58, had originally tried to stop the gang and as a result was hit over the head with an iron bar. David Whitby, who had got down from the train when it was stopped in order to phone for help at a trackside telephone, was pushed down an embankment where he was handcuffed and told not to make a sound.

The gang made their way to a nearby farmhouse, Leatherslade Farm, which was in the heart of a small farming community 27 miles from the site of the robbery. The original plan was for the gang to lay low at the farmhouse for up to two weeks, but while monitoring a police broadcast the following day they overheard news that was to change their plans. The police reports suggested that the thieves had used army vehicles at the scene of the robbery and were suspected to be holed up in a farmhouse in the vicinity. Becoming nervous, the gang abandoned their plans to stay at the farmhouse and fled back to London. They 'hired' a man to clean up the farmhouse and wipe away all incriminating evidence including fingerprints. But the man double-crossed the gang and took the money and ran. Eight days later, working on a tip-off from a member of the public the police moved in. Within a day of the farm being forensically examined for evidence the first gang member, Roger Cordrey, was arrested and charged with taking part in the robbery and a suitcase containing £100,000 was recovered from woodlands just a few miles from his house.

A week later Charlie Wilson was arrested in London and police announced that they were anxious to contact Bruce Reynolds, Jimmy White, Roy James and Buster Edwards to "assist them with their enquiries." A month later Ronald Biggs was taken into custody and transported to Scotland Yard for questioning and was subsequently arrested for his part in the robbery.

Thirteen of the gang members were caught, tried and sentenced received prison sentences. Ronald Biggs escaped from prison 15 months into his sentence, fleeing to Australia. When police were tipped off he fled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and although traced he could not be extradited because he had fathered a Brazilian child. As a result he lived openly in Rio for many years, completely untouchable by the British authorities.

Charlie Wilson escaped and lived outside Montreal. He was tracked down by Scotland Yard. The story of Ronald "Buster" Edwards, who fled to Mexico but later surrendered to authorities, was dramatised in the 1988 film, ‘Buster,’ Buster Edwards became a flower seller outside Waterloo Station on his release from prison and was a well known sight outside the station. He committed suicide in 1994.

The robbery was investigated by Detective Chief Superintendent Jack Slipper of the Metropolitan Police who became so involved with its aftermath that he continued to hunt down many of the escaped robbers in retirement.

Train driver Jack Mills suffered a black eye and facial bruising in the robbery. He never fully recovered from the attack and never returned to work, suffering from constant trauma headaches for the rest of his life. He died in 1970 from leukaemia.

After suffering several strokes in the late 1990’s, Ronald Biggs announced that he wanted to return to England. In May 2001 he flew to London, where he was arrested by police. Biggs was sent back to prison to complete his sentence, but his declining health led officials to release him in August 2009. He died December 18, 2013, London.

Bruce Reynolds, the chief architect of the Great Train Robbery, died on 2013 in England aged 81. He first holed up in a friend’s house in London, made his way to Belgium, then Toronto and finally to Mexico, where he lived the high life on his ill-gotten gains for five years. When he ran out of money, he returned to England, but he was arrested in Torquay in 1968, by Thomas Butler, the Scotland Yard detective who had pursued him with a passion. Reynolds was tried and served 10 years.

Very little of the money from The Great Train Robbery was ever recovered.

Stay in touch

Peter

grseditor@gmail.com

Griff Writes:-

How many of you still have their old record player from way                   back when?  I still have my Fidelity record player from 1969. 
Bought from Curry's in Commercial Rd.   I think it cost 
£10 guineas but can't quite remember now. It is in perfect 
unmarked condition and still plays 45's ( good multi record 
auto drop as well lol ) and 78's and still with a good 
reproduction of the sound. I have had it stored away in a box 
in the loft for many years but have brought it out for a dust 
off and a check over this week. 

   Great fun showing the Grandkids the auto drop of the 45's 
and of course they cannot quite believe this is what was
regarded as high tech for us youngsters way back then. 

    Amazing that these record players are now being sought 
by people as the old vinyl records are coming back into 
fashion. So what's the value today of this record player in 
2020, 50 years on?  In this unmarked condition and in full 
working order around £50.

Regards to everyone    Melvyn ( Griff )  Griffiths.

News and Views:

Sad to hearof the death of Stirling Moss. Belowis a picture of the last time I met him at Goodwood a few years ago.

Peter

 

On 17th April 1960-1965

On 17/04/1960 the number one single was My Old Man's a Dustman - Lonnie Donegan and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Armchair Theatre (ABC) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 17/04/1961 the number one single was Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was The Budget (All Channels) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 17/04/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 17/04/1963 the number one single was How Do You Do It? - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 17/04/1964 the number one single was Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was The Budget (All Channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Hayley Mills enjoys first Big Screen kiss.

On 17/04/1965 the number one single was The Minute You're Gone - Cliff Richard and the number one album was Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions