A mugshot of Forty Thieves' Hughes, who was uncontrollable and dissipated by drink. 'It was incredibly subversive to go against the class system and steal furs and luxury items and swan about like they were rich - but that is exactly what they did. Nevertheless his campaigns and, on the outside, those of Eva, did bring the attention of the general public to the unpalatable conditions in which prisoners served then their sentences. Sister of Frankie Davidson Fraser. Francis Davidson Fraser was born on December 13 1923 in Cornwall Road, a slum area of south London on the site of what is now the Royal Festival Hall. Even the gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser, whose sister Eva was a leading light in the gang in the thirties and forties, spoke with great reverence about Alice Diamond. Diamond's second-in-command Maggie Hughes (right) was known as 'Babyface' for her sweet looks and made a habit of cheekily shouting back at the judge when she was sentenced to jail: 'It won't cure me! Even decent folk were often only too happy to 'take a bit of crooked' to have something new. Part of his mouth was shot away in the incident. She also passed on her 'wisdom' to a future queen, Shirley Pitts. Prisoners and ex-prisoners all over Britain speak about him with undisguised admiration. At the same time Fraser was concerned to protect his West End business interests, chiefly the installation and operation (on an exclusive basis) in the clubs of Soho of one-armed bandits, or fruit machines, then growing in popularity. At signing sessions of his books he was always willing to be photographed pretending to extract a tooth with pliers brought by the fan. Reporters claimed she was 6ft tall - despite police records from 1919 putting her at 5ft9in. A ponce was someone who thieves looked down on, because they lived by taking a cut from someone elses earnings. He was given an asbo, one of his sons told film-makers, after getting into an argument with a fellow-resident and is unrepentant about his life of crime. Once again, he was sent toprison, this timefor taking part in bank robberies. Frankie Frasers wife Doreen, with whom he had four sons, died in 1999. Her brother was the notorious gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser, who joined turf wars between London gangs in the sixties. He was said to have pulled out the teeth of one of the victims with a pair of pliers. During his time in prison, Fraser was involved in a number of riots and frequently fought with prison officers, fellow inmates and governors. Former Northern Echo journalist Beezy Marsh has written a book about London gangster Mad Frankie Fraser. But when her brother Frankie was in prison, she helped to run his protection rackets in Soho and even sent her daughters to collect payments, as the police would not stop a child. His gangster boss Charles Richardson remembered him as one of the most polite, mild-mannered men Ive met but he has a bad temper on him sometimes. [4] He was involved in riots and frequently fought with prison officers and fellow inmates. Eva knew the Krays well and they treated her with reverence, although she saw them as little more than naughty boys. "Hill paid by the stitch if you put 50 stitches in a man's face, you could expect 50," says James Morton, Fraser's biographer. It was not that he thought he was Napoleon. Before then, Fraser had been involved in smash-and-grab raids and wages snatches. There was Eva, the naughty girl of the three, who became a key figure in the all-girl gang, the Forty Thieves, who targeted the West Ends big department stores. A witness later changed histestimony,and the charges were eventually dropped, though Fraser still received a five-year sentence for affray. As a reward, he was shown his examination answers, and thats how I come top, he later boasted. There was also kind of respect for them locally because people could get a nice dress or a pair of stockings cheaply. After the war, Fraser was involved in a smash-and-grab raid on a jeweller, for which he received a two-year prison sentence, mostly served atHMP Pentonville. I saved myself from Royal life, Harry says & insists 'sharing's an act of service', Love Island's Olivia Hawkins breaks silence as she returns to the UK, Loose Women star lined up to be Strictly's first contestant in wheelchair, Coronation Street fans horrified as Amy Barlow is raped in disturbing scenes, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Always well turned out and ineffably polite and punctual, he had a large and appreciative audience, and one woman was so impressed she named her son after him. Comments have been closed on this article. Photo taken in the late 1940s on a pub Beano (day out) in Walworth, before the group travelled to Margate On the back row: the girls mum, Margaret, next to daughter Kathleen. For other inquiries, Contact Us. I dont think people realise how close we came to all-out battles in London between Communism and Fascism, before WW2 brought the country together, Beezy said. 'MAD' Frankie Fraser, was one of the most feared and respected West End crime lords of the 1960s. Frank Davidson "Frankie" Fraser, better known as "Mad" Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London, he grew up in poverty and was the youngest of five children, Fraser and his sister Eva, whom he was close too, turned to crime at the age of 10, on several occasions during World War 2, Fraser would escape his barracks and deserting many a times. What Fraser invariably threatened was violence. He may be in his 90th year but "Mad" Frankie Fraser is still causing mayhem. Having chronicled the life of old mad Frank, author Beezy Marsh has turned her pen to Peggy, Kathleen and Eva; in her new book Keeping My Sisters Secrets. He has been part of the most infamous criminal gangs of the past 100 years, while maintaining his South London roots and deep devotion to his family. Born near Waterloo station, central London, he was the fifth child of a poor family. Fraser himself was charged with pulling out people's teeth with pliers and sentenced to 10 years in prison. View our online Press Pack. She operated out of Walworth, South East London and her home was called an 'Aladdin's cave of loot'. Mad Frank. None of the gang were afraid to use razors on those who crossed them. He really did live by a code of honour which he took with him to the grave. He shot, slashed, stabbed and axed. From then on until the end of the 1980s, Fraser was more often in jail than not. Fraser was just 13 when he was sent to an approved school for stealing 40 cigarettes. [9], Fraser was an Arsenal fan, and his grandson Tommy Fraser is a professional footballer. The Krays held Eva Fraser in high regard because of her role in the gang and during the 1940s and 1950s, and the Soho gang boss Billy Hill - brother of the fiery Maggie Hughes - was careful not to encroach too much on their territory because he respected their right to earn their own money, free from male interference. 42 years a lag She had died in. The gang probably had its roots in the Victorian slums around Seven Dials, near Covent Garden, infamous in Dickens's day. Police reveal more details, as man remains at large after brutal attack outside school, Interview with MP Neil Coyle after Commons suspension: Why the drinking has stopped having started in childhood, but the swearing wont, plus deliberately avoiding Labour leader Keir Starmer, Read our print products (Digital Editions). He was a member of the Richardson gang or the 'torture gang', led by brothers Charlie and Eddie Richardson, and were widely feared in Londons underworld. 'It was not just a man's world, despite the countless column inches still spent poring over the phenomenon that was the Kray Twins,' she added. [12], After the war, Fraser was involved in a smash-and-grab raid on a jeweller, for which he received a two-year prison sentence, mostly served at HM Prison Pentonville. Fraser, who was jailed for 10 years in the so-called "torture trial" in 1967, is now frail and in poor health. Their alleged specialities included pulling teeth out using pliers, cutting off toes using bolt cutters and nailing victims to floors using 6-inch nails. As her reign came to an end, Forty Thieves queen Diamondpassed on her 'wisdom' to a future queen, Shirley Pitts. pre order Queen of Thieves now for just 2.99. Fraser was part of Britain's Underworld between the 1940s-1960's. They bought fur coats, jewellery and went dancing in West End nightclubs. The comments below have not been moderated. Although he was conscripted, Fraser later boasted that he had never once worn the uniform, preferring to ignore call-up papers, desert and resume his criminal activities. The gang's ringleaders appeared in a secret register of criminals, that is now kept by the National Archives, which then existed to help police track down the most persistent offenders. Women carried tools needed for burglaries so the police had no evidence if they stopped the men following the crime. Beezy a former Sunday Times journalist whose biography Mad Frank & Sons was published last year was given unprecedented access to interview the family and learn about the three bold women, who grew up in Howley Terrace, in Waterloo during the 1930s. Alice herself was famous for clouting three furs in one go: one down each leg and one under her gusset. When the police arrived, they found Hart lying under a lilac tree in a nearby garden. 'And they were the best fun for a night out.'. 'It gave them a life they could never have afforded. Charles Richardson was a criminal businessman who reputedly specialised in various tortures administered at secret courts at which he presided, sometimes robed like a judge, a knife or a gun to hand. Eva Brindle formerly Fraser. Morton was relieved that, rather than remonstrating, Fraser wanted him to write his life story. A bucket boy would offer to clean the bookies' blackboards with a sponge, for which they were obliged to pay the Sabinis. Even the gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser, whose sister Eva was a leading light in the gang in the thirties and forties, spoke with great reverence about Alice Diamond. He was also tried in court in the so-called 'Torture trial', in which members of the Richardson Gang were charged with burning, electrocuting, and whipping those found guilty of disloyalty. Mother of [private daughter (1940s - unknown)] Died 2000s. The women, who carried razors wrapped in lace handkerchiefs, were known for violent outbursts - including one furore that resulted in a woman blinding a police officer by stabbing him in the eye with her hatpin. 'Mad' Frankie Fraser: Sweet dapper. She is thought to have killed herself in the 1970s. Nevertheless he was good at sports, captaining the football team at St Patricks school, Southwark, and boxing as an amateur. [5][6][7][8] His mother was of Irish and Norwegian descent, while his father was half Native-American. Fraser has complained in the past that "I had no help from my family; my mother and father were dead straight so I had to make my own way. When Frankie was in prison, Eva helped to run his protection rackets in Soho and even sent her daughters to collect payments, as the police would not stop a child. Frankie Fraser, born December 13 1923, died November 26 2014, Frankie Fraser at Repton Boxing Club in 2005, Rishi Sunak to host Coronation Big Lunch at Downing Street, Erik ten Hag: Man Utd were a mess with no rules Casemiro has helped sort them out, How Ollie Lawrence became England's missing piece, Harlequins set attendance record but rampant Exeter spoil Twickenham party, Marcus Smith sends England message to Steve Borthwick with man-of-the-match performance, Super-sub Reiss Nelson completes thrilling Arsenal fightback. Young Frankie attended local schools, captained the football team, and acted as bookies runner to one of the teachers. By the time of the Swinging Sixties, she was drinking champagne with the Krays. The Richardson Gang was an English crime gang based in South London, England in the 1960s.Also known as the "Torture Gang", they had a reputation as some of London's most sadistic gangsters. He spent 42 years behind bars before achieving a certain cult status in later life as an author, after-dinner speaker, television pundit and tour guide. The gang passed on their secrets from mother to daughter, aunt to niece, so whole generations of families saw crime as a way of life. His new career took off and he was in regular demand as a radio and television pundit. After one snatch, he and his companion were arrested when their car would not start. After another, the car ran out of petrol in the Rotherhithe tunnel. The violent thugs, the Kray twins, held Eva Fraser in high regard because of her role in the gang and during the 1940s and 1950s and the Soho gang boss Billy Hill - brother of the fiery Ms Hughes - was careful not to encroach too much on their territory because he respected their right to earn their own money, free from male interference. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. As he languished in jail, his sons David and Patrick and their older brother, Frank Jnr currently living quietly on the Costa del Sol carved their own careers as bank robbers and jewellery thieves in 1970s London. She was chauffeured in a Bentley and always wore a sable coat. Various members were eventually caught, though and served their time in Holloway prison, where rations were meagre and they slept on boards. Frankie Fraser belonged to a bygone era of crime and was cut from a different cloth than so many other gangsters of his generation. 'They didn't see anything wrong in it because these things were too expensive for most people to afford and shops had insurance. But few would perhaps know about the equally incredible lives led by his three sisters. Many of the Forty Thieves were noted for their beauty as well as their shoplifting skills, such as Madeline Partridge and her sister Laura (pictured left), whose mother was often used by Diamond to sell stolen goods. As a solicitor, I defended him in the trial following the Parkhurst riot and as a result wrote a number of books with him. In 1966, Fraser was charged with the murder of Richard Hart - who was shot at Mr Smith's club inCatfordwhile other Richardson associates, includingJimmy Moody, were charged withaffray. At 17 he was sent to Borstal for breaking and entering a hosiery shop in Waterloo and was then given a 15-month prison sentence for shopbreaking. She helped him sell on his loot. The Forty Thieves posed as wealthy housewives innocently browsing the rails of the UK's most luxurious clothing stores before shoving stolen items down their undergarments. In 1945, when he was 21, he assaulted the governor at Shrewsbury prison with an ebony ruler snatched from the governors desk, for which he received 18 strokes of the cat. I don't think they felt bad about it. Harts killing was avenged within 24 hours when Ronnie Kray shot George Cornell, the Richardsons chief lieutenant, at the Blind Beggar pub deep in Kray territory on the Mile End Road, using a 9mm Mauser semi-automatic pistol at point-blank range. Beezy said: "Frank's sister Eva was the one who led him into crime as a small boy. The book upset some of those mentioned in it, and Morton was dismayed to arrive home one evening to find a message from Fraser on his answering machine, demanding to speak to him urgently. They didnt go to jail, they did bird or got a lagging. Eva was a chip off the old block and as well as being Franks first partner in crime, stealing sweets from the corner shop, she had a lucrative career in a daring gang of girl shoplifters, The Forty Thieves, which traced its roots back to Victorian London and cleared many a West End store for furs and luxury goods. He was a deserter during the Second World War, escaping from his barracks . [23] In 1991, Fraser was shot in the head from close range in an apparent murder attempt outside the Turnmills Club in Clerkenwell, London. I just waited, caught up with him, knocked him about and strung him up with his dog, Fraser remembered. The Kray twins (pictured) held The Forty Thieves member Eva Fraser in high regard. 'Any girl worth her salt in South London in those days was a. [8] Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, to whom he was close. Mad Frank (1994), which went on to sell around 100,000 copies, was the first in a successful series. Fraser received seven years. The big question everyone has about Frank is Was he really mad? He was certified insane three times once by the Army, twice in prison and he was diagnosed as a psychopath but his family argue, and I tend to agree, that he played the system to suit himself. Fraser also appeared as East End crime boss Pops Den in the feature film Hard Men, a forerunner of British gangster movies such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and had a documentary made of his life, Mad Frank. It was during the war that he first became involved in serious crime, with the blackout and rationing, combined with the lack of professional policemen due to conscription, providing ample opportunities for criminal activities such as stealing from houses while the occupants were in air-raid shelters. Those who had incurred Richardsons displeasure were wired up to a sinister black box with a wind-up handle that administered severe electric shocks to the genitals. ", A deserter during the war he pretended to be mad to avoid the call-up Fraser was certified insane three times and spent time in Broadmoor secure hospital. AS is the case with so many crime families, the key to understanding the men came through getting to know the women who cared for them. It sounds like the worst days of Prohibition in Chicago rather than London in 1956, complained Mr Justice Donovan, but words were wasted on Fraser. He also claimed to have been the first bandit to wear a stocking mask. Monty Python sketch featuring the Piranha brothers, Doug and Dinsdale. The first came when he was in the army during the second world war, the second time when he was sent to Cane Hill psychiatric hospital in Coulsdon, Surrey, and the third when he was transferred from Durham prison to Broadmoor. She helped him sell on his loot. [21] In 1999, he appeared at the Jermyn Street Theatre in London in a one-man show, An Evening with Mad Frankie Fraser (directed by Patrick Newley), which subsequently toured the UK. The two Richardson brothers were convicted, and the elder, Charles, sentenced to 25 years. Photograph: Alex Segre/Rex. Yet they fiercely guarded their right to 'earn' their own money. The notorious English gangster turned to a life of a crime and before he knew it, he was behind bars. The trial which became one of the longest in British criminal history. Moment brazen thieves jump behind counter at Chicago Drug baron, 58, who 'hid 198MILLION fortune from police' is Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Dozens stuck in car park as staff refuses to open gate for woman, Incredible footage of Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russians in Bakhmut, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' The business came to an end in 1966 when a fight in a Catford night club, Mr Smiths, left a Kray associate, Dickie Hart, dead, and Richardson and Fraser, who was charged with Harts murder, in prison. His life of crime started aged nine when he worked for the notorious Sabini gang, which ran protection rackets at the racecourses at a time when off-course betting was illegal. Fraser spent a lot of time in solitary confinement, tormented by prison officers who would spit in his food. Born inLambeth, south London, Frankie committed his first crime at the age of 13, when he stole a packet of cigarettes and was sent to an approved school. By 20 she was leader of The Forty Thieves and wore a row of diamond rings that acted as a knuckle duster. During the 1950s, Fraser's main criminal occupation was as bodyguard to well-known gangsterBilly Hill. She was sentenced to five months. Eric wasnt a bad fellow, Fraser later explained, but that particular night he was bang out of order.. Their view on Hatton Garden was that the world had moved on and robbing banks now was akin to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid trying to get away on horseback, while the police gave chase in cars. Join Facebook to connect with Frankie Fraser and others you may know. He emerged from jail in 1989 and has not been back since. In 1991, while emerging from Turnmills nightclub in Clerkenwell, London, he was shot at by an unidentified gunman. But who were the gang's most brazen members? Born on Cornwall Road, Waterloo, Lambeth, South London, Fraser was the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty. Keeping My Sisters Secrets was published on July 27 by Pan Macmillan. Fraser was acquitted but received five years for affray. With Frankie Fraser, Chris Keenan, Steve Box, Michael Boyd. It was during the war that he first became involved in serious crime. He then worked for legendary Soho crime boss Billy Hill in the 1950s, earning the nickname razor Fraser for his attacks on those who crossed him, before becoming embroiled in protection rackets in the 1960s, rising to the position of the Boss of Soho. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can Members of The Forty Thieves, whose mugshots were captured by the Police Gazette ahead of regular stays at Holloway Prison, often wore beautifully designed hats, coats and dresses in order to fit in - known as 'putting on the posh'. Mason was found, barely alive, wearing only his underpants and wrapped in a blanket, on the steps of the London Hospital in Whitechapel. Dubbed 'The Most Dangerous Man in Britain' by two Home Secretaries, Francis Davidson Fraser was born on the 13th of December 1923, and grew up in Waterloo, London.He and his sister, Eva started their life of crime at a young age, stealing from handbags and pickpocketing.
Ashtabula Police Scanner,
Is Jenee Fleenor Married,
Articles F