The Elite of the Criminal World: The Men Behind the Great Train Robbery
On 8 August 1963, a group of 15 men, members of London’s biggest criminal gangs, meticulously executed one of the most daring and lucrative heists in British history. Their target: a Royal Mail night train traveling from Glasgow to London.
The Robbery in Detail:
- The gang’s plan was ingeniously crafted. They cut phone lines and rigged the train signals to stop the engine at a remote location, Bridego Bridge. The train driver, Jack Mills, was attacked when he tried to resist, and the train was diverted.
- The criminals then separated two carriages filled with money—120 sacks containing £2.6 million (worth over £50 million today).
- Within 15 minutes, the criminals had loaded the sacks into parked Land Rovers and vanished into the night, leaving no trace except for the enormous haul.
Despite their careful planning, the criminals were soon apprehended, and the public’s fascination with the crime grew as sensational headlines spread.
The Daring Heist and the Response:
- The gang was hailed as “the elite of the criminal world” by those who covered the heist. They were a diverse group, combining talents from various criminal enterprises to pull off the heist.
- However, their audacity would be their undoing. Within a year, most of the gang members were arrested and sent to trial, facing some of the harshest sentences in British history.
The Trial:
The trial was a spectacle. The robbers were sentenced in April 1964, and the public’s attention was unwavering. The judge, Lord Justice Edmund Davies, handed down 307 years of prison time for the gang members. Despite no fatalities or the use of firearms, the assault on the train driver, Mills, was a key factor in the severity of the sentences.
One of the criminals, Tommy Wisbey, spoke about the harshness of the sentence in an interview, recalling the numbness that followed. “I couldn’t think of anything but 30 years. When are we going to get out? We are never going to get out,” he said.
The Aftermath: Escapes and Notoriety:
- Despite the lengthy sentences, some of the men managed to escape prison. Ronnie Biggs, for example, famously fled after 15 months in Wandsworth Prison. He spent 40 years on the run before eventually returning to the UK in 2001.
- Bruce Reynolds, considered the mastermind of the heist, spent five years on the run before being caught. His son, Nick, later found fame with his band Alabama 3, whose song “Woke Up This Morning” became the iconic opening theme for The Sopranos.
The Legacy:
The Great Train Robbery’s legacy remains powerful, not only due to the magnitude of the theft but because of the criminal lifestyle that surrounded it. The daring criminals became infamous, and their stories continued to captivate the public through books, films, and documentaries.
Though the gang members faced significant jail time, none served more than 13 years, and several of them returned to prison for other crimes afterward. Their audacity, planning, and sheer boldness left an indelible mark on British criminal history.
The Impact on Society:
The public’s fascination with the Great Train Robbery was not just about the money—it was about the audacity and skill involved. The crime embarrassed the British establishment, leading to severe punishments, and cemented the criminals as legends in the world of crime.
While justice was served through harsh sentences, some argued the punishment was disproportionate, especially given the lack of fatalities. Nevertheless, the gang’s notoriety only grew, marking them as a symbol of both criminal genius and the failure of an establishment caught off-guard.
This historical event continues to be remembered as one of the most brazen and well-executed crimes in British history, blending daring criminality with a legacy of intrigue and cultural influence.
