None of the gang were afraid to use razors on those who crossed them. Though like Eva, she struggled to come to terms with the choice facing women to work or marry. Eva was a chip off the old block and as well as being Franks first partner in crime, stealing sweets from the corner shop, she had a lucrative career in a daring gang of girl shoplifters, The Forty Thieves, which traced its roots back to Victorian London and cleared many a West End store for furs and luxury goods. However, it was the during the 'torture trial' of the Richardson gang in 1967, that Frankie Fraser become notorious nationally. His greatest moment of national notoriety came during what was known as the 'torture trial' of the Richardson gang in 1967, which became . His last jail term ended in 1989, but in 2011 he was handed an Asbo after getting into an argument with a fellow pensioner at the sheltered accommodation where he lived in Bermondsey. 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. 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. "Maybe he was bored with going to prison," Ronnie Richardson, Charlie's widow, tells the programme. The middle sister was Kathleen, who constantly aspired to make it as an actress, and make use of her striking good looks. The Richardson Gang was an English crime gang based in South London, England in the 1960s.Also known as the "Torture Gang", they had a reputation as some of London's most sadistic gangsters. Monty Python sketch featuring the Piranha brothers, Doug and Dinsdale. ', 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'. I just waited, caught up with him, knocked him about and strung him up with his dog, Fraser remembered. It sounds like the worst days of Prohibition in Chicago rather than London in 1956, complained Mr Justice Donovan, but words were wasted on Fraser. This is Eva Fraser, sister of gangster " Mad" Frankie who was one of the leading lights in The Forty Thieves. In 1996, he played (his friend) William Donaldson's guide to Marbella in the infamous BBC Radio 4 series A Retiring Fellow. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Updated November 28, 2014 2.43pmfirst published at 2.41pm Save Share Her story has been told in The Queen of Thieves, written by author Beezy Marsh, which sheds a light on the lives of the girl gang that gained the respect of male criminals because of their lucrative and violent methods. Morton was relieved that, rather than remonstrating, Fraser wanted him to write his life story. 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. 42 years a lag She had died in. 'Speaking to relatives of some of the original gang members during my research for Queen of Thieves, I was struck by how secretive the gang had been about its methods, and how much of a career choice it was for working class girls. Mothers would hide hoisted clothes in their prams and move them to pubs, where they were sold on. [5][6][7][8] His mother was of Irish and Norwegian descent, while his father was half Native-American. Fraser earned his mad nickname during the second world war, when he managed to get himself out of military service by pretending to be mentally ill. To prove his unsuitability to the force, he assaulted a doctor before jumping out of the window at the Bradford assessment centre where he had been sent. After the war he was involved in a smash-and-grab raid on a jeweller's and was given a two year prison sentence. The notorious English gangster turned to a life of a crime and before he knew it, he was behind bars. His gangster boss Charles Richardson remembered him as one of the most polite, mild-mannered men Ive met but he has a bad temper on him sometimes. 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. During his time behind bars he was involved in violence and was a major instigator in the Parkhurst Prison riots in 1969. Members of The Forty Thieves worked department stores including Selfridges in teams of three or four during hoisting trips up to three times a week. Fraser was just 13 when he was sent to an approved school for stealing 40 cigarettes. It was during this sentence that he was first certified insane and was sent to Cane Hill Hospital before being released in 1949. [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. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. It has emerged that the former gangland enforcer, who has spent 42 years in prison for 26. After being sent to HM Prison Durham for taking part in bank robberies, he was again certified insane and this time was sent to Broadmoor Hospital. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. ", Of the war years, when he was heavily involved in theft from bombed-out stores, he says: "You wanted to win the war but you wanted it to go on for ever. After trying his hand at crime as a. [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. He built a reputation as an enforcer and strongman for various gang leaders, including Billy Hill, self-styled King of Britains Underworld in the 1940s and 1950s and, in the 1960s, the Richardson brothers. 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. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. Fraser was part of Britain's Underworld between the 1940s-1960's. Francis Davidson Fraser, criminal, born 13 December 1923; died 26 November 2014, Gangland criminal and in later life a minor media celebrity, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Frankie Fraser in 2002. Even decent folk were often only too happy to 'take a bit of crooked' to have something new. Before World War Two, if you got married you were expected to leave work and stay at home, Beezy said. We'll never send you spam or share your email address. The pair were the only ones of the children to embrace a life of crime. Please report any comments that break our rules. Eva got six months for stealing stockings from Bentalls in Kingston upon Thames. [6] Fraser was the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty. Frankie Fraser was a south London gangster who knew no language but violence and spent half his life behind bars. Frankie Fraser belonged to a bygone era of crime and was cut from a different cloth than so many other gangsters of his generation. Following a trial at theOld Baileyin 1967, he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. 'In fact, she was one of the people who spotted his talent for stealing after he pinched a cigarette machine from a hotel as a small boy. Join Facebook to connect with Frankie Fraser and others you may know. Fraser was the youngest of five children who were growing up in poverty - he first turned to crime at the tender age of 10, alongside his sister Eva. Once again, he was sent toprison, this timefor taking part in bank robberies. Then theres Frankie himself, who makes a brief appearance. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. It was almost as if the biggest thrill of all was the act of stealing itself. 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. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London on December 13, 1923. Following the Frankie Fraser story is akin to re-tracing the history of gangland London throughout the 20th Century. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription you will not receive any updates until your subscription is confirmed. It spent six weeks in the Sunday Times top ten and held the coveted #1 Globe and Mail chart slot in Canada for three months. Editors' Code of Practice. After one snatch, he and his companion were arrested when their car would not start. Former Northern Echo journalist Beezy Marsh has written a book about London gangster Mad Frankie Fraser. Fraser was the youngest of five children who were growing up in poverty - he first turned to crime at the tender age of 10, alongside his sister Eva. Born 1920s. He had been shot in the face. Born near Waterloo station, central London, he was the fifth child of a poor family. As a solicitor, I defended him in the trial following the Parkhurst riot and as a result wrote a number of books with him. Then they were turned over to Fraser. Frank stole because he loved to have money yet when he had it, he gave it all away. 'It gave them a life they could never have afforded. Ancestors . "As I was growing up, I never had to buy a shirt Eva made sure she nicked them for me. [8] Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, to whom he was close. The Old Bailey jury heard, in grisly detail that still resonates 50 years on, how Frankie Fraser tried to pull Coulstons teeth out one by one with a pair of pliers. Franks mother, Margaret, was a huge influence on him but his best pal and early partner in crime was his sister, Eva. The two Richardson brothers were convicted, and the elder, Charles, sentenced to 25 years. It will only make me a worse villain! He undoubtedly had a wicked temper and a lack of empathy as seen in his capability for violence but he described that to me in terms of a soldier doing his job. Fraser, tried separately, was jailed for 10. pre order Queen of Thieves now for just 2.99. There was Eva, the naughty girl of the three, who became a key figure in the all-girl gang, the Forty Thieves, who targeted the West Ends big department stores. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. Over the last decade or so he was on the cabaret circuit and ran gangland tours of the East End, taking in such sights as the Blind Beggar pub, where Ronnie Kray shot dead George Cornell, one of the Richardson gang, in 1966. Frankie Fraser was tried at the Old Bailey for Harts murder, while six others, including Eddie Richardson, faced lesser charges. One such member was Lilian Goldstein, who was known as the Bob-Haired Bandit. As a reward, he was shown his examination answers, and thats how I come top, he later boasted. He really did live by a code of honour which he took with him to the grave. Had her first criminal conviction aged 14 and went on to become Diamond's accomplice. 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. 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. What saved him I think was the branch; it was supple and it bent. Although Lawton survived, the dog died. [22], Fraser gave gangland tours around London, where he highlighted infamous criminal locations such as The Blind Beggar pub. 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. At the age of five, Fraser, running in the road to beg for cigarette cards, was knocked down, and from his injuries he developed meningitis. Fraser was released in 1988 and almost immediately served a two-year sentence for receiving. As people facedblackouts, rationing and a lack of professional policing due toconscription, Fraser had ample opportunities for criminal activities, such as stealing from houses while the occupants were hiding for safety in air-raid shelters. She would send her girls out in teams of three or four at least three days a week, to stores all over London and as far afield as Birmingham and Brighton. Prior to that he was a bodyguard to notorious gangland leader Billy Hill, where he took part in bank robberies and and carried out razor blade attacks - which earned him 50 a time. On 26 November, Fraser died after his family made the decision to turn off his life-support machine. 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. In 1996 he was cast as the gangleader Pops Den in the film Hard Men, which premiered at the London film festival. The following year he was involved in a torture trial the Old Bailey, where members of the gang were charged with electrocuting, whipping and burning those disloyal to them. 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'. 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. Hughes was famed for her red hair, a love of drink and a violent temper. After three years in jail she tookpart in the Lambeth riot at Christmas 1925. Had it all gone to plan, she could have inhabited a very different side of the West End to her little sister Eva. 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. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. Beezy a former Sunday Times journalist whose biography Mad Frank & Sons was published last year was given unprecedented access to interview the family and learn about the three bold women, who grew up in Howley Terrace, in Waterloo during the 1930s. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Fraser was acquitted but received five years for affray. Moment brazen thieves jump behind counter at Chicago Drug baron, 58, who 'hid 198MILLION fortune from police' is Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Dozens stuck in car park as staff refuses to open gate for woman, Incredible footage of Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russians in Bakhmut, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' Fraser was defended by a young solicitor called James Morton, who later became an author and wrote a history of Londons gangland in 1992. 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. Fraser has complained in the past that "I had no help from my family; my mother and father were dead straight so I had to make my own way. [9] At the same time Fraser was concerned to protect his West End business interests, chiefly the installation and operation (on an exclusive basis) in the clubs of Soho of one-armed bandits, or fruit machines, then growing in popularity. [24], Fraser's wife, by whom he had four sons, died in 1999. Somehow Eva found herself in the opposite company of her eldest sister Peggy, whose boyfriend was heavily involved in the Communist Party, whom the Blackshirts fought in the famous Battle of Bermondsey, and the even more famous Battle of Cable Street. But by the time of his death at the age of 90 from complications following leg surgery, Fraser had become something of a minor celebrity. Young Frankie attended local schools, captained the football team, and acted as bookies runner to one of the teachers. His parents never knew about his illegal activities, and if they ever suspected him apparently turned a blind eye, a habit . 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. Francis Davidson Fraser, known as Mad Frankie Fraser, was the scourge of prison governors and warders up and down Britain during the periods when he served a total of more than 40 years imprisonment. "From there he goes on to burgle, and she goes onto shop lifting with a famous female gang called The 40 Thieves. 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. His new career took off and he was in regular demand as a radio and television pundit. The gang's ringleaders appeared in a secret register of criminals, that is now kept by the National Archives, which then existed to help police track down the most persistent offenders. "You name it, we nicked it," he says. Possessed of a ready wit and good repartee, he followed this up with stage performances both in the East and West End, where he appeared with his then companion of 10 years, Marilyn Wisbey, the daughter of a Great Train Robber, Tommy Wisbey. Keeping My Sisters Secrets was published on July 27 by Pan Macmillan. 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. The Soho gang boss Billy Hill - brother of the fiery Maggie Hughes - was also careful not to encroach too much on their territory because he respected their right to earn their own money, free from male interference. Diamond's second-in-command Maggie Hughes 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! The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Photograph: Alex Segre/Rex. She was taught by Alice Diamond in the 1930s and a very senior member throughout the. There were car chases and bank raids which would not have looked out of place in The Sweeney. [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. While still a teenager, in the spring of 1943, he took part in a daring raid to free an Army deserter from a squad sent to collect him from Wandsworth Prison. What Fraser invariably threatened was violence. He was still touring clubs and pubs in 2011. The police were cozzers and a burglary was a screwer, hitting someone was a clump, while jewellery was tom as in Tom Foolery, in rhyming slang. He was released from prison in 1985.[17]. HP10 9TY. By the time of the Swinging Sixties, she was drinking champagne with the Krays. Once he said he would do something, he did it, and he despised others who backed down. [13], It was in the early 1960s that Fraser first met Charlie and Eddie Richardson of the Richardson Gang, rivals to the Kray twins. But Beezy said: [Kathleen] experienced the slums of Waterloo as a place buzzing with excitement and the tight-knit community, with its Catholic Church parades, which gave her the chance to shine, though she instead works at the old Hartleys jam factory in Bermondsey. Both Fraser and Warren were given seven years for their acts of violence. It has emerged that the former gangland enforcer, who has spent 42 years in prison for 26 offences, has been issued with an asbo after an incident in his residential accommodation. Swathed in luxurious fur coats, wearing diamond rings as a knuckledusters and hats to hide their stolen wares, Britain's most notorious all-female gang ruledthe tenements of Waterloo and Elephant and Castle and earned the respect of Soho's most feared underworld bosses. This resulted in Fraser returning to prison once again - this time to serve a seven-year sentence. Author Beezy Marsh said: 'These women fought harder than the men and were feared by men and women in their communities. 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. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, 'Mad' Frankie Fraser was a notorious English gangster, Funeral of South London enforcer, FRANKIE FRASER at Honour Oak Crematorium, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). 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. [25] In June 2013, the 89-year-old Fraser was served with an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) by police after a row with another resident. An early nickname Razor Fraser reflected his penchant for shivving his enemies faces with a cut-throat blade. To evade discovery they posted the stolen items back to London or depositing a suitcase of loot at the railway station's left luggage office, to be collected later. Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, to whom he was close. Both Fraser and his sister, Eva, were also active juvenile thieves. Harry Styles put on an animated display as he took to the stage for a second night at the Accor Stadium in Sydney's Olympic Park on Saturday.. Fraser himself was accused of pulling out the teeth of victims with a pair of pliers. He claimed to have no regrets about his criminal life, apart from being caught. 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. Bought stolen goods and sold them on in a role known as 'the fence'. At 17 he was sent to Borstal for breaking and entering a hosiery shop in Waterloo and was then given a 15-month prison sentence for shopbreaking. She was one of the top thieves during the war. Frasers partner in this endeavour was Bobby Warren, an uncle of the boxing promoter Frank Warren. Questioned by police, Fraser reportedly gave his name as Tutankhamen (gangland slang for shtum) and asked What incident?. He had an ungovernable temper and an inability to think through the undoubted consequences of his proposed actions. In 1991, while emerging from Turnmills nightclub in Clerkenwell, London, he was shot at by an unidentified gunman. 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. And I felt the same way,' she said. 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). of James Fraser and Margaret Alice (Anderson) Fraser. 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. Furs were rolled on the hanger and tucked into the women's undergarments when the store assistant was distracted, while jewellery and watches were swapped for fake versions and hidden under hats or in their hair. Notorious for high-speed getaways, she was eventually caught stealing lingerie and sentenced to hard labour in prison. 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 atHMP Pentonville. He saw himself as an innovator, claiming to have invented the Friday gang, robbing wages clerks carrying money from banks; he would use a starting handle to beat his victims and to deter any watching have-a-go heroes in the street. We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. 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. 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. Eva knew the Krays well and they treated her with reverence, although she saw them as little more than naughty boys. View our online Press Pack. 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. During the 1950s, Fraser's main occupation was as bodyguard to well-known gangster Billy Hill. 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. Eva Brindle formerly Fraser. Although he was conscripted, Fraser later boasted that he had never once worn the uniform, preferring to ignore call-up papers, desert and resume his criminal activities.
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