by Paul Buck
Contents
Title Page
Acknowledgements
Over the Walls and Far Away
I Time to Go
II Going Places
III Under Your Noses
IV Not Stopping
V Who Goes There?
VI Up and Over
VII Into the Blue Beyond
VIII Forcing the Issue
IX Beyond the Bounds
X Taking Their Leave
XI Room to Move
Bibliography
Index of Escapees, Would-Be Escapees, and (Named) Associates
Copyright
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
On a broad level, my thanks extend to all those books, newspapers, magazines and website resources that I have used for research, not only in recent times but over the years. Many are found in my own library, but I have also turned to the London Borough of Bexley’s libraries, and thank all those employed there – particularly in Sidcup and Central Library – for their efforts, including their search for books which were catalogued but seemed to have gone walkabout or escaped.
I would also like to acknowledge here three different friendships dating back to the 1970s: Paul Walton, the sociologist, who in those heady days turned me onto media studies, the issue of deviancy, and Psychological Survival, the research work from Durham Prison that was plainly helpful to Walter Probyn, John McVicar and others; Roger Jean Ségalat, in Lausanne, who involved me in factual crime writing; and, in Paris, Jean-Patrick Manchette, with whom I shared hours of dialogue and correspondence on crime and crime writing.
Back further, perhaps I should note my class year at a Catholic grammar school in the late fifties and early sixties for opening my eyes to criminal matters and helping to create my own inclinations, way before I discovered ideas through Colin Wilson, Albert Camus and Georges Bataille, to name but a few barbed wires.
To return to this particular book: my thanks to Cass Pennant, the publisher, who responded directly to my proposition; to Paul Woods, who instigated my involvement, helped pursue contacts, and indeed provided an interview that gives fresh information, as well as making editorial contributions; to others, some of whom are named in the text but who may not want to be named here – though I think Patsy Fleming, Dennis Woods, Terry Dunford, Beryl Smith and Terry Smith will not mind being credited for their help. And thanks also to Colin Lane for coming to the rescue over a problematic tape.
And finally to my wife, Catherine, who, as always, helped with my research and also diligently read and contributed to all aspects of what I’ve written. To her, my deep gratitude and love. This book is dedicated to her.
OVER THE WALLS AND FAR AWAY
As the prisons of Britain grow desperately overcrowded, now is the time to consider escape. In fact, it would be morally irresponsible not to consider it, for when the authorities state that they must break the rules, the safety limits, to house all their miscreants, it becomes necessary to talk about escape as a way to safeguard the mental and physical wellbeing of those incarcerated in our prisons.
Unless, that is, you wish merely to damn them and leave them to their lot. If so, this is not the book for you.
Perhaps, too, we should reconsider the point of additional sentences for those recaptured after their escapes, unless they have committed other offences in the process. In some countries, it is legally acceptable to seek to escape because it is regarded as only human to do so.
The focus of this book is notorious escapes, or ‘great escapes’, but only those of civilian prisoners. The idea is not to document escapes from the PoW camps of World War Two, for example, no matter how spectacular and heart-stopping many of them happen to be. Undoubtedly, we think of the Great Escape itself, Colditz and the Wooden Horse as part of our history, so much so that the accounts of civilian escapees since 1946 regularly refer to those historic wartime episodes, either because they were inspired to take on board particular details for their own escapes, or because the spirit and courage of the wartime escapees have fired successive prisoners with a sense of their own personal challenge. Steve McQueen in The Great Escape echoes through so many of their stories that his image, leaping the first fence on a motorbike, would not have been out of place on this book’s cover – even if no one here has taken that course of action as a mode of escape.
That said, I have included the IRA (Irish Republican Army) because, though a paramilitary organisation, their crimes were resolutely regarded as criminal rather than political, and thus, on the British government’s own terms, they have every right to be included here. (Another approach might have included those who escaped over the Berlin Wall during the Cold War, as one could view the Eastern Bloc on the whole as a prison.)
Our focus on civilian prisoners indicates that the escapees are those incarcerated for crimes, mainly robbery or murder. However, in general, I have rarely dwelt on the details of how those included found themselves in custody, unless it becomes necessary to the narrative. Likewise, the structure of London gangland, for example, is barely taken into account, as these matters are not particularly relevant to this work.
My intention has been to explore how the prisoner escaped, not to pursue the reason why. That would be another book in itself, and would include such reasons as: refusal of permission to attend a family funeral; to spend a few days with the family, wife or girlfriend, particularly if there was turbulence in the relationship; to prove one’s innocence; or to carry out a job that’s been lined up which will set the prisoner up for life (or so he hopes) – as well as the fundamental reason that people do not want to be imprisoned. Such a book would also have to explore strategies and stratagems to prevent escape.
This is a book about the escapee who thinks of little other than escape from the moment he is confined, as well as those who take the opportunity when it arises … be it a rope dangling over the prison wall or a door left unlocked, or open.
Why some people should escape while others do not is far from discernible. Some prisoners have observed that if someone is imprisoned for short spells they tend not to try to escape, whereas those same people may react more dramatically against a long sentence. Perhaps there is no real answer, but we can glean an insight or two as we examine individual cases.
Alfred Hinds, a master of escaping, summed up his observations thus: “The vast majority of prisoners are resigned if not content to do their bird. Some will escape if the chance is handed to them on a plate. But all they want is a brief taste of freedom; for instance, the chance to spend a few days with their wife or girl-friend. It usually is a brief taste, because they have no organisation and it’s almost a relief to them when they’re recaptured. Then there’s a small hard core of determined men who will plan an escape and go through with it. These are usually prisoners with long sentences of P.D. [preventive detention] but nothing to come out to. If a professional criminal has managed to salt away some loot, he’ll accept a sentence of five years or even more. If he hasn’t, he’ll want to get out and pull off a big job, after which he won’t mind too much being re-arrested. In his curious logic, he accepts his sentence as a just reward. The snag is that, if caught, he gets another and longer term of imprisonment.”
This book has primarily been an adventure in unravelling the different approaches to escape. I am not sure that, like many an escapee, I knew where it would lead, if I would draw any conclusions, or if I would end up back at the beginning. But I suspected that, in the process, I would discover something about my attitude to the issues raised. Perhaps one cannot ask for more. Perhaps this is what I want for the reader.
H
ere you will find escapes that begin in the cell, the showers, the laundry, the mailroom, the yard. Here you will discover those who go over the wall, under the wall, through the gate. Here you will see helicopters at work, or transit vehicles brought to a halt. Here you will find the planned escape, as well as the opportune escape. And you will witness the escape of the loner who does not require the involvement of others – or that of the escapee who requires help from fellow inmates, or from an insider, like a corrupt officer providing tools or weapons. Or from the friends and relatives who smuggle in requested items, or provide getaway cars.
Any notion of strict categorisation does not work, for the encyclopaedic method hinders readability. One slight regret is that I had to cut back for the sake of length, to take away some of the details of the planning, the frustration, the perseverance noted by the escapees themselves, even if the sheer number of cases does convey a further dimension. It has not been my job to plot every move until recapture … or, indeed, the lives afterwards of those who are not recaptured.
One of the remarkable factors to emerge time and time again is the amount of care, attention and energy given to an escape, only to see it fizzle into a sketchy series of possibilities once the escapee gets his leg over the wall. Not everyone has plans, beyond the plan to get away. They may not know where they will hide, where they will run to, or how they will continue to stay out. Some, as noted, are really only going out for a short break, perhaps only intending to see their families, knowing they will be quickly recaptured. Some have money available from their crimes to flee abroad, for there are still countries where no extradition treaties are fully operational. For many years it was the Spanish coastline, the ‘Costa del Crime’, although that is not officially the case today. But extradition has not been retrospectively applied, and it is still a popular residence for escapees – probably because they can blend in more easily amongst the world of former criminals, as well as the general British contingent of ex-pats.
The use of the masculine ‘he’ is quite noticeable too, for all but a few escapes are by men. This is no gender bias on my part. I have included the few women I unearthed, though I could probably have found others. However, the intent was not to excavate for the sake of it, but rather to demonstrate the breadth and the resourcefulness of the escapees. Whilst I focus on some because of their distinctive aspects, I offer others to provide context. Likewise, whilst this study draws from a wealth of British cases, I give some perspective on other escapes from all around Europe and the rest of the world.
And whilst I didn’t want to delve through history in any great depth, I felt that a handful of comparisons from the past would add another dimension. To escape today, in a practical sense, is very different from escaping thirty years ago – let alone three hundred years ago, even if, on another level, it is still the spirit of Man that is making that bid for freedom.
This is not an endless list of escapes all subjected to the same degree of analysis. What I wanted was to show the sheer bravado, the courage, the daring, that comprises the strength of the human spirit, which is to be cherished. And yes, I am aware that there are escapes that have led to further murders – indeed, I was horrified by some of the events as I read through them. But it is the spirit of Man that I am celebrating, through all his triumphs and adversities, without which mankind may well not survive.
I have refrained from getting too technical by categorising prisoners as A, B, C … or the varying levels of risk classification, as ‘standard escape risk’, ‘high escape risk’ or ‘exceptional escape risk’, as these have changed over the years and across the different countries. In general, those who feature are prisoners who have escaped before and have the ‘escape risk’ label attached to their name, if not to their prison apparel. The term ‘E-list’ – ‘escape-list’ in UK Home Office terminology – is not intended as a restricting or defining term, as the ground covered goes way back before such official terminology was employed. However, these are all people who would have been on an ‘E-list’, people who made it their aim, or in some cases claimed it was their duty, to escape.
Though I am drawing on many angles for my information, the viewpoint that interests me the most has to come from those who have experienced escaping from prison. Whether their crimes are seen as horrendous, or more mainstream (albeit perhaps major); whether we have admired them for it, or been aghast at their further offences. But, at the end of the day, we, as readers, were not there, did not experience the fear and violence that stemmed from some of these men’s actions. As Tommy Wisbey’s daughter, Marilyn, notes in her autobiography, it’s very romantic to read about them, but if you are in the midst of a robbery, whether being committed with guns or coshes, you never know if those weapons are going to be used.
This may come across as an intense book, because I’ve tried to trim away some of the frills; yet, at the same time, I wanted to preserve some of the character of those involved. There are no rules as to what I left in and what I took out. My desire was to keep you reading, to view the tragedies along with the humorous aspects, to add probable annoyance as well as offering possible justification.
But I did want to lean toward the side of the escapee, though not for any moralising purpose. Most criminals are not proud of being criminals. Some had a raw deal. Most knew what they were doing. That is not my concern. I wanted to give their stories because they were the ones locked in a cell for years on end. Many gave every waking hour, unless distracted, to focusing on escape.
We may pass comment on the neighbour who locks their dog in a kitchen whilst they go to work. We might empathise with the poor beast whining away. And yet we don’t want to give much thought to the human being who is locked away, and who does not make much noise … or, if he does, we find ourselves unsympathetic. But if you condemn this man, then you condemn part of your own spirit.
The idea of escaping, or absconding, from prison – or indeed any form of custody, like transport vans, police stations, law courts – has been etched into our psyche in modern times by television and cinema, often making the event more spectacular, more thrilling, perhaps somewhat romantic. All the heroes are rugged and handsome, and it is probably no good for the real men in our prisons, who we cannot see – the gangsters, criminals, ‘villains’, hardmen – to be confused with film fantasies. For once they are out of prison, whether by escape or official release, they face the agonising temptation to continue as a recidivist rather than seek legitimate employment.
Walter Probyn turned away from the limelight. He may well recognise that he has become a famed escapee, but he says he was not a competent criminal and shouldn’t be emulated. Unlike many others, Probyn wished his talents could have been developed and put to better use.
Bruce Reynolds (not an escapee himself, unlike some of his fellow Great Train Robbers) has a different perspective: “Perhaps it was like what happens when a footballer or mountaineer comes to the end of their career. They live their entire life on the edge, but what happens when it’s all over, when you have to stop? It was very hard for … us when we quit. When we came out of jail we were old men, and too well known. We knew we had to stop for our families’ sake. But you never stop missing the buzz.” (My emphasis.)
Today’s prisoners are faced with more sophisticated technology to prevent their escape. Everyone knows it will be more difficult. But then, at least one of the escapes in this book occurred less than six months ago as I write. If there is a weakness in the system, then the prisoner who is fixed on escaping, who is watching and scheming, will take advantage of it.
And the greatest weakness will always be the human element, the guards and officials who go about their job in a routine way and who slacken at their peril. Equipment might become faulty, a camera may go on the blink, but it is invariably the guard who just pops off to the toilet, who falls asleep, who engages in convivial conversation and is lulled into a false sense of security, who recurs repeatedly throughout these cases. The people who are employed as
guards are hardly likely to be among the brightest, and the probability is that some of the prisoners are of substantially higher intelligence. Television programmes feed us a diet of crime fiction where video cameras are properly maintained and operated, which does not equate with reality. Talk to people who live near a prison and they will tell you that there are periods when escapes over the wall can become quite prolific. Those at fault fight hard to cover up their inadequacies in not having prevented them.
It’s not that many years ago since the Chief Constable of Durham was offering scare headlines in relation to the Great Train Robbers housed in Durham Prison, suggesting these men and their associates would stop at nothing, “even to the extent of using tanks, bombs and what the Army describes as limited atomic weapons. Once armoured vehicles had breached the main gates there would be nothing to stop them. A couple of tanks could easily have come through the streets of Durham unchallenged.” How flattering to the convicted men. One has the impression that the police chief was starring in his own movie: “If that happened there would be a pitched battle and a lot of people would be killed.” He could have appeared alongside Robert Duvall on the beach in Apocalypse Now. Soldiers were posted with fixed bayonets. Extra police patrolled with dogs. But nothing materialised. No helicopters came swooping in. And he said he was trying to strip the criminals of their glamour!
In the first chapter, with Charlie Wilson, I’ve given greater detail to create some sense of the atmosphere and the conditions. But it has not been my intention to give all the details all the time. I have created rules, and I have transgressed those rules at every turn. I make no apologies. Books have been written by escapees like Hinds and Probyn not only to relate their habitual escapes, but also to explore the reasons behind them. This book has to make their cases brief in order to encompass many others. Some names have become famous by virtue of one escape, whilst others, like Patsy Fleming and Georgie Madson, are regularly mentioned but rarely given coverage. (Perhaps they were pleased to be out of the public eye, as it could have been an obvious hindrance at the time.)