page_title: Peaky Blinders
hierarchical_section_title: Peaky Blinders
caption_attribution_description: .police mugshot of 'Peaky Blinder' Harry Fowles
context_page_description: The Peaky Blinders were an urban street gang based in Birmingham, England, that operated from the end of the 19th century to after the First World War. The group, which grew out of the harsh economic deprivations of working class Britain, was composed largely of young men of lower to middle-classes. They derived social power from robbery, violence, racketeering, illegal bookmaking and the control of gambling. Members of this gang wore a signature outfit that included tailored jackets, lapel overcoats, button waistcoats, silk scarves, bell-bottom trousers, leather boots, and peaked flat caps. The gang was highly organized with its own systems of hierarchy.
  The Blinders’ dominance came about from beating rivals, such as the "Sloggers", whom they fought for territory in Birmingham and its surrounding districts. They held control for nearly 20 years until 1910, when a larger gang, the Birmingham Boys led by Billy Kimber, overtook them. However, even though they had disappeared by the 1920s, the name of the "Peaky Blinders" became synonymous slang for any street gang in Birmingham.
  In 2013, the name was reused for a BBC television series entitled Peaky Blinders.
context_section_description: The Peaky Blinders were an urban street gang based in Birmingham, England, that operated from the end of the 19th century to after the First World War. The group, which grew out of the harsh economic deprivations of working class Britain, was composed largely of young men of lower to middle-classes. They derived social power from robbery, violence, racketeering, illegal bookmaking and the control of gambling. Members of this gang wore a signature outfit that included tailored jackets, lapel overcoats, button waistcoats, silk scarves, bell-bottom trousers, leather boots, and peaked flat caps. The gang was highly organized with its own systems of hierarchy.
  The Blinders’ dominance came about from beating rivals, such as the "Sloggers", whom they fought for territory in Birmingham and its surrounding districts. They held control for nearly 20 years until 1910, when a larger gang, the Birmingham Boys led by Billy Kimber, overtook them. However, even though they had disappeared by the 1920s, the name of the "Peaky Blinders" became synonymous slang for any street gang in Birmingham. 
  In 2013, the name was reused for a BBC television series entitled Peaky Blinders. The series, which stars Cillian Murphy, Paul Anderson, and Joe Cole, is a crime story about a fictional crime family operating in Birmingham just after World War I.
caption: Harry Fowles, a member of the gang sporting the signature overcoat and peaked flat cap.
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