In later years, the robbers generally came together only for the funerals of their fellow gang members. See the full list of The Great Train Robbery cast and crew including actors, directors, producers and more. [77] In 2011 he updated his autobiography, Odd Man Out: The Last Straw. [69] Edwards died in a garage in November 1994, allegedly committing suicide by hanging himself. Duration: 102 mins. 180 minuten (miniserie, 2 delen) geregisseerd door James Strong en Julian Jarrold. Field and his wife Sian were responsible for the company's operations in central and southern Europe, to where they shipped English language books and held book fairs at international English schools. Vervolgens klimmen ze aan boord van een vertrekkende trein. It was surmised that McKenna either donated his share to the Catholic church over the years or had had the money stolen from him.[19]. Leonard "Lennie" Denis Field (born 1931, date of death unknown)[40] helped with the purchase of the Leatherslade Farm hideout, paying the deposit of £5,000 in return for a 'drink' of £12,000. What happened next went down in history as The Great Train Robbery. Boal, who was not involved in the robbery, was sentenced to 24 years and died in prison in 1970. A highly fictionalized account of the 1963 "Great Train Robbery" of the Glasgow-to-London Royal Mail train, ROBBERY is highlighted by two masterful set pieces--an opening diamond heist and subsequent car chase and a 25-minute, real-time recreation of the train robbery--and while it wasn't much of a hit in 1967, Steve McQueen saw it and liked it and tapped director Peter Yates … Hoewel de film slechts twaalf minuten lang is, wordt hij beschouwd als een mijlpaal in de filmgeschiedenis. Throughout his three years on the run with wife Sheree and baby son Stephen, he was taken advantage of or let down by friends and associates. This article is about the actual robbery. The so-called "great train robbery" is one of the U.K.'s most infamous heists, involving the fleecing of the Royal Mail train in 1963 by a team of thieves that made off with millions of dollars. Police later acknowledged that he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice. Twee overvallers beroven de kaartjesverkoper op een station. His murder was thought to be related to suspected cheating in drug-dealing. Een schietpartij volgt en de overvallers worden neergeschoten. Ronald Christopher Edwards was born on 27 January 1932 at Lambeth, London, the son of a barman. By 29 August 1963 Commander Hatherill had 14 names, and told police that Brian Field had tried to enlist another gang to rob the train, who turned him down. In September 2014, Goody claimed the identity of 'The Ulsterman' was Patrick McKenna for the first time in a documentary marking the 50th anniversary of the robbery. Drama. Jim Hussey was released on 17 November 1975 and married girlfriend Gill (whom he had met just before the robbery). [89][page needed][non-primary source needed][unreliable source?]. [102] He worked as an accommodation officer for Portsmouth Polytechnic before retiring to live by the sea near Swanage. The train consisted of 12 carriages and carried 72 Post Office staff who sorted mail during the journey. ][non-primary source needed]. [31] The documentary makers employed Ariel Bruce, a social worker who finds missing family members, to trace McKenna, who was found to have died some years previously. Jack Slipper was involved in the capture of Roy James, Ronald Biggs, Jimmy Hussey and John Daly. At the farm they counted the proceeds and divided it into 16 full shares and several 'drinks' (smaller sums of money intended for associates of the gang). This recommendation was implemented in 1961, but HVP carriages without alarms were retained in reserve. [72] In 1993, he shot and wounded his father in-law, pistol-whipped and partially strangled his ex-wife, after they had returned their children for a day's outing. Also he did some (criminal?) Bob Welch (born March 1929) was released on 14 June 1976. On 3 December 1963, which happened to be the same day that Roy James was taken into custody, the police received an anonymous tip directing them to the money in the phone box. This meant that there was no photo to show the lengths he had gone to in order to change his appearance. He went to jail for short spells for numerous offences. Millen said in his book Specialist in Crime, "the break-through with the informer came at a moment when I and my colleagues at the Yard were in a state of frustration almost approaching despair". Find movie and film cast and crew information for The Great Train Robbery (1979) - Michael Crichton on AllMovie He retired on the last day of the trial after the verdicts were handed down at the then compulsory retirement age of 55. However, on Monday, when Charlie Wilson rang Brian Field to check whether the farm had been cleaned, he did not believe Field's assurances. Mills was so severely injured that he never worked again. The final gang who took part in the raid comprised a total of 16 men.[5]. Seaborne was later caught by Butler and sentenced to four-and-a-half years; Ronnie Leslie received three years for being the getaway driver. He became so involved in the case that he continued to hunt many of the escaped robbers after he retired. The police then undertook a major search, fanning out from the crime scene after having failed to find any forensic evidence there. Sorted mail on the train could be dropped off at the same time. Following this, he left the force to become head of security for the airline Qantas. According to Marilyn Wisbey, her father's share was hidden by his father Tommy Wisbey Senior in the panels in the doors of his home. Butler's deputy, Frank Williams, was passed over to be his replacement as head of the Flying Squad because of his deal with Edwards (which he thought would seal his promotion) and his deal with another of the robbers who was never caught. De tekst is beschikbaar onder de licentie. Biggs and Flower paid a significant sum of money to be smuggled to Paris for plastic surgery. [11][page needed][unreliable source? McKenna, who was originally from Belfast, met Goody four times in 1963. A 16th man, an unnamed retired train driver, was also present.[3]. [47] This process saw them get 18 names to be passed on to detectives to match up with the list being prepared from fingerprints collected at Leatherslade. Biggs said he had to escape because of the length of the sentence and what he alleged to be the severity of the prison conditions. [51], On 11 February 1964, there was a sensation when John Daly was found to have no case to answer. This man had betrayed him to the police and had absconded with the money. This has led to speculation that there is a great deal of robbery loot still out there. Read promised not to reveal their identities. "Killing Charlie" by Wensley Clarkson, with Part 2: Inside and Outside providing details of Wilson's escape from prison. Part of the reason for Field's prosperity was that he was not averse to giving Goody and Edwards information about what his clients had in their country houses, making them prime targets for the thieves. A watch was put on the seaports. Both gang members stated that they believed Boal was "stitched up" by the police.[99]. He was released from prison on 23 December 1975, aged 46 and went to live with his ill mother in her small cottage in Putney. ], It is clear that while Reynolds claims to not have known his real name, 'Flossy' was not just a participant in the Great Train Robbery, he was a core part of the gang who participated in the London Airport robbery. In 1996, James underwent triple-bypass surgery and was subsequently released from prison in 1997, only to die almost immediately afterwards on 21 August after another heart attack. This alleged identification of McKenna as "The Ulsterman" has been disputed; not least because McKenna appears to have had no criminal record or associations and died poor. While he was in prison, his wife Karin divorced him and married a German journalist. However, in November 2012, Hussey made a death-bed confession that it was him, although there were suspicions that this was repayment of a debt, to divert attention from the real perpetrator.[95]. They knew we had never grassed anyone, we had done our time without putting anyone else in the frame". Lenny Field was released in 1967 and went to live in North London. [citation needed] He could not be charged because of lack of evidence; there were no fingerprints or identifiable marks anywhere. Onderweg plunderen ze de postkamer. Buster Edwards – Edwards fled to Mexico with his family, to join Bruce Reynolds (and later Charlie Wilson) but returned voluntarily to England in 1966, where he was sentenced to 15 years. The driver, of course, was not a member of the gang (as defined by receiving an equal share), just an accomplice. 8 August 1963: Britain wakes up to news of the biggest robbery in the country’s history. Williams made no admission to the recovery of the money being the result of a deal with Pembroke. Sometime after his release from prison he married Sian, from Wales. How did they pull off such an audacious raid? Following the robbery, Pembroke left for America for a couple of years, knowing he was set up for life, and then returned to live quietly in Kent. Field drove a new Jaguar and had a house, "Kabri" (an amalgam of Karin and Brian [Field]), with his wife at the Bridle Path, Whitchurch Hill, Oxfordshire, while his boss owned a battered Ford and lived in a run-down neighbourhood. This resulted in their sentences being in effect reduced to five years only. [citation needed] By October 1978, day-release ended and he had to report to a parole officer. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. In the mid/late 1970s they worked for the Children's Book Centre (since sold) in Kensington High Street, London. He admitted to visiting the farm on one occasion with Lennie Field, but said he assumed it was an investment of his brother Alexander Field, whom Brian Field had unsuccessfully defended in a recent court case. Synopsis: A two-part drama which portrays The Great Train Robbery of 8 August 1963, firstly from the point of view of the robbers and then from the … The raid was devised over a period of months by a core team: Goody and Edwards along with Bruce Reynolds, and Charlie Wilson, with Reynolds assuming the role of "mastermind". The final sum recovered was £47,245 that was found in a telephone box in Great Dover Street, Newington, South London. ][non-primary source needed] In 2010, he wrote the afterword for Signal Red, Robert Ryan's novel based on the robbery,[76] and he regularly commented on the robbery. Other associates (including Ronnie Biggs, a man Reynolds had previously met in jail) were added as the organisation evolved. [11][page needed][unreliable source? [11][page needed][unreliable source? The staff were made to lie face down on the floor in a corner of the carriage. Deze pagina is voor het laatst bewerkt op 25 jul 2019 om 17:27. That raid consisted of Roy James and Mickey Ball as the getaway drivers, with six robbers—Bruce Reynolds, Buster Edwards, Gordon Goody, Charlie Wilson, Flossy (and a sixth man who did not participate in the train robbery). Just after 03:00 on 8 August, the driver, 58-year-old Jack Mills from Crewe, stopped the train on the West Coast Main Line at a red signal light at Sears Crossing, Ledburn, between Leighton Buzzard and Cheddington. At Leatherslade Farm he was the most careful of the gang, and nothing was ever found to associate him with the robbery, despite the police being satisfied that he was one of the gang, and had searched his house in September 1963. In the book he expressed some frustration with the Flying Squad although he mostly had praise for individual officers. Ze dwingen alle passagiers om hun bezittingen af te geven. But in spite of our strong suspicions, nothing could be proved against him and so no charge could be brought. The scene of the crime was for some years called "Train Robbers' bridge" on a Network Rail maintenance sign. In terms of the ones who got away, there were four others identified: Harry Smith, Danny Pembroke, a fair-haired man (25 years old and well-spoken, not named) and a nondescript man (not named but maybe Jimmy Collins). Not a remake of the landmark 1903 Edwin S. Porter film, The Great Train Robbery is a dramatization of the famous first hold-up of a moving train in 1855 England. Bruce Richard Reynolds was born on 7 September 1931 at Charing Cross Hospital, Strand, London, to Thomas Richard and Dorothy Margaret (née Keen). Intussen wordt de vastgebonden kaartjesverkoper bevrijd door een klein meisje. The judge agreed, and the jury was directed to acquit him. From listening to their police-tuned radio, the gang learned that the police had calculated they had gone to ground within a 30-mile radius of the crime scene rather than dispersing with their haul. Created by Chris Chibnall. A further £36,000 was recovered from Jimmy White's caravan. Of Northern Irish descent, Goody was born in Putney, London in March 1930 and was still living there in his mother's flat at the time of the robbery. The last report of him said that he was in a safe house, banged up with two gorgeous girls and enough champagne to sink a battleship. He was known variously as "Mr Flying Squad", as "One-day Tommy" for the speed with which he apprehended criminals and as the "Grey Fox" for his shrewdness. It is not known what became of the share McKenna allegedly received, but his children were "flabbergasted" on hearing the claim of their father's involvement. [33], The most dangerous of the Great Train Robbers was 'the Silent Man' Charlie Wilson. [97] He was 26 years old at the time of the robbery. ENTER CITY, STATE OR ZIP CODE GO. This was to deter collector/souvenir hunters. In addition, a group of men purporting to be from the Flying Squad broke into his flat and took a briefcase containing £8,500. Mills had constant trauma headaches for the rest of his life, before dying of leukaemia in 1970. On 14 July 1964, the appeals by Roger Cordrey and Bill Boal were allowed, with the convictions for conspiracy to rob quashed, leaving only the receiving charges. However, afraid that he would be betrayed, he did a deal with Frank Williams and paid back £47,245. On 13 July 1964, the appeals by Lennie Field and Brian Field (no relation) against the charges of conspiracy to rob were allowed. Raeburn went on to say that Daly had played the Monopoly game with his brother-in-law Bruce Reynolds earlier in 1963, and that he had gone underground only because he was associated with people publicly sought by the police. Eight of the gang members and several associates were caught. Although soldiers in the Service Corps were considered combat personnel, they were primarily associated with transport and logistics. He loved his new life in Australia, although by the time his family arrived in 1966, all but £7,000 had been spent. In her book Gangster's Moll, Marilyn Wisbey recounts that on 8 June 1988, after returning home from a visit to an abortion clinic and resting they were raided by the Drugs Squad. Although the Wisbey share was one that was not taken by other criminals, Marilyn Wisbey is still bitter that her relatives got to spend a fair amount of the loot while the overall sum dwindled away. Biggs could not be extradited because there was no extradition treaty between Britain and Brazil, and additionally he became father to a Brazilian son, which afforded him legal immunity. ][non-primary source needed], After the train heist, Reynolds escaped to Mexico with his wife, Angela, and young son, Nick Reynolds (who later became a member of the band Alabama 3, whose song "Woke Up This Morning" was the opening theme of The Sopranos[28]) and lived lavishly with his share of the take, approximately 150,000 British pounds. It has been suggested[20] that a known associate of the convicted robbers, Sammy Osterman, was part of the gang, and his "Ulsterman" soubriquet was simply the result of mishearing his surname. After the Edwards family returned to England, the Reynoldses also decided to leave Mexico and go to Canada to potentially join up with the Wilson family, leaving on 6 December 1966. See the full list of The Train Robbers cast and crew including actors, directors, producers and more. Surrey police delivered the money and the receipt to Fewtrell and McArthur in Aylesbury, who knew by then that Brian Field was a clerk at James and Wheater who had acted in the purchase of Leatherslade Farm. He and his wife Barbara and their three children moved to Cornwall, where he worked as a street sweeper until the age of 70, known to the locals as Gentleman John or John the Gent. The actual carriage that was robbed [M30204M] was retained for seven years following the robbery, and then taken to Norfolk and burned in the presence of police and Post Office representatives at a scrapyard near Norwich in 1970. [59], Bruce Reynolds – On 6 June 1964, Reynolds arrived in Mexico, with his wife Angela and son Nick joining him a few months later, after they evaded the obvious police surveillance. He was given £500 from the proceeds of the Train Robbery. [100] He did not contest his seat at the next election in September 1964, which the Labour Party won under Harold Wilson. They also found a camel-skin bag with a receipt inside, from the Cafe Pension restaurant, Sonnenbichel, Hindelang, Prov. He was allegedly staying with another woman, to the shock of his wife and daughter. [66][page needed] Karin wrote an article for the German magazine Stern. Two new films from writer Chris Chibnall (Broadchurch) telling the story behind the most infamous heist in British history on its 50th anniversary. https://nl.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Great_Train_Robbery_(film)&oldid=54267375, Wikipedia:Lokale afbeelding anders dan op Wikidata, Creative Commons Naamsvermelding/Gelijk delen. He was able to resume his job as a secondman, but died from a heart attack on 6 January 1972 at the age of 34 in Crewe, Cheshire. The second carriage, behind the engine, was known as the HVP (high-value packages) coach, which carried large quantities of money and registered mail for sorting. [28] He has produced occasional journalism pieces, been a consultant on movie and book projects about the train heist, and published a well-regarded crime memoir, Crossing the Line: The Autobiography of a Thief (1995). There were also ten-shilling notes and Irish and Scottish money. [11][28][29], In a 2003 interview, Reynolds recalled: "from an early age I always wanted a life of adventure." The 15 holdup men, wearing helmets, ski masks, and gloves, were aided by two accomplices—an anonymous Both Piers Paul Read and Bruce Reynolds refer to three robbers who got away as Bill Jennings, Alf Thomas and Frank Monroe. He had to bring in bank clerks to count the damp and musty money to determine the final sum.[107]. Site accessed on 21 January 2018. Pp 68–84), Gangster's Moll (2001) by Marilyn Wisbey (Chapter 6 The Pubs, Pp 69–71), The Train Robbers (1978), Piers Paul Read, Pp244-245, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Pressure makes Network Rail change bridge name", "The Great Train Robbers: Who were they? He was sentenced to six years in jail. Dewhurst and Kett were hit with coshes when they made a vain attempt to prevent the robbers' storming of the carriage. He was released again in March 1985 and dedicated himself to helping his wife recover from a mental breakdown. Although within six months of the robbery 10 of the robbers had been locked up awaiting trial and three others were wanted criminals on the run, very little of the money had actually been recovered. In May 2001, aged 71 and having suffered three strokes, Biggs voluntarily returned to England. [55][page needed], On 12 August 1964, Wilson escaped from Winson Green Prison in Birmingham in under three minutes, the escape being considered unprecedented in that a three-man team had broken into the prison to extricate him. There were also ten-shilling notes in batches of £250. Despite claiming that his negotiations were responsible for the return of this money, Williams in his book No Fixed Address (1973) claimed not to know the identity of the person who had returned the money, although he did mention several robbers to whom he had offered deals through intermediaries. [30], Authorities regarded Douglas Gordon Goody as the mastermind of the operation. Marilyn agrees with Piers Paul Read's assessment of how her father's share of approximately £150,000 was spent. William Gerald Boal (22 October 1913 – 26 June 1970), an accomplice after the fact of Roger Cordrey, was convicted as being one of the robbers, despite playing a role no different from the many other accomplices of the various train robbers. When he returned to South London, he ran a drinking club and became a professional criminal. The train was stopped at Bridego Bridge, and the robbers' "assault force" attacked the 'high-value packages' (HVP) carriage. His speciality was dealing with informants and he had the best working knowledge of the south London criminal fraternity in the force. The gang then headed along minor roads, listening for police broadcasts on a VHF radio, the journey taking somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour, and arrived back at Leatherslade Farm at around 04:30, at around the same time as the first reports of the crime were being made. He was released from jail in 1967 and went to live in north London. The money was driven up to Aylesbury and taken into custody by Detective Superintendent Fewtrell, who wondered how his London colleagues could know how much money there was. The two other prisoners who took advantage of the Biggs escape were captured after three months. On 29 January 2016, Goody died of emphysema at the age of 85. [90] Unlike the other three members of the gang who got away, Peta Fordham does make mention of the replacement driver, but notes that he is said now to be dead, perhaps the robbers who provided material for the book did not want the police looking for him, as at the time of publishing (1965) Reynolds, White and Edwards were still on the run.[91]. Having suffered a series of strokes after his release, and unable to speak for the previous three years, Biggs died at the Carlton Court Care home, London on 18 December 2013. Smith died in 2008. With Leatherslade Farm finally found on 13 August 1963, the day after Tommy Butler was appointed to head the London investigation, the Train Robbery Squad descended on the farm. The raid uncovered 1 kg of cocaine and Rene and Marilyn Wisbey were arrested along with Jimmy Hussey, who had been spotted accepting a package from Wisbey in a park. [109] Hatherill does not mention Williams at all in his book. Ronnie Biggs – Biggs fled to Paris, where he acquired new identity papers and underwent plastic surgery. In addition, they knew that Field had acted for Gordon Goody and other criminals. [69] His family continued to run the flower stall after his death. Though the gang did not use any firearms, Jack Mills, the train driver, was beaten over the head with a metal bar. They also sought to identify what money had been taken so that the relevant banks could be notified. Chapter 5 describes the Biggs escape from Wandsworth Prison to Paris, Crossing the Line - The Autobiography of a Thief, by Bruce Reynolds, The Great Train Robbery (Crime Archive series) (2008) by Peter Gutteridge (P 54). Although he was only 28 at the time of the robbery, he was already apparently more prosperous than his boss, John Wheater. He continued to express disgust at any film that he felt glamourised the robbers. Upon his acquittal and release, and after finding his share of the loot stolen and/or destroyed, Daly gave up his life of crime and went "straight". Detective Chief Superintendent Ernest Malcolm Fewtrell, head of the Buckinghamshire Crime Investigation Department (CID) was born on 29 September 1909 and died on 28 November 2005, aged 96. He retired on the last day of the trial at Aylesbury. Roy James was carrying £12,041 when captured. [110], Up to six of the robbers escaped punishment in one way or another - "The Ulsterman", three robbers who were never caught, John Daly who had his charges dismissed at the trial and Ronnie Biggs who escaped from jail and managed to avoid being taken back to the UK. £2,631,684 is a figure quoted in the press, although the police investigation states the theft as £2,595,997 10s, in 636 packages, contained in 120 mailbags—the bulk of the haul in £1 and £5 notes (both the older white note and the newer blue note, which was half its size). The robbers who spent much time on the run overseas—Reynolds, Wilson and Edwards—had very little left when finally arrested, having had to spend money avoiding capture and indulging in lavish lifestyles without finding employment.