But who were the gang's most brazen members? ', As the photographs show, the women often wore beautifully designed hats , coats and dresses in order to fit in, known as 'putting on the posh'. The Kray twins (pictured) held The Forty Thieves member Eva Fraser in high regard. He stopped following a warning from the Kray Twins. 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. But by the 1930s, the breeding ground for its recruits was South London. Eric wasnt a bad fellow, Fraser later explained, but that particular night he was bang out of order.. Not long after being released, Hughes was involved in the Lambeth riot of Christmas 1925, when the home of Bill Britten was stormed. [8] Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, to whom he was close. contact the editor here. Following a trial at theOld Baileyin 1967, he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. It will only make me a worse villain!'. Throughout his life he denied the justice of this conviction, but he was happy to trade off it. Then they were turned over to Fraser. Frankie Fraser was known anotorious torturer and hitman, who worked as an enforcer for some of London's most feared gang leaders. Fraser was the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty. It will only make me a worse villain! According to Fraser, it was they who helped him avoid arrest for theGreat Train Robberyby bribing a policeman. [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. Together they set up the Atlantic Machines fruit-machine enterprise, which acted as a front for the criminal activities of the gang. His mother was of Irish and Norwegian descent, while his father was halfNative-American. 'MAD' Frankie Fraser, was one of the most feared and respected West End crime lords of the 1960s. Former Northern Echo journalist Beezy Marsh has written a book about London gangster Mad Frankie Fraser. Her wartime experience was spent on the switchboards during the Blitz. When Frank Sinatra came to London in the early 1970s, he made a special visit in his limo to Eva in her little terrace house in South London to pay his respects. Eva Brindle formerly Fraser. Frankie Fraser, who has died aged 90, was a notorious torturer and hitman for the Richardson gang of south London criminals in the 1960s; he spent 42 years behind bars before achieving a. Eva Fraser - the sister of notorious gangster Mad Frankie Fraser - was reputedly one of the last members of the Queens of the Forty Thieves shoplifting gang, which sold stolen goods from. "My father was the most honest man I've ever come across," says Fraser, who also refers to his Native American antecedents, saying that his grandmother was "a Red Indian", According to his sons, Fraser has no regrets: "He said, 'No, I wouldn't have done my life any other way. During the 1950s, Fraser's main occupation was as bodyguard to well-known gangster Billy Hill. But Hill was already an admirer: a picture taken at a party to launch Hills ghosted autobiography in 1955 shows Fraser draped artistically over a piano. Here are some pictures of Eva Fraser of the Forty Thieves and her sister Kathleen. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. 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. 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. Queen of Thieves, by author and journalist Beezy Marsh (published by Orion, November 4 2021, 8.99). Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. Fraser was just 13 when he was sent to an approved school for stealing 40 cigarettes. Bought stolen goods and sold them on in a role known as 'the fence'. Beezy reveals how the girls father would beat their mother a big influence on their outlook. But little by little, over weeks and months of interviews, cups of tea and chats, their life stories emerged and with that came a fascinating insight into the Fraser family history and what really made Frank tick. By the time of the Swinging Sixties, she was drinking champagne with the Krays. He was still serving his sentence for the Catford affray when he was handed a further 10 years for his part in the Richardson torture case. Two people were left dead. [24], Fraser's wife, by whom he had four sons, died in 1999. Mothers would hide hoisted clothes in their prams and move them to pubs, where they were sold on. From then on until the end of the 1980s, Fraser was more often in jail than not. Profile manager: Evelyn Wolff [send private message] In the 1950s he worked for underworld boss Billy Hill and carried out razor attacks on victims for 50 each. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. The following year, the British mobsterJack Spotand wife Rita were attacked on Billy Hill's say-so, by Fraser, Bobby Warren and at least half a dozen other men. This resulted in Fraser returning to prison once again - this time to serve a seven-year sentence. [13], It was in the early 1960s that Fraser first met Charlie and Eddie Richardson of the Richardson Gang, rivals to the Kray twins. ", The new documentary returns to this theme, suggesting he had a hard time in prison because there were no criminals in his family. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription you will not receive any newsletters until your subscription is confirmed. Nothing ever got to Frankie, wrote Charlie Richardson. Mother of [private daughter (1940s - unknown)] Died 2000s. Shegot her first criminal record aged just 14 and, in 1923, she was jailed after running out of a jeweller's with a tray of 34 diamond rings straight into the arms of a policeman. There was also kind of respect for them locally because people could get a nice dress or a pair of stockings cheaply. He was full of contradictions: He hated authority but at the same time he understood the need for society to have rules and was against anarchy. Born near Waterloo station, central London, he was the fifth child of a poor family. During the 1950s, Fraser's main criminal occupation was as bodyguard to well-known gangsterBilly Hill. In 1969, Fraser was one of the ringleaders of the major Parkhurst Prison riot, which resulted in him spending the six weeks in the prison hospital due to his injuries. Fraser was part of Britain's Underworld between the 1940s-1960's. Frankie Fraser was a south London gangster who knew no language but violence and spent half his life behind bars. She had known their father, who was a fence (seller of stolen goods) or a 'thieves' ponce' - he would put up the money to finance criminal operations - which was a career on which she looked down. The gang probably had its roots in the Victorian slums around Seven Dials, near Covent Garden, infamous in Dickens's day. 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. By 20 she was leader of The Forty Thieves and wore a row of diamond rings that acted as a knuckle duster. [9], Fraser was an Arsenal fan, and his grandson Tommy Fraser is a professional footballer. Sometimes the hoisters' lives became entangled with those of underworld bosses through affairs, family ties or marriage. [3][4], Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London. Frankie Fraser, who has died aged 90, was a notorious torturer and hitman for the Richardson gang of south London criminals in the 1960s; 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 Frasers were both contemporaries of the Hatton Garden heist gang members many of whom also came from south London and who operated on the same bank robbing scene and shared jail cells with the Fraser boys at some point. 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. Aged seven, Ms Pitts was stealing milk and bread to provide food for her five siblings. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road inWaterloo,London on December 13, 1923. The reader is also introduced to the girls brother Jim, who became a sergeant in the army and fought in North Africa. With Warren at his heels, Fraser ambushed Spot in a Paddington street, knocking him to the ground with a shillelagh. One such member was Lilian Goldstein, who was known as the Bob-Haired Bandit. Ancestors . 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. She had died in 2000 but her daughter Beverley, who shared Evas reticent nature, agreed to talk to me and that revealed that Eva had been leading criminal in her own right. At his funeral, one of his old prison friends summed him up: Whether he has gone upstairs or downstairs, I cant say, but wherever he is, you can be sure of this: he will be protesting about the conditions.. A Gannett Company. The two Richardson brothers were convicted, and the elder, Charles, sentenced to 25 years. During his time behind bars he was involved in violence and was a major instigator in the Parkhurst Prison riots in 1969. 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. Ronald 'Ronnie' Kray and Reginald 'Reggie' Kray, were identical twin brothers who led an organised crime ring in East London from the late 1950s to 1967. He had an ungovernable temper and an inability to think through the undoubted consequences of his proposed actions. Shortly afterwards, Fraser kidnapped Eric Mason, a Kray gang member, outside the Astor Club in Berkeley Square, with even direr consequences. Questioned by police, Fraser reportedly gave his name as Tutankhamen (gangland slang for shtum) and asked What incident?. In later life he would say that had there been an elder criminal member of the family to advise him, he would not have served his sentences in what was called the hard way. For a time he was engaged to Marilyn Wisbey, daughter of the Great Train Robber Tommy Wisbey, with whom he briefly ran a massage parlour in Islington, in which Fraser made the tea. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. Some became pals with young actresses as they partied in Soho nightclubs and stole dresses to order for them to wear on the red carpet. [4] He was involved in riots and frequently fought with prison officers and fellow inmates. He claimed to have no regrets about his criminal life, apart from being caught. [9] What saved him I think was the branch; it was supple and it bent. Although Lawton survived, the dog died. He also attacked various governors. There was also quite a comeuppance for both Patrick and David who both served their time. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's 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. 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. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. A mugshot of Forty Thieves' Hughes, who was uncontrollable and dissipated by drink. A machine costing 400 could quickly recoup its cost if well-sited, and Frasers company offered club owners 40 per cent of the take rather than the standard 35 per cent as an inducement to install their machines. Mad Frank: Memoirs of a Life of Crime appeared in 1994, with two further volumes following in 1998 and 2001. He may be in his 90th year but "Mad" Frankie Fraser is still causing mayhem. He was very skilled at manipulating people and he played a long game, letting people believe he was mad, with the intention of winning in the end. His new career took off and he was in regular demand as a radio and television pundit. Fraser was the. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Fraser received seven years. [9] He was a resident at a sheltered accommodation home in Peckham. The Forty Thieves, a London-based exclusively female gang whose exploits were worse than those depicted in BBC drama the Peaky Blinders, posed as wealthy housewives innocently browsing the rails of the UK's most luxurious clothing stores. 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! [5][6][7][8] His mother was of Irish and Norwegian descent, while his father was half Native-American. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can Both Fraser and his sister, Eva, were also active juvenile thieves. In 1996 he was cast as the gangleader Pops Den in the film Hard Men, which premiered at the London film festival. Alice herself was famous for clouting three furs in one go: one down each leg and one under her gusset. Despite this, or possibly because of it, newspapers of the day were tipping him as Spots natural successor. Beezy said: "Frank's sister Eva was the one who led him into crime as a small boy. His major stretch in prison came at the end of the Swinging Sixties, shortly before his rivals, the Krays, were jailed, but he was so badly behaved behind bars that he lost every day of remission and even had five years added to his sentence for one of the worst riots in prison history at Parkhurst in the Isle of Wight. The notorious gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser's sister Eva had risen through the ranks of the gang after joining in the 1930s. However, it was the during the 'torture trial' of the Richardson gang in 1967, that Frankie Fraser become notorious nationally. End-right girl on the back row is Eva.. VIEWS Every old-school south Londoner knows the folklore of cockney criminal Frankie Fraser, whose violent tendencies were infamous on the streets of Walworth. 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'. Reporters claimed she was 6ft tall - despite police records from 1919 putting her at 5ft9in. On 26 November, Fraser died after his family made the decision to turn off his life-support machine. There was American Indian blood in him; his grandfather had emigrated to Canada in the late 19th century and married a full-blooded American Indian woman. The cells did not have a reforming effect on her character or on that of her gang leader Diamond, who was arrested on numerous occasions over the following decade. Involvement in such activities often led to his sentences being extended. The most famous 'queen', Alice Diamond (left), was the daughter of a docker and renowned for her row of diamond rings that doubled as a knuckle duster. Tallymen, who sold goods door-to-door, would shift them across London. She also passed on her 'wisdom' to a future queen, Shirley Pitts. 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. 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. "If you play by the sword, you've got to expect the sword as well," says his son. Nevertheless he was good at sports, captaining the football team at St Patricks school, Southwark, and boxing as an amateur. He was a rock.. The comments below have not been moderated. Various members were eventually caught, though and served their time in Holloway prison, where rations were meagre and they slept on boards. The singer, 29, bared his chest and showed off his . Fraser considered that Lawton had meted out cruel and vindictive punishment to him at Pentonville in 1948, and to avenge himself Fraser assumed the role of hangman. The following year, the British mobster Jack Spot and wife Rita were attacked, on Hill's say-so, by Fraser, Bobby Warren and at least half a dozen other men. [22], Fraser gave gangland tours around London, where he highlighted infamous criminal locations such as The Blind Beggar pub. A ponce was someone who thieves looked down on, because they lived by taking a cut from someone elses earnings. Following a trial at the Old Bailey in 1967, he was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. "From there he goes on to burgle, and she goes onto shop lifting with a famous female gang called The 40 Thieves. In 1969 Fraser led the Parkhurst prison riot on the Isle of Wight and found himself back in court charged with incitement to murder. 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). Fraser spent practically half his life behind bars. She was chauffeured in a Bentley and always wore a sable coat. If you love GANGLAND and women in crime who rubbed shoulders with Frank and the Krays, you're going to QUEEN OF CLUBS my new book set in seedy 1950s Soho and inspired by the Forty Thieves hoisters gang including Frank's sister Eva Fraser and the notorious hoister Shirley Pitts from Walworth who grew up with his sons David and Patrick. Its clear she still had to feed her family by acting on the wrong side of the law Beezy said. Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, to whom he was close. Fraser was defended by a young solicitor called James Morton, who later became an author and wrote a history of Londons gangland in 1992. [8] Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, to whom he was close. What officers didn't know then was that his crime spree would continue over a career spanning seven decades, and his offences only worsened. 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. People shook his hand in the street, others kissed him or asked for his autograph and taxi drivers honked their horns. After three years in jail she tookpart in the Lambeth riot at Christmas 1925. None of the gang were afraid to use razors on those who crossed them, Some of London's The Forty Thieves' antics made the Peaky Blinders look like choirboys. It was almost as if the biggest thrill of all was the act of stealing itself. Pictured, Marble Arch and Oxford Circus in the 1920s, Petite shoplifter Bertha Tappenden (right) stood just over 5ft 2in tall, but was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a man in Lambeth, after kicking down his front door and attacking him with razors and knives, to settle a score, aided by Diamond and another gang girl, Gertrude Scully (left). None of the gang were afraid to use razors on those who crossed them. 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. You understand the choices that lay ahead of you if you were a working-class girl. In 1991, while emerging from Turnmills nightclub in Clerkenwell, London, he was shot at by an unidentified gunman. [26] On 21 November 2014, he fell critically ill during leg surgery at King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill[27] and was placed into an induced coma. Both Fraser and Warren received seven-year sentences. He received a further five years when, in 1970, he was acquitted of incitement to murder but convicted of grievous bodily harm after he had led the Parkhurst prison riot the previous year. The family was hard-working and kept themselves clean [out of crime].. Another grandson, Anthony Fraser, was being sought by police in February 2011 for his alleged involvement in an alleged 5 million cannabis smuggling ring. 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. ', The notorious gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser's sister Eva had risen through the ranks of the gang after joining in the 1930s. At the age of five, he moved with his family to a flat on Walworth Road, Elephant and Castle. 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. She was an alcoholic and onceran out of a jeweller with a tray of 34 diamond rings and bumped straight into a policeman. The Guardian, October 12 1980 Frank Fraser is a thorn in the Prison Department's side - a thorn so big that he is possibly the only British criminal who has become a legend simply by serving time. From the time of Frankie Fraser's sister Eva and the gang of hoisters The Forty Thieves, comes a book which will have you gripped this summer. A witness later changed histestimony,and the charges were eventually dropped, though Fraser still received a five-year sentence for affray. So it was in January 1965, when a club owner called Benny Coulston was hauled before Richardson for swindling him out of 600 over a consignment of cigarettes. Though like Eva, she struggled to come to terms with the choice facing women to work or marry. The pair were the only ones of the children to embrace a life of crime. After Frasers release from the Spot sentence, he was courted by the Kray Twins and the Richardson gang. Then theres Frankie himself, who makes a brief appearance. Pitts wore a school girl's outfit, complete with straw boater, to act as a decoy. His greatest moment of national notoriety came during what was known as the 'torture trial' of the Richardson gang in 1967, which became . She was taught by Alice Diamond in the 1930s and a very senior member throughout the. Many of the Forty Thieves were noted for their beauty as well as their shoplifting skills, such as Madeline Partridge and her sister Laura, whose mother was often used by Diamond to sell stolen goods. 'And they were the best fun for a night out.'. 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. [28], "Gangland enforcer sets the record straight about 'the bad old days': Rhys Williams meets "Mad" Frankie Fraser, once known as Britain's most violent man", "Find & contact The White Hart in Waterloo", "Local and community news, opinion, video & pictures - Southport Visiter", "Tories condemn prisoners' freedom to read criminal memoirs", "Gangland enforcer 'Mad' Frankie Fraser dies at 90", "Mad Frankie Fraser given Asbo at age of 89 after bust-up at care home", "Gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser dies at 90", "Mad Frankie Fraser dead: Notorious gangster dies in hospital aged 90 following leg surgery", Personal website with biography and details of gangland tours, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frankie_Fraser&oldid=1107726220, This page was last edited on 31 August 2022, at 15:09. 'The other side of the story involves these feisty women and it is perhaps more fascinating given the limited powers such working class girls had to earn a decent wage.'. But his criminal activities didn't stop when he was locked up. While serving this sentence, Fraser received 10 years for his part in the so-called Richardson torture trial. Fraser had no problem dealing with rival operators whose business was dented as a result. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Frankie Fraser was a notorious torturer and hitman, who worked as an enforcer for some of London's most feared gang leaders, including Billy Hill in the 1950s and the Richardson gang in the 1960s. 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. [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. On the night of March 7 1966 Fraser and Eddie Richardson were badly hurt in a brawl at Mr Smiths club in Catford, the incident that broke the Richardson familys grip on south London. "Maybe he was bored with going to prison," Ronnie Richardson, Charlie's widow, tells the programme. Morton was relieved that, rather than remonstrating, Fraser wanted him to write his life story. Once he said he would do something, he did it, and he despised others who backed down. [9] He was a deserter during the Second World War, escaping from his barracks on several occasions. Pictured: The female cast of the hit BBC show Peaky Blinders. Petite shoplifter Bertha Tappenden stood just over 5ft 2in tall, but was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a man in Lambeth, after kicking down his front door and attacking him with razors and knives, to settle a score, aided by Diamond and another gang girl, Gertrude Scully.
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