recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Dickie Morgan

Morgan in a television interview for Inside Scotland Yard with Trevor Mcdonald in 1969, shortly after the twins were arrested.

### Occupation

Bank Robber
Driver

### Status

Possibly deceased

**Richard 'Dickie' Morgan** was a long time friend of the Kray twins, and an early founding member of The Firm when it was first established in the late 1950s.

Morgan went on the run from the Army during the war, with the twins and the trio began their criminal endeavours when they began to frequent The Regal.

## History

### Early life

Dickie Morgan was a thief originating from the Mile End area. He lived with his mother Janet and his brothers at 32 Clinton Road in Mile End, close to Mile End Underground Station. One of five sons of an Australian sailor father and part-German mother, he had begun his criminal career at the age of eight by stealing from the orthodox Jews of Whitechapel who paid him a halfpenny a time to light the gas for them during the Sabbath. He had served time at Portland Borstal in order to do his National Service and been in and out of approved schools and had a triangular dent just below his hairline where he had a smashed his skull falling into a chalk quarry escaping from Ardale Approved School. He had been sent to approved schools and borstal training around eight times for various offences such as robbery, larceny and theft.

### The Richardsons

His overweight brother John Chunky Morgan, served time in Parkhurst prison and had held a riot at one time, and their father was imprisoned for his part in a warehouse raid. The twins often stayed at Clinton Road when on the run from the army for their National Service. He was portrayed by actor Phil Dunster in The Rise of the Krays film, 2015.

(From left) Dickie Morgan, Harry Abrahams, Reggie Kray and Charlie Kray in Bethnal Green, London.The Kray twins (left and right) with Dickie Morgan (centre right) and another associate in Bethnal Green.Dickie Morgan holding Gary Kray. Reggie, Ronnie and Charlie Kray are to the right, c. 1955.Dickie Morgan and Ronnie Kray in New York.Dickie Morgan and Ronnie Kray in New York with World Featherweight champion Willie Pep who had connections to the mob in NY.Dickie Morgan and Ronnie Kray in New York.
The Coach & Horses

The pub in 1942, and 2008

**The Coach & Horses** is a Victorian public house in Stoke Newington, North East London and served a meeting place for The Firm in 1964, where the landlord was Blondy Bill, a friend of John Dickson.

## History

Originally a coach house (a small building for housing coaches, carriages and other vehicles) dating back to the 1700’s, it is one of the oldest remaining public houses in the borough of Hackney which was formerly in the county of Middlesex.

The population at the time of the 1801 census was slightly under 2,000, an outbreak of smallpox at the end of the century ravaged Stoke Newington, affecting the prosperity of the area and causing people to flee elsewhere. With a regular horse bus service into Central London, Stoke Newington started to grow.
Chingford Mount Cemetery

**Chingford Mount Cemetery** is a cemetery in Chingford Mount, in the London Borough of Waltham

The main entrance is opposite the Old Church. Opened in May 1884, 41½ acres in size, it was laid out on the site of the house and grounds of Caroline Mount. Chingford Mount Cemetery was opened as a sister-site to the already established Abney Park Cemetery, which had opened in 1840 as part of the Magnificent Seven Cemeteries which circled London.

Abney Park opened in response to the burial conditions of cemeteries in the inner city. Originally a joint-stock company and inheriting the mantle of Bunhill Fields, the company was made over in 1884 and run as a commercial venture. Chingford Mount was the first new site to open under this regime, followed by Hendon Park and Greenford. Following the collapse of the managing company in the 1970s, plans were submitted to turn over unused parts of the burial ground for redevelopment as housing. Objections from local residents halted this plan and the cemetery is now under the care of the London Borough of Waltham Forest.

Among those buried in the cemetery are the Kray twins and other members of their family and Benjamin Pollock, founder of Pollock's Toy Museum The cemetery contains the war graves of 139 Commonwealth service personnel of World War I and 182 of World War II, with the names of those whose graves have no headstones being listed on a low screen wall surrounding the War Graves Plot in Section F13. Ronnie, Reggie, Charlie Kray and their parents are buried here, as well as Gary Kray and Frances Shea.
Ginger Marks

**Thomas ‘Ginger’ Marks** (1928-1965) was a gangland figure who was most known for being shot dead in Cheshire Street, Bethnal Green by Freddie Foreman, Alfie Gerrard and Jerry Callaghan in January 1965, when he was aged 37. The shooting took place outside the Repton Boxing Club.

The proposed victim was Jimmy Evans, the small-time villain who had shot Freddie Foreman’s brother George in the groin over an affair sometime before. Evans was the original target when Foreman accidentally killed ‘Ginger’ Marks. His body never being found, it is assumed he was buried in the depths of the English Channel beyond Newhaven.

## Murder

The murder of Tommy "Ginger" Marks is no longer one of the London Underworld mysteries as his killers are now publicly known. Freddie Foreman & Alfie Gerrard. Underworld legend has it that Marks was shot in mistake for Jimmy Evans, a safe blower who was involved in a deadly conflict with Foreman. They went on trial ten years after the event but were cleared, and in the late nineties, Foreman admitted that he and Gerrard were the killers. He had already been cleared of the murder.

   Evans, in his memoirs, rubbishes the Foreman version of events, and actually, gives very reasonable and logical arguments over the shooting. Evans states that Marks was called over to a car with four occupants. Two opened fire, killing Marks. Shots were then fired towards him but he escaped. The story goes that Marks misheard the call and thought it was him that was beckoned. Foreman claims this and that Evans hid behind Marks and used his body as a shield. Evans was then supposed to have hidden under a vehicle. Evans rubbishes this by stating that Foreman & Gerard opened fire from six feet away, and not in a position to mistake Marks for him, even in the dark. Marks was six foot four and around fifteen stone, whilst he was five foot eight and eleven stone.

Evans says that the reason Marks was targeted was that he had been told by "Duke" Osborne that Foreman was in cahoots with Butler & Williams, the heads of the Flying Squad. Marks told Evans what Osborne had said to him and was telling anybody who would listen. Evans` argument over the shooting was that Marks became the immediate target for Foreman, despite the war between them, and that they could easily have killed them both. Of course, some people hated Evans for his claims about Foreman, but I have not heard anybody rebut Evans`version of events. Despite the change to the Double Jeopardy law, a change to an eight-hundred-year-old law, Foreman has never been charged, not even for perjury, for Marks or Frank Mitchell, despite admitting that the evidence of Albert Donoghue was the truth. Evans claims that Foreman has had high-level protection, including for murder.
Featured Article archive

## 2017

**The Carpenters Arms**

is a Victorian public house on Cheshire Street, only a hundred yards away from 178 Vallance Road, it was once owned by the Kray twins during their 1960s reign of London. It is still trading today and has a selection of weapons in a glass cabinet and a portrait of the twins on the wall.

Read more or **see the archive**.
Right column preview:

**The Carpenters Arms**

**The Carpenters Arms** is a Victorian public house on Cheshire Street, only a hundred yards away from 178 Vallance Road was once owned by the Kray brothers. It is still trading today and has a selection of weapons in a glass box in the back room.

Read more or **see the archive**.
Tottenham Dance Hall

**The Mecca Dance Hall** also known as the **Mecca Dance Hall Tottenham**, was a large Regency building in Tottenham, North London frequented by the twins during the 1950s. Associate Billy Frost also met them here on occasion. It was demolished in 2004.

## History

For 94 years, 415–419 High Road Tottenham, London, N17 was a North London entertainment venue. The building started life as a roller skating rink in 1910 but the following year was refitted as the Canadian Rink Cinema. In 1925 it was converted into a dance hall known as the Tottenham Palais and became a popular jazz venue. Later it was bought by Mecca Leisure Group and became the Tottenham Royal, managed by William McLeish. North London’s premier nightspot for big band and swing music, with the Johnny Howard Band as resident for a period. The 1950s saw the Royal embrace the rock and roll era and there is a well-known photograph in Picture Post of a group of Teddy Boys in the dance hall. There was also a publicity shot taken outside the Royal when the Tottenham Hotspur League and Cup double team showed off their medals during a victory parade down the High Road in 1961.

Throughout the 1960s bands such as the Dave Clark Five (based there), the Troggs, The Who and The Animals played at the Royal and the Kray twins were among the more notorious visitors. It had also become a modern style disco playing R and B music from America, Ska from Jamaica, as well as the latest pop hits. By the 1970s Tottenham had one of Europe’s biggest black communities and the Royal was host to regular soul and reggae nights as the dance hall became a focal point for local black youths (along with Club Noreik at Ward’s Corner at the junction of Seven Sisters Road and Tottenham High Road) with many reggae stars such as Desmond Dekker and Gregory Isaacs making appearances. In the mid 1970s Tottenham Royal, together with the nearby Charlie Brown's nightclub, plus other clubs such as Crackers in Wardour Street were all part of the up-and-coming UK disco and Southern Souldance scene, with disco music interspersed with Glenn Miller swing music. This was a real multi-cultural experience with white and black youths attending just for the music and to dance. The 1980s saw a transformation into a string of new identities including the Mayfair Suite, the Temple, the United Nations Club, and the Zone, but its best days had passed and the garish and cavernous dance hall was finally demolished in 2004 to make way for much-needed local housing.
May Lee

**May Lee** was the sister to Violet Kray and the maternal auntie to the Kray twins. May lived at 174 Vallance Road where the twins’ spare clothes were kept for them.

The Kray family moved into one of the small row of terraced houses occupied by various Lees, that part of Vallance Road being known locally as ‘Lee Corner’ or ‘Lee Street’. May and Albert Filler had married in 1936 and were moved to live in Union Crescent, Bethnal Green, with their little daughter Rita. She was known around the local area as 'Dinah' by taxi drivers. She was portrayed by Charlotte Cornwell in The Krays (film) in 1990.
Leslie Payne

**Leslie James Payne** (1924-1990) was a con-man who worked for the Krays during the 1960s. He acted at the twins' business manager and encouraged them to broaden their empire into the club world, often persuading them to purchase casinos, clubs, and pubs, notably The Hideaway (later renamed El Morocco).

He considered himself a cultured man and he was sickened by the twins' violence and acted a key witness during the Kray trial in 1969 where he gave evidence against them after Ronnie Kray paid Jack McVitie to shoot him at his home in 1967.

## History

### Early Life

Payne was born in Conduit Mews, Paddington, London, on 7th January 1927. His mother was from a poor background and his father a rich one, who worked as a solicitor. Payne was an Infantry Sergeant during WWII and was present at the battle of Monte Cassino in 1944. After release from the army in 1947, he asserted himself as a suave and professional businessman.

### The Krays

Payne first came into contact with the twins via his car dealership in Stratford. After a business deal went wrong in 1959, he met the brothers and demonstrated his skills of negotiation. He soon joined The Firm and was favoured more by Reggie than Ronnie. Reggie found him useful whereas Ron was sceptical of his presence in The Firm. He fell out with the twins in early 1966. Leslie Payne was a close associate of Ronald and Reginald Kray in the early 60s, the years of their real rise to power and wealth. In this rise, Payne played a vital part. The Krays were in truth little more than East End thugs with a certain native wit. Payne was an expert operator and fraudsman. He provided the brains and confidence necessary to conduct the activities - gambling and fraud - on which the 'firm' flourished; the twins provided the personnel, the gangland aparate. He eventually drifted away from the Krays, alarmed by their psychopathic violence. It was Payne who played a crucial role in the conviction of the Krays, after their attempt to have him murdered had driven him into the arms of the police

### Murder Attempt

After he drifted away from them in the years leading up to 1967, Ronnie Kray offered Jack McVitie £500 to kill Payne as he believed Payne was going to contact the police about their criminal activities. Billy Exley drove Jack McVitie to Payne’s house in Tulse Hill and McVitie was planning on shooting Payne when he answered the door. McVitie failed to do this, instead, spending the money on drink and pills and bragging about it instead which subsequently lead to his murder in October 1967. Payne gave evidence against the Krays during the trial due to the assassination attempt.

### Later Life

Payne was known to have had two daughters and lived in a suburban house in Dulwich. In 1972 he was convicted to five years imprisonment for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. At his trial, the manuscript of his book, *The Brotherhood* was produced in evidence and described by prosecuting counsel as a 'how to do it' book of crime.

## Books

* *The Brotherhood,* Michael Joseph, Hardcover, 173 pages, 7th May 1973 (rare)

## References

* Bennett, John. *Krayology* (2015). Mango Books.
Tom Hardy

**Edward Thomas Hardy** (born 15 September 1977) is an English actor and producer.

## Career

His motion picture debut was in Ridley Scott's 2001 action film *Black Hawk Down*. Hardy's other notable films include the science fiction film *Star Trek: Nemesis* (2002), the crime film *RocknRolla* (2008), biographical psychological drama *Bronson* (2008), sports drama *Warrior* (2011), Cold War espionage film *Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy* (2011), crime drama *Lawless* (2012), drama *Locke* (2013), mobster film *The Drop* (2014), and the biographical western thriller *The Revenant* (2015), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

He portrayed "Mad" Max Rockatansky in the post-apocalyptic film *Mad Max: Fury Road* (2015), and both of the Kray twins in the crime thriller *Legend* (2015). He has appeared in three Christopher Nolan films: the science fiction thriller *Inception* (2010), the superhero film *The Dark Knight Rises* (2012), as Bane, and the action-thriller *Dunkirk* (2017), based on the British evacuation in World War II. Hardy has been cast as Eddie Brock/Venom in a live-action film adaptation of the same name, set to be released in 2018.

Hardy's television roles include the HBO war drama miniseries *Band of Brothers* (2001), the BBC historical drama miniseries *The Virgin Queen* (2005), ITV's *Wuthering Heights* (2008), the Sky 1 drama series *The Take* (2009), and the BBC historical crime drama television series *Peaky Blinders* (2013). He created, co-produced and took the lead in the eight-part historical fiction series *Taboo* (2017) on BBC One and FX.

Hardy has performed on both British and American stages. He was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his role as Skank in the 2003 production of In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, and was awarded the 2003 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer for his performances in both In Arabia We'd All Be Kings and for his role as Luca in Blood. He starred in the 2007 production of The Man of Mode and received positive reviews for his role in the 2010 Philip Seymour Hoffman-directed play The Long Red Road.

He played a dual role as London gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray in the crime thriller *Legend* (2015). On 7 December 2015, Hardy won Best Actor at the British Independent Film Awards for his portrayal of the Kray twins, and on the same night attended the premiere of the biographical western thriller The Revenant, in which he co-stars with Leonardo DiCaprio, at Leicester Square, London.
Steeple bay

Steeple Bay is a caravan park on the Essex coast not far from Maldon.

My family had a van sited there in the 1980s and there were many stories of the Krays in their 60s heyday. Apparently, they kept a van there and used the clubhouse for socialising. If anyone sat at Ronnie's table they quickly moved when he arrived. I don't know much else about their time there but I have seen photos of their caravan. I wonder if the park owners collected rent from them?
The Brown Bear

The pub in 1969, and 2010

**The Brown Bear** is a Victorian public house situated at 139 Leman Street in Aldgate, East London. It is a Grade II listed building, dating back to the early 19th century.

## The Krays

Former jewel thief Lenny Hamilton has claimed that the feud between Ronnie Kray and George Cornell began in the early 1960s. At least two former associates, Lenny Hamilton and Bobby Teale, suggested that the rivalry was set in motion in the early 1960s, with a fistfight outside The Brown Bear pub in Leman Street, Whitechapel, which Cornell dramatically won, making him apparently the only person ever to knock Ronnie Kray out. Cornell had knocked Ronnie unconscious outside the pub, which was a terrible loss of face for Ronnie. Subsequently, Cornell became very scornful of the twins and would often belittle them in public after this event.

The pub is also where Tony and Chris Lambrianou started their evenings drinking on the night that ended in the murder of Jack McVitie. The building opposite the pub was once Leman Street Police Station, where most of the officers hunting Jack the Ripper were based.
The Watney Streeters

One of the more notorious of these gangs was the Watney Street Gang, which mainly consisted of dockers and was based around the Poplar and Shadwell areas south of Whitechapel; in the same area were well-established Maltese gangs who controlled much of the prostitution. With their reputation building, the Krays would be forced to step up to challenges, the result being confrontations that would become the stuff of legend.
Dickie Hart

**Richard "Dickie" Hart** was a friend of the Kray twins who was killed on the 7th March 1966, at The Battle at Mr Smith's in Catford. He was shot in the chest and his official autopsy stated “haemothorax and a gunshot wound to the chest.” The Richardsons were arrested for the incident apart from George Cornell, where it has been said that Hart's death contributed to the reason that Ronnie Kray shot George Cornell in The Blind Beggar the next night.

Although not an official member of The Firm, he was a close friend of the twins and associated with the Harry Hayward south London gang.
Lisa Prescott

**Lisa Prescott**, also known as **Patricia Watson**, was a young woman from Leeds who worked in Mayfair. She accompanied Frank Mitchell in 206a Barking Road in December 1966 after being chosen by the twins.

## History

### Early life

Lisa originally from Leeds moved to London in the early 1960s. She worked as a nightclub hostess and cigarette girl at the Bagatelle Club, and later Winston’s and its sister-club, Churchill’s in New Bond Street. She also worked in other clubs which shared management with Winston’s, such as the Savoy in The Strand and The Minstrel in Beak Street, Soho. She was married to a man who she had seperated from and took his surname Polowski.

### Frank Mitchell

When Frank Mitchell was held at 206a Barking Road, he was growing increasingly restless, so it was decided he needed a woman to placate him. Tommy Cowley regularly visited Winston’s nightclub in Clifford Street, Mayfair, and knew many of its hostesses. He brought Lisa to the flats to accompany Frank, as he wished.

   In 1966, Lisa was living in a flat in Craven Terrace, Bayswater with friend and fellow hostess Valerie Fiske. Lisa was taken to Lennie Dunn’s flat at 3.00 a.m. on Tuesday, 20 December. Lisa and Mitchell went into the bedroom together and closed the door behind them. She stayed at Lennie Dunn’s flat for four days. Mitchell made full use of his new companion, who described him as a “ruthless and demanding lover whose primitive passions electrified me.” She got on well with Frank Mitchell and spent the night together with Albert Donoghue after Frank was shot and killed.
Billy Exley

**William "Billy" Exley** (1923-1996) was a member of The Firm and worked as a barman for many of the twin's clubs around London. He was involved in The Escape of Frank Mitchell, and his harbouring in Barking, East London. He was also the other man present when Jack McVitie went to kill Leslie Payne on request from Ronnie Kray. He died in 1996 aged 73 in Havering, London.

## History

Exley was a former boxer and lived in Woodseer Street, off Brick Lane in Spitalfields and was born around 1923. He had no criminal record when working with the twins. He also suffered from a heart problem. His first conviction was in 1959 for illegally receiving wines and spirits.

### Frank Mitchell

He was also involved The Escape of Frank Mitchell in December 1966. After Frank Mitchell was held at 206a Barking Road, he took it in turns with Jack Dickson and Connie Whitehead to mind him. After the minding went on for several weeks, Exley voiced his anger at the length of the situation. In his book published in 1993, Ronnie Kray incorrectly claimed that some ‘Greek men’ and Exley had killed Frank Mitchell.

### Leslie Payne

After Ronnie Kray offered Jack McVitie £500 to kill Leslie Payne, Exley drove to the property in Tulse Hill. McVitie failed in his mission and the pair escaped, with McVitie keeping the money. This later added to the reason for his murder. Exley stated that McVitie was carrying a gun "the size of a bleedin' cannon."

### Arrest and conviction

Exley had a heart attack and was in the London Hospital for some time. Reggie Kray was suspicious he was pretending in order to get off from The Firm. Reggie also studied his medical charts, and Exley soon drifted away from the twins. After being discharged from hospital, Jack Dickson visited Exley in his house on Brick Lane to invite him to a pub, but he refused.

Exley then gave evidence against the Krays in their trial in 1969 and died in 1996 aged 73.
Sammy Lederman

**Samuel Lederman** was a theatre promoter and former Jack Spot sidekick from Soho, who was an early member of The Firm. He was a small, older man and a one-time Whitechapel thief who was now a long-time resident of Soho, where he worked as a self-styled theatrical agent. Sammy Lederman was a link to the West End and celebrities who could raise the Kray profile.

He gave evidence against the twins at their trial in 1969.
The Old Horns

The pub in 1969, and 2015

**The Old Horns** was a public house that was situated at 68 Warner Place. The pub was known as a Kray stronghold, where the twins and all The Firm would often congregate.

A little further afield from their home at 178 Vallance Road, the pub was situated at Warner Place, off the Hackney Road, which was run by the twins’ old boxing friend Teddy Berry.

## History

This former Watney’s Brewery pub was present by 1872 as the Old Horns. In the 1881 census, numbering jumps from 70 to 28 Warner Place, under which this is listed, but latterly becomes renumbered to 68; This pub closed in 1997 and is now used by a school. In its latter years it passed through a series of names, including Warners and Jeremiah Bullfrog. It is a pub that was strongly associated with the Kray Twins, who spent their last night of freedom together here before being arrested on the morning of 8th May 1968.

### The Battle of The Old Horns

The pub itself was deep in the Krays's manor, and one night of violence finally erupted with Billy and Ron Webb after a meeting took a turn for the worse. According to his version, the Webb brothers were set upon by the twins and their henchmen. Outnumbered 20 to one both the Webbs were badly beaten up, suffering severe head injuries. According to Billy Webb, his brother never really recovered and he attributes his early death to the fight at the Old Horns. Tony Lambrianou first met the Krays at this pub.

### Closure and present day

By 1983 the name had been changed to Warners. It was again renamed, Jeremiah Bullfrog, in around 1990 and closed in 1997 due to a gradual decrease in custom. The premises now house a Montessori School.
Taron Egerton

**Taron David Egerton** (born 10 November 1989) is a Welsh actor. He is known for his roles in the British television series *The Smoke* and the 2014 action comedy film *Kingsman: The Secret Service*. He has also played Edward Brittainin the 2014 drama film *Testament of Youth*, appeared in the 2015 crime thriller film *Legend*, starred as Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards in the 2016 biographical film *Eddie the Eagle*, voiced Johnny in the 2016 animated musical film *Sing*, and reprised his role in the 2017 sequel *Kingsman: The Golden Circle*. His upcoming films include *Billionaire Boys Club* and *Robin Hood*.
Duffy

**Duffy** (born 23 June 1984 as **Amie Ann Duffy**) is a Welsh singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Gwynedd, Wales, she was introduced to Jeannette Lee of Rough Trade Records, which led to her signing a recording contract with A&M Recordsin 2007.

Following the release of the singles "Rockferry" (2007) and "Mercy" (2008), the latter reaching singles charts worldwide, Duffy released her 2008 debut album *Rockferry*. The album entered the UK Album Chart at number one, and became the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold. The album was certified several times Platinum and sold over 7 million copies worldwide, spawning further successful singles. With "Mercy", Duffy became the first Welsh woman to achieve number-one on the UK Singles Chart since 1983, while *Rockferry* was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album amongst further nominations at the 51st Grammy Awards. In 2009, she won three Brit Awards for British Breakthrough, Best British Female and Best British Album.

In 2010, Duffy released her second album *Endlessly*. Following its relative critical and commercial failure, in February 2011, Duffy announced she would take an extended hiatus from music before beginning work on her third album, and made her acting debut in the film *Patagonia*. She has since appeared in, and contributed music to, the films *Secret Love* and *Legend* (both 2015), in the latter playing American singer Timi Yuro.
The Chequers

The pub in 1960, and 2007

**The Chequers** is a Victorian public house in Walthamstow, East London.

## History

The pub was a frequent drinking place for The Krays and other members of The Firm. Ronnie Kray allegedly returned here after the murder of George Cornell at The Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel.

As of 2017 the pub only one surviving in Walthamstow High Street. Fortunately, it is still trading and now serves a wide range of ale and food.
Gerrard Street

**Gerrard Street** is a long road in Chinatown, Westminster, that held The Hideaway club, owned by the twins. It forms part of the opening scene of *Legend*, where Ronnie and Reggie are being driven by Albert Donoghue, down the street.

## History

John Dryden (1631–1700) lived for a while at 43 Gerrard Street, which is commemorated by a blue plaque. Another plaque, on number 9, marks the meeting of Samuel Johnson and Joshua Reynolds at the Turk's Head Tavern to found The Club, a dining club, in 1764. In fiction, Charles Dickens sets the home of Mr Jaggers, the lawyer in *Great Expectations*, in "a house on the south side of that street. Rather a stately house of its kind, but dolefully in want of painting, and with dirty windows [and with ...] a stone hall... a dark brown staircase ... dark brown rooms... panelled walls". A Royal Society of Arts blue plaque commemorates Edmund Burke at 37 Gerrard Street.

In the Roaring Twenties, the 43 Club was set up at number 43, as a jazz club notorious for outrageous parties frequented by the rich and powerful. It was eventually closed down by direct order of the Home Office and the proprietor, Kate Meyrick, was imprisoned. Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club started in Gerrard Street in the basement of No. 39.

In 1953, No. 4 Gerrard Street was a small studio where the theatrical photographer George Harrison Marks and his partner Pamela Green, lived and worked. By the late 1950s, with the success of Kamera Publications, they had taken over No. 5 next door and had a much larger studio on the top floor. In the early 1960s the ground floor at No. 4 became a gallery. The director Michael Powellcopied their sets for the classic film *Peeping Tom*, in which Green also starred.

A basement in Gerrard Street was the location of the first rehearsal of Led Zeppelin in August 1968, where they played "Train Kept A-Rollin'". The exact location of the basement is unknown, and it is believed to have been converted into business premises many years ago.
Tommy Smithson

**Thomas Smithson** was a gangster born in Liverpool in 1920, the sixth of eight children, his family moved to the East End of London two years later. Tommy served time for theft in a reform school where he learned self defence and boxing. During the War he joined the merchant navy as a stoker and served on ammunition ships to Australia. He returned to Shoreditch in 1950 and was soon sentenced to 18 months for a robbery. In prison he got to know people who ran the Soho gambling clubs. By 1954 he had his own gang which included the young Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie, who looked up to Smithson as a hero.

The Maltese gang members had taken advantage of subsidised passages to England for as little as three pounds to establish a network of gambling and drinking clubs, servicing a string of prostitutes. Smithson decided to target the Maltese. He began by working as a croupier for George Caruana in one of his clubs in Batty Street, Stepney. Caruana and his Maltese colleagues were keen to avoid trouble and when Smithson set up a protection racket he was soon taking a regular share of the takings in all their ‘spielers’. The club owners paid him a shilling in the pound, it doesn’t sound much but Tommy was making up to £500 a night.

He was shot in the neck on the 25 June 1956, and was found dying in a Kilburn gutter. The rundown Number 88 Carlton Vale near the junction with Cambridge Road, was a brothel or ‘boarding house’ owned by Caruana. Smithson thought he’d been sent there to collect protection money. He was in the room of ‘Blonde Mary’ Bates when Philip Ellul, Vic Spampinato and Joe Zammit came in. Ellul shot him in the arm and the neck but the .38 revolver jammed. Smithson crawled down the stairs into the street. Bizarrely, his last words to the people who found him were said to be; ‘Good morning, I’m dying.’ He was taken to Paddington Hospital but died shortly after he arrived.

The hit men, who fled to Manchester, were reassured they’d only be charged with manslaughter if they turned themselves in. But it was bad advice, they had been stitched up and they were tried for murder. Spampinato told the court he was only defending himself when Smithson attacked him with a pair of scissors. ‘Blonde Mary’ confirmed the story and he was acquitted. But it later emerged that Blonde Mary was Spampinato’s girlfriend. Ellul was sentenced to death for murder. Then 48 hours before his execution, the sentence was commuted to life, of which he served eleven years in prison. The twins attended his funeral when they were around twenty years old, in 1956. The funeral was filmed on camera.
The Crown & Anchor

The pub in 1968

**The Crown & Anchor** stood on 147 Cheshire Street, Bethnal Green, on what is now the corner of Chester and Kelsey Streets after the redevelopment of the Cheshire Street area, and was closed down and demolished in 1972.

## History

Albert Donoghue was shot in the leg by Reggie Kray in this pub on the 15th September 1964, after he made threats against the twins. This subsequently led to him joining The Firm.

The landlord of the Crown and Anchor was interviewed by the police and, obviously understanding what was expected of him by the Krays, denied all knowledge of any trouble involving guns in his pub in seven years as the licensee. It was the staunch way in which Donoghue dealt with his situation that obviously impressed the Krays and therefore, like his brother-in-law Billy Donovan and a number of others before him, this supposed ‘loyalty’ and understanding of the criminal code resulted in a job offer with the Firm.

A meeting with the twins, Charlie Kray and Tommy Cowley was held in the Crown & Anchor.
Daniel Street School

The school in 2015

**Daniel Street Primary School** now known as **Green Spring Academy Shoreditch** (and formerly known as Daneford, Bethnal Green High School, Bethnal Green Technology College and Bethnal Green Academy) is a Victorian co-educational academy for students aged between 11-19 based in Gosset Street, Bethnal Green in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in East London.

The Kray's attended from the age of 11 until they were 16, previously attending Wood Close School, on Cheshire Street. Beginning in 1944 and leaving in 1949, the twins spent five years of their life here.
Blonde Carol

**Carol Anne Skinner** or more commonly known as **Blonde Carol** was a woman who lived in the basement flat of 97 Evering Road, in Stoke Newington, London. This was the location where Jack McVitie was killed by Reggie Kray on 29 October 1967.

At the time of McVitie's murder, Skinner was 27-years-old and had been living at 97 Evering Road since 1963. She was married to her husband Colin Skinner for four years until 1964 when he was sent to prison. The couple had two children together and after his release, he occasionally saw them. From 1966, she had been seeing a club houseman George Plummer.
Resources

Here is a list of all known resources on the Krays:

### Written by others

The following books are written about the Krays by other individuals. This list will continue to be updated. Please note: not all books are legitimate sources of factual information and may contain biased opinions, false information, or unconfirmed facts/rumours. Read at your own discretion.

* The Krays and Me: Doing Porridge with the Krays by Charles Bronson
* Ronnie Kray: A Man Among Men by Laurie O'Leary
* Krayzy Days by Micky Fawcett
* Getting Away with Murder by Lenny Hamiliton
* The Krays: A Violent Business by Colin Fry
* The Krays: The Final Countdown by Colin Fry
* Kray Twins Walk: London East Gangland Tour by Paul Kenneth Garner
* Calling Time on the Krays: The Barmaid’s Tale by Mrs. X
* From the Cradle to the Grave by Wayne Lear
* Inside the Firm by Tony Lambrianou
* Escape from the Kray Madness by Chris Lambrianou
* The Enforcer: Secrets of My Life with the Krays by Albert Donoghue and Martin Short
* The Krays: Their Life Behind Bars by Robin McGibbon
* The Krays: Unfinished Business by Martin Fido
* Running with the Krays by Riley Webb
* Inside the Kray Family by Joe Lee and Rita Smith (the Twin’s cousins)
* Bringing Down the Krays by Bobby Teale
* Murder without Conviction by John Dickson
* The Profession of Violence by John Pearson
* The Cult of Violence by John Pearson
* Notorious by John Pearson
* The Krays: Not Guilty Your Honour by J.H. Gaines
* Frances: The Tragic Bride by Jacky Hyames
* One of the Family: 40 Years with the Krays by Maureen Flanagan

## Films

* The Krays (film) (1990)
* Legend (2015)
* The Rise of the Krays (2015)
* The Fall of the Krays (2016)

## Websites

* www.thekrays.co.uk
* www.untouchablekrays.tumblr.com
Baby Violet

**Violet Kray** (Dec 1929) was an English infant, who died only a few hours after birth. She was the only daughter of her parents. Her death had a profound affect on her mother, who always wanted a daughter.

## Biography

Born on Kingsland Road, to parents Charles and Violet, she was the younger sister of Charles. She would've become the older sister of Ronnie and Reg, if she'd have survived. Her death had an intense affect on her parents, especially her mother, who always wanted a daughter. The doctors told Charles, that if his wife failed to become pregnant again, she'd fade. Childhood deaths were nothing out of the ordinary then, with Pneumonia and Tuberculosis, the greatest killers followed by Diphtheria and Malnutrition. Reggie Kray would later find a small dried carnation taken from her funeral wreath when he was older as mentioned in 2010 book, Reggie Kray's East End Stories.
The Barmaid

**The Barmaid** or also known as **Mrs X** during the Kray twins trial, was a young woman from East London who worked at The Blind Beggar public house when the shooting of George Cornell took place.

She failed to pick Ronnie out of the police lineup when questioned as a witness, but was the final blow against the twins in their court case, where she revealed all about the shooting.

She wrote a book in 1997, documenting the control the twins had on the local area at the time of Cornell's shooting. The blurb reads:

*At 8.30pm on 6th March, 1966, Ronnie Kray shot George Cornell in the Blind Beggar pub, Mile End Road. The principal witness, a young barmaid, eventually agreed to give evidence at the trial of the Kray twins, evidence that was crucial in securing a conviction. Since that time, she was kept silent about her ordeal after the killing when she was a marked woman and about the years since, with a new identity, moving from safe house to safe house. However, her story is not just that of a witness, it is also the story of young girl growing up in the East End.*

## Publications

* *Calling Time on the Krays: The Barmaids Tale*, with James Morton, Sphere Publishing Ltd, 6th March 1997
The Regency

The club in the 1960s

**The Regency** was a small nightclub and restaurant in Stoke Newington, owned by the two Barry brothers since 1960, who paid protection money to the Krays, who were also frequent visitors along with the rest of The Firm. It was allegedly frequented by the likes of Lord Boothby and Princess Margaret.

The club was situated at 240a Amhurst Road and had opened in 1959. It was run by brothers John and Anthony Barry from 1960 until its closure in 1970.

## History

(I lived and was born in Evelyn Court opposite the Regency Building. In the 1940's - to 60's, the building was HQ of one of the biggest branches of the Jewish Lads Brigade in the UK, Hackney JLB. My father Ted Israel Sugarman had belonged to the JLB in the 1920's and 30's in Camperdown House in Whitechapel, then the national HQ of JLB. There is now (2022) a modern office block on the site called Camperdown in its honour. Every few weeks the JLB band - very competent - and its members would march and play along Amhurst Road to 'show the flag' and entertain locals; it was very impressive and many of the members were about to/had returned from National Service and were very military in stance and apperaance. Then suddeny they closed in the late 50's till the Regency took it over).

The club was very popular with celebrities and a number of underworld criminals during the 1960s. It was considered neutral territory for many gangs around London. After renting the flats at Cedra Court, the twins visited the club frequently. Albert Donoghue, Dickie Morgan and Ronnie Hart were sent to inform the Barry brothers that the twins wanted to do protection for the club for £50 a week, adding it to the list of businesses they "looked after".

The club was also where Jack McVitie appeared one night, waving a sawn-off shotgun, and also where Lenny Hamilton was burnt by Ronnie Kray with red-hot pokers.

### 1980-2000

In the 1980's the club was called Willows an Afro-Caribbean hotspot catering for a variety of characters some of whom were heavily armed. Stabbings, shootings and gang fights were a regular occurrence. In the 1990's the parade of shops opposite the now called 'Trendz' nightclub were used to sell drugs to anyone wishing to buy them. It quickly became known as a Frontline.

The drug dealers were not hidden away in dark corners dozens of them would stand out in the street. It was very intimidating for residents on the street especially women but particularly for young men. Thus creating negative energy which was enhanced by the ley current and moved further along the line. This went on for years in this spot under the very noses of law enforcement. Countless shootings took place in this spot over the years right through to 2008.

### Present day

After the licence was revoked, the building became a selection of high-end residential flats.
Alfie Gerard

**Alfred Gerard** or more commonly known as **Alf** or **Alfred** was the right-hand man of Freddie Foreman and originally came from Canning Town. He settled in Green Lanes, North London with his wife, Agnes.

He was present in the van when Frank Mitchell was sent to be killed by the twins along with Freddie Foreman, Jerry Callaghan and Albert Donoghue on the 24th December 1966 in East Ham. Gerrard fired several shots into Mitchell, emptying his gun, subsequently killing him. He was also accused of the murder of Ginger Marks on Cheshire Street in 1965, and was listed at living in Brooks Road, Plaistow, London.

   He owned The Blue Plaice, a south London fish-and-chip shop during the 1960s and run a scrapyard in railway arches in South London. Gerrard collapsed and died from a blood clot in a hotel lift in Brighton during the 1970s. His son, Nicholas Gerrard was shot and killed in Stratford in 1982.
Ronnie Bender

**Ronald 'Ronnie' Bender** (1938 - 13 September 2004) was a significant member of The Firm during the later part of the 1960s. Bender was Ronnie Kray's personal chauffeur and drove him to the flat where Jack McVitie was murdered.

An ex-soldier, Bender was present at Jack McVitie's murder but took no part, but helped dispose of the body in Rotherhithe. He was subsequently given a twenty-year sentence at the Kray trial as a consequence, aged thirty. He served eighteen years of the sentence.

## History

### Background

Ronald Bender originated from the Isle of Dogs. He once held the position of Acting Sergeant during his National Service and had worked for the Dock Labour Board since 1960. Bender had also served in the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment.

After a back injury, he joined The Firm around 1965 as a driver. Lenny Hamilton remained a close friend of Bender and described him as “a big, strong man. He was not violent and if he couldn’t do you a good turn then he certainly wouldn’t do you a bad one.” It is known that around the time he joined The Firm, he did not have a criminal record.

### Jack McVitie's Murder

Bender owned the carving knife that Reggie used to kill McVitie. After The Murder of Jack McVitie, Tony and Chris Lambrianou and Ronnie Bender were responsible for clearing up the scene after the murder and disposing of the body. McVitie's body was too big to fit in the boot of the car, so the body was wrapped in an eiderdown and placed across the back seats. Tony Lambrianou drove the car with the body and Chris Lambrianou and Bender followed closely behind in

another car. After briefly loosing each other, Bender eventually found Tony, outside St Mary's Church, Rotherhithe. Tony had run out of petrol and still had McVitie's body in the back of the car. The body was then left in the car outside the church, and Bender returned back home.

   Bender then rang Charlie Kray and informed him that McVitie's body had been dealt with. After finding out the location of McVitie's body, the twins were angry and attempted to call Freddie Foreman, who was running The Prince Of Wales in Southwark, to see if he could dispose of the body. Bender was living in Cubitt Town, Poplar at the time of his arrest.

## Later life

### Imprisonment

Whilst in prison he featured in several news articles about his supposedly luxurious life behind bars. He served time in Chelmsford Prison in 1970, where he allegedly ran his own firm behind bars. After he was released from prison, it was alleged that he was very institutionalised, and remained indoors for long periods of time with his wife Buddy.

### Death

Living close by to his good friend Lenny Hamilton, he passed away on the 13th September 2004, aged 66.

Bender was portrayed by Stephen Thompson in *Legend*, 2015.

## References

* Bennett, John. *Krayology* (2015). Mango Books.
Leslie Burman

**Leslie (Eleazer) Burman** was a life-long friend of the twins and had known them from an early age. He was also a popular singer and well-known face around the East End, originating from the Mile End area.

## History

Leslie Burman was brought up in Southern Grove Buildings and then 95 Eric Street, Mile End, which was his first home, just next door to The Wentworth Arms where his father Barney Burman would drink and run an unlicensed bookmaking operation. Leslie was married to Joan (Berry) and had two sons, Mitchell and David. He had four grandchildren; Andrew, Thomas, Katie and Shannon. He visited Ronnie in Broadmoor on a number of occasions, including the shows that were sometimes put on for the Broadmoor inmates, that were specifically for Ronnie's entertainment. He spent much of his life gambling, and could be regularly found at any of London's greyhound tracks (especially Hackney Wick, Clapton, West Ham, Harringay and Walthamstow), and the numerous speilers that existed back in the day. His favourite though, was the Imperial Sporting Club (Corals) alongside Stoke Newington Station. He was also an accomplished singer, and he was often asked to sing at London's pubs and clubs, including The Astor in Berkeley Square in the West End. He attended Ronnie's funeral in 1995 and spoke briefly to Reggie at the back of the church. Burman was sometimes involved in the more nefarious activities of the twins, and was a loyal friend all his life.

Leslie Burman passed away in 1997 to which Reggie wrote to his family stating he had the "hardest left hook he'd ever seen". He did an interview for the 1994 documentary, *The Rise and Fall of the Krays*.
Our Story

**Our Story** is an autobiographical book by Ronnie and Reggie Kray with Fred Dinenage. It was first released in 1988 by Sidgwick & Jackson, and in paperback on 8 September 1989 by Pan Books.

## Synopsis

Our Story is an autobiography by the Kray Twins, assisted by their ghostwriter, first published in 1988. The twins were notorious East End underworld gang leaders during the "swinging" sixties. This book tells their story from their humble beginnings in Bethnal Green to their life imprisonment in 1969, largely in their own words.

The hardback and the Pan paperback versions contain 16 pages of black and white photographs of the twins and their friends, associates and enemies/victims.

The book's Foreword and its "A Final Word" are authored by Fred Dinenage. Thirteen Chapters are ghostwritten with the twins, jointly and individually. Reggie and Ronnie Kray are credited as the authors of:

* 1. Memories of an East End Childhood
* 2. Crime and Punishment
* 8. The Women We Loved

Reg nominally authors chapters:

* 3. The Swinging Sixties
* 6. The Last Supper - the Killing of Jack McVitie
* 9. Life in Parkhurst
* 11. Life in Gartree
* 13. Just a Thought

Ron nominally authors chapters:

* 4. The Killing of George Cornell
* 5. The Truth about the Mad Axman (i.e. Frank Mitchell)
* 7. The Trial and the Traitors
* 10. Life in Broadmoor ... 'Without my drugs I go mad'
* 12. Poetry and Painting.

According to a later edition, Ronnie Kray died in Broadmoor Hospital in 1995, while Reggie was released on compassionate grounds in 2000, only to die of cancer in that October. Reggie Kray approached their ghostwriter Dinenage to help them tell their story, because Reggie had admired the journalist's Television South's sports and documentary programmes.