The Great Train Robbery

by Andrew Cook

  In his statement, John Ahern recalls:

  We both left the machine to let it cool off and began walking down the track away from the road. I was talking to Mrs Hargreaves and after going a few yards I saw three cases on the ground among the trees and about 20 yards off the Dorking Road. I could see that it was not rubbish, and both Mrs Hargreaves and I went to check them. They were placed side by side in a straight line. There was nothing around to indicate why the bags were left there. I said to Mrs Hargreaves that someone had had a picnic and left their cases behind and that I would strap them on the bike and run them to the police station. I saw the one with the zip and thought that I had better look inside to see if there was any identification inside. Mrs Hargreaves was with me when I opened the holdall. I saw what appeared to be bundles of £1 Bank of England notes with brown adhesive bands around. Both Mrs Hargreaves and myself were shocked and I re-zipped the bag. I immediately thought of the big train robbery and told Mrs Hargreaves not to touch the other bags. I did not touch them. My thoughts were to get the police as soon as possible, and keeping the bags under observation. Both Mrs Hargreaves and myself went back to the road. We eventually stopped a car with a man, woman and girl in and took them back to the bags, un-zipped the hold-all and showed them the contents and then asked them to contact the police. Mrs Hargreaves and myself went back to the road again because I was uneasy as there may have been someone still about who was connected with the money.25

  DI Basil West of Surrey Constabulary attended the scene and went to the spot indicated by Ahern and Hargreaves, where he took possession of the bags which he describes as a camel leather briefcase, a brown leather briefcase and a holdall. Upon searching the immediate vicinity he discovered a suitcase about 50 yards away from the original find. The bags, which were all filled with banknotes, were taken to Dorking Police Station. DC Alexander Illing, of Surrey Constabulary, later received the bags from Inspector West to examine them for fingerprints.26 When Illing examined the bags at Dorking Police Station he discovered not only banknotes totaling £100,900, but also a hotel bill in a pocket inside the leather holdall. The hotel bill was made out to Herr and Frau Field, relating to accommodation at the Sonnenbichl Hotel, Hindelang, southern Germany between 2 and 16 February 1963. The next day DC Illing made a further statement:

  Further to my previous statement, I now add that on Friday 16 August when I took possession of a camel leather briefcase, a brown leather briefcase and a hold-all from Mr Ahern and Mrs Hargreaves, the brown leather hold-all was completely enclosed in two polythene bags, one drawn onto the bag from each end. One polythene bag was plain, the other bore markings showing it had originally contained a candlewick bedspread. I did not remove these bags until I reached Dorking Police Station, where I did so. I then handed them to Detective Constable Illing for fingerprint examination.27

  The prints DC Illing found were photographed and the resulting negatives passed on to DS Ray at Scotland Yard’s fingerprint department. He carefully analysed them and concluded that:

  There were in all 13 photographs which I received of impressions on this case. One of which is a comparison with Brian Field’s. Of the remaining 12 photographs, four of them were useless. Three have not yet been identified. The other five disclosed fragmentary finger marks from which I formed an opinion but they were not of a standard necessary to bring before a Court. Of the 13 impressions, three were made by a hand other than Brian Field’s. I can say that with certainty. The four were useless because they were not sufficiently defined to make comparison possible.28

  The mystery surrounding the discovery was now twofold: whose money was it and why had it been abandoned there?

  Scotland Yard’s Criminal Intelligence Section, C11, had at this time received information that the robbers’ original plan was for Leatherslade Farm to be thoroughly cleaned up by a close associate of Bruce Reynolds and John Daly after they had left. His name was William Still and, according to his C11 file, he had been in partnership with James MacDonald since 1959 in an antiques business that now operated from 69 Portobello Road, London W11, which Reynolds and Daly were also associated with. Apparently, Still was to receive a full share of the robbery proceeds for undertaking this task. The plan to clean up the farm had come unstuck when Still was arrested with three associates on 25 June in Euston Square. When the four men were searched, police found in their possession ‘explosives, detonators, drills, putty, a pick handle, jemmy and nylon stockings’. While Still’s solicitors, Lessor & Co., made a valiant attempt to get him bail, the application was dismissed. It was at this point that Brian Field volunteered to clean up the farm for the same sum as had been promised to Still. Field’s reward for handling the purchase of the farm, along with Wheater, had apparently been £40,000, and he no doubt saw Still’s arrest as an opportunity to increase his share of the spoils. However, according to C11’s source, he had lost his nerve at the last minute and the farm was never cleaned up as intended.29

  With suspicion now very much pointing to Brian Field’s direct involvement in the crime, the police sought a statement from Field himself. DCI Mesher of Scotland Yard’s Fraud Squad (Section C6) deals with Field’s account of matters concerning Lenny Field in his twenty-two-page report on the purchase of Leatherslade Farm:

  Brian Field saw Leonard Field on a few occasions in connection with Harry Field’s defence but does not recall discussing the purchase of the farm. Subsequently Leonard Field came to the office saying that he would like someone to accompany him to the farm. Brian Field is not sure whether Wheater was present or whether he saw Leonard Field on his own. However, for some reason which he cannot recall, Wheater was unable to go and therefore Brian Field agreed to accompany Leonard Field to the farm. They drove down in Field’s motor car, a black Zephyr, and saw the owner’s wife. Prior to leaving a telephone call was made by someone in the office, first to Rixon’s solicitors and then to Mrs Rixon making an appointment for the visit to take place.

  They arrived at the farm and were shown round by Mrs Rixon, thus confirming that they were, in fact, the two people seen by this witness. On leaving the farm they met Mr Rixon and introduced themselves to him. Afterwards, Leonard Field drove Brian Field back to the latter’s home address since when he has had no more dealings with him regarding the purchase of the farm.

  Dealing with his movements during and immediately after the night of the train robbery, Brian Field states that on Friday 9 August, he spent a normal day working at the office and then going home and going to bed. He had no visitors that night. He had no visitors the following night and on Sunday 11 August, went to a neighbour’s christening party. The significance of his account of the happenings of these days will be dealt with later.

  Field’s wife is a German woman and he mentions trips to the Continent with her including a visit to Hindelang, southern Germany, where they stayed at the Sonnen Bichl hotel for two weeks from 2 February 1963.30

  Field’s story about a quiet night in with no visitors on Friday 9 August was quickly to collapse when the father of one of Field’s neighbours contacted the police:

  A Mr L.E.D. Parker, of ‘Abbeydale’, Sunnyhill, Derby, has come forward and given the following facts to Derby Police. During the week-end he visited his daughter and son-in-law who live at Bridle Path, Whitchurch Hill, Berkshire, for the purpose of attending the christening of their youngest child.

  The daughter and son-in-law are friendly neighbours of Brian Field who is also well known to Parker himself. They understand him to be a solicitor. According to Parker, on the Friday evening, 9 August, 1963, he saw a van parked in the drive to Field’s house. It was also noticeable that a fair number of motor cars kept calling at Field’s house that evening. The van left at mid-night but still a number of cars visited the house. Parker and his wife found difficulty in getting off to sleep in a strange bed and saw the lights of these vehicles shining on their bedroom window at the front of the house which is apparently opposite Field’s residence.

  The
traffic continued throughout Saturday into the small hours of Sunday morning. Field attended the christening and made reference to the number of visitors he had had during the preceding days. He said something to the effect that ‘the Brighton horse racing gang case starts in September’ and that he represented them.

  Mr Parker declined to make a statement in writing and is loath to become involved because of his family who are unaware that he has approached the police. However, I am quite confident that he can be persuaded to make a statement and will agree to give evidence.31

  With the net closing around Field and suspicions that Wheater might not be all he seemed, another major breakthrough in the case was about to occur, along with a further recovery of cash.

  Notes

  1. DPP 2/3718, 1 of 6, part 2 (originally closed until 2045, redacted version opened 25/6/10).

  2. DPP 2/3717 (originally closed until 2045, redacted version opened 25/6/10).

  3. Ibid.

  4. HO 287/1496 (originally closed until 1995; opened 1996).

  5. DPP 2/3718, part 3 of 6 (originally closed until 2045, redacted version opened 25/6/10). For further details of the three vehicles found at Leatherslade Farm, see Appendix 2.

  6. Ibid.

  7. DPP 2/3717 (originally closed until 2045, redacted version opened 25/6/10). The majority view today is that Mrs Nappin was mistaken about a motorbike heading the convoy, although the rest of her statement conforms to what is now known and established fact about the convoy of vehicles.

  8. Ibid.

  9. POST 120/102 (originally closed until 1996; opened 1997). Investigators were of the view that the driver of the Jaguar was James White, who had shaved off his moustache shortly before the robbery.

  10. POST 120/103 (originally closed 1997; opened 1998). This was viewed as a very accurate description of Henry Isaacs, a long-time associate of James White, who investigators believed played a key role before and after the robbery in a behind-the-scenes capacity.

  11. DPP 2/3718, part 2 of 6 (originally closed until 2045, redacted version opened 25/6/10).

  12. DPP 2/3718, part 3 of 6 (originally closed until 2045, redacted version opened 25/6/10). This incident took place on the afternoon of Monday 29 July 1963. While Mrs Brooks stated that she was not sure if she could recognise the man again, the police assumption was that the man who collected the keys was Brian Field.

  13. DPP 2/3717, part 2 of 6 (originally closed until 2045, redacted version opened 25/6/10). The man Wyatt saw and spoke to for several minutes was Bruce Reynolds. From the physical description given, police were of the view that it best matched ‘Bruce Richard Reynolds, CRO 41212/48’. Reynolds himself confirmed that he had, in fact, been the man who spoke to Wyatt and related the incident in his book Crossing the Lines: An Autobiography of a Thief (Virgin Books, 2003), p. 192.

  14. The man sitting in the deckchair was a former train driver recruited by the robbers to move the train for the half-mile journey between Sears Crossing and Bridego Bridge.

  15. The police were sceptical about Wyatt’s description of the man, who was considerably older than any of those involved or suspected of involvement in the robbery. Nor did it remotely match anyone on the police list of suspects. Wyatt’s recollection was, however, a very accurate description of the man who was to evade arrest and prosecution for his involvement in the robbery, and whose role is covered later in this book.

  16. DPP 2/3717, part 2 of 6 (originally closed until 2045, redacted version opened 25/6/10); MEPO 10571 (still closed at time of writing); DPP 2/3911 (closed until 2045).

  17. ‘Mr Richards’ was in fact an alias used on this occasion by Bruce Reynolds (see Reynolds; p181 ff).

  18. DPP 2/3717/1 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version opened 25/6/10) and POST 120/ 96−97 (originally closed until 1993; opened 1994).

  19. Leonard Field (no relation to Brian Field) was the brother of Henry Alexander Field, a client of the firm James, Wheater & Co. Alexander Field had been convicted of horse doping and was serving a prison sentence at the time.

  20. DPP 2/3717/1 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version opened 25/6/10) and POST 120/96−97 (originally closed until 1993; opened 1994).

  21. Rachman’s property empire was located in west London and consisted of over 100 residential properties and several nightclubs. He tended to purchase old mansion blocks and convert them into multi-occupation dwellings, a good number of which were used for prostitution. When the Profumo scandal hit the headlines in 1963 it emerged that both Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies had been his mistresses. 1 Bryanston Mews West, London W1, where Keeler and Rice-Davies lived, was owned by Rachman.

  22. Of the initial three partners, only Hocking had a criminal record (CRO 18147/55); POST 120/96 (originally closed until 1993; opened 1994).

  23. DPP 2/3718, part 2 of 6 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version opened 25/6/10).

  24. Ibid.

  25. DPP 2/3718, part 2 of 6 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version opened 25/6/10).

  26. DPP 2/3717 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version opened 25/6/10).

  27. DPP 2/3718/1 (originally closed until 2045, redacted version opened 25/6/10).

  28. DPP 2/3718, part 3 of 6 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version opened 25/6/10). The five fragmentary fingerprints that DS Ray speculated upon but were not of a sufficient standard to put before a court, more than likely belonged to Field’s father, Reginald Arthur Field, who was thought to have been minding the money for his son (the discovery of the cases and bags near Dorking is documented in MEPO 2/10571, which remains closed at the time of writing).

  29. POST 120/131 (originally closed until 1994; opened 1995).

  30. DPP 2/3717, Report 4 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version opened 25/6/10).

  31. Ibid.

  5

  THE POPPY

  With little more than the ‘30-Minute Clue’ to go on, the task facing the police investigation seemed a daunting one, but thanks to the fingerprint evidence left at Leatherslade Farm the prospects for early arrests seemed more promising. While it took some ten days to complete the challenge of dusting down the entire farm, outbuildings and vehicles left behind, the first arrests were down to pure luck (or bad luck from the point of view of those arrested).1

  Roger Cordrey had left Leatherslade Farm on Saturday 10 August, met up with an old friend, Bill Boal, in Oxford, and together with his family and Cordrey’s share of the robbery money had gone down to Bournemouth. Cordrey’s immediate plan was to hide the money in two second-hand cars they had bought and secure them in two rented garages. Boal apparently saw an advert in a newsagent’s window for a rented garage and, along with Cordrey, set off to meet the owner, 67-year-old Emily Clarke, who unbeknown to them was a policeman’s widow. She immediately became suspicious when the pair offered to pay the garage rent three months in advance in cash. Mrs Clarke accepted the money, gave them the key and phoned the police the minute they left her house:

  They were both arrested at just after 9 pm on 14 August by Detective Sergeant Stanley Davies and Detective Constable Charles Case of the Bournemouth Police, following on information given to the police by Mrs Emily Clarke of 45 Tweedale Road, Bournemouth. Keys found in the possession of Boal were used to unlock an A35 car UEL 987, in the garage at 45 Tweedale Road, and a suitcase in the car which contained a quantity of banknotes. The amount of money found in the car was £56,047.

  Another car TLX 279 was found in a garage at 59 Ensbury Avenue, Bournemouth. The garage was opened with a key found in Boal’s possession. Six suitcases were found in the boot of the car. These contained £78,982.

  At 3 am on 15 August 1963, a flat was searched at 935 Wimborne Road, Bournemouth. In a bedroom there was found a briefcase containing banknotes and under a pillow on the bed was £840. The total money recovered from the flat was £5,910, giving a grand total recovered of £141,017. Both Boal and Cordrey admitted that the monies found had come from the train ro
bbery.2

  On arrest, Cordrey had resourcefully hidden the car key in his rectum. After a few hours in custody, acute discomfort and panic at being unable to remove it had led to an anguished admission to the custody sergeant, who immediately summoned a local GP:

  I am a registered medical practitioner residing at 61 Grove Road, Bournemouth. On the 15 August 1963 at 1.15 pm I removed a Yale type key from the rectum of Roger Cordrey and handed it to a police officer.

  M.J. Saunders3

  The London addresses of Cordrey and Boal were searched by Flying Squad officers, which resulted in the arrest of Mrs Rene Boal (wife of Boal), and Mr Alfred Pilgrim and his wife May Florence Pilgrim, brother-in-law and sister of Cordrey, for receiving part of the stolen money.4 Cordrey and Boal each made statements under caution to DS Fewtrell and DSgt Pritchard, giving their version as to how the money came to be in their possession and their activities since the day of the train robbery.5

  On 14 August the Daily Mirror reported that names and information from underworld informants was coming in thick and fast. Under the headline ‘The Squealer gives Yard 10 Names’ it was suggested that a ‘snout’ had also tipped off the police about Leatherslade Farm. Members of the public were also sending in letters to the police and the GPO in record numbers.

  In the early hours of 14 August, Flying Squad officers had raided the home of Robert Welch at 30a Benyon Road, London N1. Welch was not at home, although his wife was, and a search was made of the house. On 16 August Welch was interviewed at Scotland Yard by Inspector Reginald Roberts, to whom he gave a written statement of his whereabouts on 7-8 August. According to Welch, he had met two friends, Jimmy Kensit and Charles Lilley, in the Express Café at the Elephant and Castle at 10.30 a.m. on 7 August. He was there for about an hour and then went to a betting shop in Aldgate, where he claimed the proprietor, Len Rose, had seen him. He left the shop around 5 p.m. and spent the evening with Charles Lilley at Wimbledon greyhound track. The pair left the track at 9 p.m. and Welch states he then went home and spent the night with his wife. The following day, Welch and Lilley met at the Express Café at 9 a.m. and then proceeded to Beckenham golf course.