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The crime is almost perfect: Most victims do not notice anything. 75 post officials go on a train of Royal Mail and sort letters, in front wagons are transported money. At 18.50 pm, train is from Glasgow, at 3.41 pm he is to arrive at London Euston station. The whole journey is sorted. That’s how you do it in your Majesty’s Posttrains for 125 years. Without incident. At 3.05 o’clock train brakes.
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The Postler sort of good on, 20 minutes long. Then a security guard opens a window. Outside is black night, only holding signal lights up red. Anor train? Can’t be. Not around this time, not here, just 50 miles north of London. Besides, security guard knows timetable by heart. And also his rules: he runs a mile behind train and sets up warning lights, n he runs towards locomotive – but it’s gone. Also front two wagons. One finds it a mile ahead, but charge is gone: money from banks to be destroyed in London. 2.631 684 million pounds. According to today’s value about 56 million euros.
At 4.26 o’clock, an emergency call reaches police. In following hours, history of this train and this night begins to go around world; The story of an incredible coup: The Great Mail Train Robbery of August 8, 1963.
Spectacular crimes have always fascinated people. The robbery near London, however, places much in shadows: A higher sum of money has never been captured until n. The trial, which will be made to robbers from January 1964 on, is longest of British judicial history, and total of 307 years of prison distributed by judge are without precedent.
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But British have also been fascinated by murders of Jack Ripper and or crimes. The mail train robbers, however, evoke sympathy: Never before, and never afterwards, British close a gang of thieves so much into heart. Without enthusiasm, robbery might have been forgotten. He certainly would not have become a legend, a material for dozens of books and films. In fact, gang’s characters are ready for race: Among 16 robbers re is a vierschrötigen ex-boxer, a young racing driver, a slick hairdresser. But above all, ir leader, Bruce Reynolds, shapes picture: He is criminal with gesture of a gentleman. Reynolds is son of a trade unionist and a nurse on streets of London, and since his youth he has been in prison again and again. As soon as he’s out, he celebrates parties with models and pop stars. He listens to jazz, drives Aston Martin and wears tailor-made suits – but no weapon. Never. When one of gang asks for weapons in preparation for post robbery, Reynolds points to an iron rod. He asks, however, to wrap m in insulating tape. His justification: “I hate brutalities.”
The slapstick to gentleman attitude is provided by a fellow-runner of gang, who later becomes face of robbery: Ronald “Ronnie” Biggs, a petty criminal. He is only brought to team because he knows a retired engineer who is to steer disconnected head.
This text comes from magazine contemporary History No. 1/2018. You can purchase current booklet at kiosk or here.
For one and a half years, mail robbers planned robbery. An informant named “Ulsterman” gave you tip. He was never unmasked, his information was good: Every night this train goes through country, ten to twelve wagons long. Two of m are full of money.
The gang attacked an airfield before postrobbery to get money for preparation. She has organized vehicles to transport prey. She scouted area near London: At Sears Crossing, robbers find a place with a lonely holding signal that y can manipulate. In a workshop you learned how to decouple wagons – you have to do that, because holding signal is a mile from nearest bridge where prey can be loaded. Dressed as anglers, y set off on a nearby river and recorded how quickly trains rushed past, as road is, where emergency phone stands. As a base, you have purchased Learslade Farm, which is 26 kilometres from crime scene. There you have created a storehouse: 16 square beds, 36 pieces of soap, 65 cans of baked beans.
