The Great Train Robbery

An excerpt from "Chronologica: The Incredible Years that Defined History"

It is one of the most infamous crimes in British that resulted in the theft of £2.6 million (about $70 million today) and the arrests and convictions of many of the gang members. The Great Train Robbery continues to fascinate people over 50 years since the crime was committed by at least 15 men*. Renowned for the scope and audacity of the operation, the incident has been recreated many times in literature, film and television.

Originally known as the Cheddington Mail Van Raid, the robbery occurred just after three in the morning on 8 August 1963 at Bridego Railway Bridge. The gang, led by the operation's mastermind, Bruce Reynolds**, intercepted a Royal Mail*** train travelling from Glasgow Central Station in Scotland to Euston Station in London. The gang had been informed about the amount of money regularly transported on the train and, as there had been a bank holiday week in Scotland, the usual amount of £300,000 carried on the High Value Packages coach behind the train's engine was estimated to be significantly more.

The gang tampered with the signal light at Sears crossing in Ledburn, between Leighton Buzzard and Cheddington and the driver, Jack Mills, stopped the train. The gang had covered the green light and attached a battery to the red light and, when the train's second crew member stepped off the train to telephone the signalman, he was overpowered by gang members. Meanwhile, Jack Mills^, awaiting a green light, was struck on the head with a club and he lost consciousness. He never fully recovered from the attack and died in 1970.

The gang removed 120 of the sacks of money from the carriage, loaded them onto a waiting truck in twenty minutes and then made their getaway to a hideout at Leatherslade Farm^^, which was about 45 kilometres from the robbery. Back at the hideout, the gang counted and split the money. When the gang learned that the police were getting closer to the farm, they fled. The police investigation eventually tracked down many of the gang members, whose fingerprints had been found at the farm. including on a Monopoly board which the gang had used to pass the time while hiding - but had played with their real stolen money!

After their capture, a trial took place beginning in 1964 and lasting 51 days. Seven of the robbers were given 30-year sentences while other members faced varying spells in prison. However, some of the gang members were never caught, or even named. The story didn't end there as two of the prisoners escaped from jail and became fugitives. The most famous of these was Ronnie Bigs^^^ who fled to Brazil via France and Australia, until he voluntarily returned to the UK in 2001 where he was returned to prison. He died in 2013. Only £400,000 was ever recovered from the robbery.

*Only eleven of the gang members have ever been identified!

**After the heist, Reynolds called it a curse that followed him around as nobody wanted to employ him afterwards (I wonder why!).

***The gang member with connections to the Royal Mail who provided this insider knowledge remains unknown to this day!

^Jack Mills was paid £250 by a newspaper to tell his story. Soon after, the wife of gang member Ronnie Biggs was paid a whopping £65,000 for her side of the story. A rival newspaper launched an appeal to properly repay Mills which raised £37,000, enough for him to move into a more comfortable home and cope with his injuries and emotional trauma.

^^The gang purchased the farm two months before the robbery, proof of the many months of planning that went into the crime.

^^^Although he has become the most famous of the gang since the robbery, Biggs' role in the operation was actually very small. He was tasked with recruiting and supervising the person who would drive the train to where they would unload the loot. Except the person Biggs hired didn't know how to drive that type of train, so he was positioned at the unloading point to move the bags between the train and the getaway truck instead!