Rodney Morgan

East Surrey

England

East Surrey

England

Rodney Arthur Morgan was an English convicted bank robber, who became known when attempting to steal from the Royal Bank of Surrey, on April 8 1945, along with five of his associates, including Larry Harper, Charlie Wilson, James Wicks and Nicholas Kemp. They were charged with larceny, and each, except Larry Harper, were sentenced to three to five years in prison. Morgan's most successful robbery was in a Lloyds Bank, which Morgan, Larry Harper, Charlie Wilson and James Wicks escaped with over £14000 pounds. Morgan and his associates then attempted to steal from a Natwest Bank in South London, which was almost a success, until the police made an unexpected appearance and Larry Harper, James Wicks and Nicholas Kemp were all arrested, Morgan however, escaped with only £100 pounds, he went into hiding and was never found, however, after his death in 1965, his brother Charles Morgan publicly said "my brother Rod, has now passed on".

## Early life

Morgan was born at Prince Albert's Hospital, in Stokes, East Surrey, the third son of Rodger Morgan (1877-1947) and Matilda Morgan (née Robbins; 1884-1962), he had two older brothers Charlie and Walter and one younger sister Shirley.

Morgan's first relationship was with Caroline Sweden, who he began dating in 1930, however their relationship was short-lived, and ended after Sweden told Morgan that "she did not love him", and not long afterwards Sweden moved away from Stokes, with her father, who never truly approved of their relationship. Morgan never stopped loving Sweden, even throughout his marriage to Holly Monroe, who he married in 1939, together they had two children named Richard and Carl. Not long after Morgan left prison in 1950, his wife told him that "she wanted a divorce", but Morgan was not prepared to go through a divorce settlement and it was not until 1960, that their divorce was made official.

## Criminal career

### Royal Bank of Surrey

Morgan's first known crime was committed on April 8 1945, when he and five of his associates, including Larry Harper, Charlie Wilson, James Wicks and Nicholas Kemp, attempted robbery on the Royal Bank of Surrey, all of which, except Larry Harper, who was the lookout, were arrested, however, it was due to Inspector Harris' orders, that Charlie Wilson and James Wicks were arrested, Morgan, who assaulted the inspector, ran out of the building, along with Kemp, who was arrested the moment they stepped outside, by an officer unexpectedly standing by the bank's door. Morgan tried to make an unsuccessful escape, but was wrestled to the ground, by a police officer, who arrested him. Morgan was sentenced to five years in prison, whilst the others were sentenced to three to five years.

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### Lloyds Bank

Morgan, Harper, Wicks and Wilson had planned to steal from Lloyds Bank, whilst in prison. Lloyds Bank was located in Guildford, Surrey, this was their first and only successful robbery, as they escaped with over £14000, however during the robbery, an unexpected bomb hit the building and Charlie Wilson was killed.

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### Halifax Bank

In 1961, Morgan set up a plan to steal from a Halifax Bank in South London, along with Harper, Wicks and Kemp. The robbery took place in April 1963, Harper had driven an unlicensed van from Stokes to South London, the robbery was almost successful, until the police had unexpectedly turned up at the scene. This was the first robbery, that Larry Harper was not a lookout for. Harper, James Wicks and Nicholas Kemp were arrested and each sentenced to eight years in prison, Morgan however, escaped with only £100 and was never found. The police did not know what had happened to him, until his brother Charles Morgan had publicly said "my brother Rod, has now passed on."

## Death

Nobody except Morgan's family knew what happened to him and they had not planned on telling the police his whereabouts, he had stayed in a one bedroom bedsit in Stokes, with a broken light, which meant that he would have to spend most of the time in the dark. It was not long before his health had become a warning, and advised by his brother Charles Morgan to see a doctor, Morgan refused, as he did not want the police to see him, so his brother brought a doctor into his bedsit to see him, who had told him that due to his living arrangements, he had caught a bacteria illness, known as "staphylococcus aureus", however, the cause of his death was cancer.