She once stabbed a policeman in the eye with a hatpin, blinding him. After trying his hand at crime as a. He shot, slashed, stabbed and axed. Frankie Fraser was known anotorious torturer and hitman, who worked as an enforcer for some of London's most feared gang leaders. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. On the morning of Derek Bentleys execution at Wandsworth in 1953, he spat at the executioner Albert Pierrepoint and tried to attack him. Morton was relieved that, rather than remonstrating, Fraser wanted him to write his life story. 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. contact the editor here. "At the races, I'd be bucket boy," says Fraser in the documentary, Frankie Fraser's Last Stand, which will be broadcast on the Crime and Investigation network on 16 June at 9pm. Fraser spent practically half his life behind bars. 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. A famous Monty Python sketch featuring the Piranha brothers, Doug and Dinsdale, has often been associated with Fraser and the Kray twins and some aspects of the new documentary may add to this impression. Former Northern Echo journalist Beezy Marsh has written a book about London gangster Mad Frankie Fraser. But the victory was pyrrhic in many senses, because by the time he finally left prison the in mid 1980s, the world had changed and gangland had moved on. During the 1940s it was not unusual for 'hoisters', a historical term for shoplifters, to be paid a hundred pounds a week - out earning men's average wages ten-to-one. His parents were honest and hard-working, but Frankie and his big sister Eva, to whom he was closest, soon turned to crime. But his greatest moment of national notoriety came a quarter of a century earlier, during what the media billed as the Torture Trial (in fact a series of trials) in 1967 that became one of the longest in British criminal history. 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. His parents never knew about his illegal activities, and if they ever suspected him apparently turned a blind eye, a habit . [8] Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, to whom he was close. She helped him sell on his loot. While the award-winning TV show Peaky Blinders was inspired by the all-male Brummagem Boys gang from the same period, the Forty Thieves make some of even their escapades seem tame by comparison. But by the 1930s, the breeding ground for its recruits was South London. The Kray twins (pictured) held The Forty Thieves member Eva Fraser in high regard. [14] According to Fraser, it was they who helped him avoid arrest for the Great Train Robbery by bribing a policeman. 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. 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. Frankie Fraser Biography | HowOld.co 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. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. He was then then given a 15-month prison sentence atHMP Wandsworthfor shop-breaking - this was just the first of 20 prisons Fraser would be sent to. [9] Richardson Gang - Wikipedia Frank stole because he loved to have money yet when he had it, he gave it all away. When he was 10, the pair stole a cigarette machine from a local pub, hauled it to some waste ground and jemmied it open. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. The comments below have not been moderated. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London on December 13, 1923. [8] Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, to whom he was close. At least two home secretaries considered Fraser the most dangerous man in Britain, an image which, in old age, he only half-heartedly sought to dispel. When police visited she showed them ledgers to demonstrate her honest buying. 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. Borstal was followed by prison, where in 1943 he met the influential London villain Billy Hill, for whom he worked on and off for more than a decade, culminating in his slashing of Hills rival Jack Spot in 1956 after the self-styled kings of the underworld had fallen out. 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. [10], In 1941, Fraser was sent to borstal for breaking into a Waterloo hosiery store, then given a 15-month prison sentence at HM Prison Wandsworth for shop-breaking. Frankie Fraser | The Kray Twins Wiki | Fandom The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. Daughter. ', 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'. When the heat from the cops in London got too much, they headed off to the Costa del Crime to seek their fortunes there. His first conviction was for stealing cigarettes, and with the second he was sent to an approved school. Fraser, he recalled, was more than capable of doing what he threatened. 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. Many started as child lookouts. Old London Photographs | This is Eva Fraser, sister of gangster " Mad Whilst in Strangeways, Manchester in 1980, Fraser was 'excused boots' as he claimed he had problems with his feet because another prisoner had dropped a bucket of boiling water on them after Fraser had hit him; he was allowed to wear slippers. Beezy said: "Frank's sister Eva was the one who led him into crime as a small boy. Even decent folk were often only too happy to 'take a bit of crooked' to have something new. Fraser was just 13 when he was sent to an approved school for stealing 40 cigarettes. 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. 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. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Alex Murdaugh unanimously found GUILTY of murder of wife and son, Isabel Oakeshott clashes with Nick Robinson over Hancock texts, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Do not sell or share my personal information. There was also kind of respect for them locally because people could get a nice dress or a pair of stockings cheaply. 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. As a solicitor, I defended him in the trial following the Parkhurst riot and as a result wrote a number of books with him. The reader is also introduced to the girls brother Jim, who became a sergeant in the army and fought in North Africa. 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. Frankie Fraser - Wikipedia He emerged from jail in 1989 and has not been back since. David had perfected the prison whisper talking very quietly, in case he was overheard by the guards. Women carried tools needed for burglaries so the police had no evidence if they stopped the men following the crime. 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. Sister of Frankie Davidson Fraser. He later joined the notorious Richardson gang, formed by brothers Eddie and Charlie, and began carrying out more criminal activities. As a reward, he was shown his examination answers, and thats how I come top, he later boasted. Though like Eva, she struggled to come to terms with the choice facing women to work or marry. 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. The criminal, who has spent almost half his life in prison, passed away earlier at King's. Peggy stayed out of crime and worked for the Post Office. 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). 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. Fraser had no problem dealing with rival operators whose business was dented as a result. A bucket boy would offer to clean the bookies' blackboards with a sponge, for which they were obliged to pay the Sabinis. 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. During his time behind bars he was involved in violence and was a major instigator in the Parkhurst Prison riots in 1969. 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. 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. With the help of Hill and mafia interests, Fraser and Eddie Richardson established Atlantic Machines, a successful business placing one-armed bandits in clubs throughout Britain. Harry Styles bares his impressively toned torso and body art at gig A feature film production is currently[when?] '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. "You name it, we nicked it," he says. Getting them to relive their exploits had its own difficulties at the start the only time they had ever been interviewed was by the police and they were used to keeping their own counsel. She is thought to have killed herself in the 1970s. Bought stolen goods and sold them on in a role known as 'the fence'. Various members were eventually caught, though and served their time in Holloway prison, where rations were meagre and they slept on boards. The trial which became one of the longest in British criminal history. During the 1950s, Fraser's main occupation was as bodyguard to well-known gangster Billy Hill. Born 1920s. His enduring nickname Mad Frank derived from his violent temperament which caused him to attempt to hang the governor of Wandsworth prison (and the governors dog) from a tree, and to be certified insane on three separate occasions. A Hoisters' Code of loyalty dictated rules such as having an early night before 'going shopping', handing over all they pinched to the Queen in return for generous weekly wages, and never stealing each other's boyfriends (bad for morale). Notorious for high-speed getaways, she was eventually caught stealing lingerie and sentenced to hard labour in prison. '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. "From there he goes on to burgle, and she goes onto shop lifting with a famous female gang called The 40 Thieves. 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. Fraser owed his success in the fruit machine business to Billy Hill, whose patronage Fraser courted when he attacked and almost killed Hills gangland rival Jack "Spot" Comer. The publisher also decided to include a glossary for the reader. Frankie Fraser Wiki & Bio - everipedia.org View the profiles of people named Frankie Fraser. When caught by police she replied: 'I don't know anything about it.'. '", Frankie Fraser's Last Stand will be broadcast on the Crime and Investigation network on 16 June at 9pm, New TV documentary shows ex-gangland enforcer is far from mellowing with age and has few regrets about his life of crime, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Frankie Fraser has no regrets over his life of crime, which involved him being jailed for a total of 42 years for 26 offences. During World War 2 he was a deserter - escaping from his barracks on several occasions. Before World War Two, if you got married you were expected to leave work and stay at home, Beezy said. Each incident added more time to his sentence. Fraser was jailed along with other members of the Richardson gang for violently punishing people whom the Richardsons believed owed them money. Theres one account of one of Peggys colleagues pretending to still be single so she could carry on working as a Post Office manager. Whereas for Eva it was about her earning her own money on her own terms. Monty Python sketch featuring the Piranha brothers, Doug and Dinsdale. The Krays 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 Maggie 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 - obituary - The Telegraph After trying his hand at crime as a. A witness changed his testimony and the charges were eventually dropped, though Fraser still received a five-year sentence for affray. Fraser died at the age of 91 on November 26, 2014. Comments have been closed on this article. Eva (Fraser) Brindle (1920s-2000s) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree 'I felt it was time for their story to be told and it inspired my novel, which is the first in a planned trilogy for Orion about the gang, stretching from the 1920s to the 1950s.'. Fraser became a minor celebrity of sorts, appearing on television shows such as Operation Good Guys,[18] Shooting Stars,[19] and the satirical show Brass Eye,[20] where he said Noel Edmonds should be shot for killing Clive Anderson (an incident invented by the show's producers), and writing an autobiography. He was a rock.. [11] In 1942, while serving a prison sentence in HM Prison Chelmsford, he came to the attention of the British Army. Ms Marsh said: 'These women fought harder than the men and were feared by men and women in their communities. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription you will not receive any updates until your subscription is confirmed. 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. In 1945, when he was 21, he assaulted the governor at Shrewsbury prison with an ebony ruler snatched from the governors desk, for which he received 18 strokes of the cat. Fraser was released in 1988 and almost immediately served a two-year sentence for receiving. 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. "Hill paid by the stitch if you put 50 stitches in a man's face, you could expect 50," says James Morton, Fraser's biographer. He had an ungovernable temper and an inability to think through the undoubted consequences of his proposed actions. Frankie Fraser was tried at the Old Bailey for Harts murder, while six others, including Eddie Richardson, faced lesser charges. 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. Ms Marsh said it 'was time to reappraise London's gangland' when she wrote The Queen of Thieves. 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. He was so attired when, in 1951, he attacked the governor of Wandsworth prison, William Lawton, as he walked his pet terrier on Wandsworth Common. ", 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. The gang passed on their secrets from mother to daughter, aunt to niece, so whole generations of families saw crime as a way of life. Mad' Frankie Fraser and London's Most Notorious Gangsters 'You name it, we nicked it,' he tells the . The gang probably had its roots in the Victorian slums around Seven Dials, near Covent Garden, infamous in Dickens's day. During his time in prison, Fraser was involved in a number of riots and frequently fought with prison officers, fellow inmates and governors. 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. 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. Two people were left dead. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road inWaterloo,London on December 13, 1923. Following a trial at theOld Baileyin 1967, he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. She liked to earn her own money and paid her own way quite something for a young woman in the 1930s and 1940s. What officers didn't know then was that his crime spree would continue over a career spanning seven decades, and his offences only worsened. Eva (Fraser) Brindle. She was chauffeured in a Bentley and always wore a sable coat. He stopped following a warning from the Kray Twins. Charles Richardson was a criminal businessman who reputedly specialised in various tortures administered at secret courts at which he presided, sometimes robed like a judge, a knife or a gun to hand. 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. Photos of Frankie "Mad" Fraser - Find a Grave Memorial Born on Cornwall Road, Waterloo, Lambeth, South London, Fraser was the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty.