The Great Train Robbery

by Andrew Cook

  On the 1 October, with Detective Constable Thorburn, I went to 17 Michaelson House, Bowen Drive, London SE21. It is a flat. Mrs Harvey admitted us to the flat. In the dining room I saw Martin Harvey. I told him we were police officers and that we had a warrant to search his flat. ‘We are looking for bank notes stolen in the mail train robbery in Buckinghamshire.’ He said, ‘You’re joking, we haven’t got any of that here.’ I said, ‘Have you any money at all here?’ He said, ‘No nothing except that up there.’ He indicated a small wad of notes on the mantel shelf and said, ‘There is no more’. I took the notes from the mantel shelf and found 18 £1 notes. ‘That’s my wages. No, I mean my holiday pay. This is my last week of the holiday.’ I then searched the room. Detective Constable Thorburn found a brown paper bag in a corner recess of the room and the bag contained a wad of £1 notes. There was £500 in £1 notes. Detective Constable Thorburn said to Harvey, ‘What about this. Where did this come from?’ He replied, ‘What can I say. I’m bang to rights.’ DC Thorburn said, ‘I believe this money is from the mail train robbery or have you some other explanation?’ He said, ‘No, how can I? You are dead right. It’s from the job. Someone brought it here for me to look after. There is a monkey there. I’m getting £200 to mind it.’ I said, ‘What about this?’ and showed him the £18. He said, ‘Yes that as well. It is a bit of spending money for now’. I said to him, ‘Who brought it here and what were you told about the money?’ He replied, ‘I can’t tell you that. How can I? I’ll have to swallow it because I haven’t got any choice. I guessed where it came from and I’ll have the receiving but I wasn’t in on the job and that’s Gospel.’ I told him that he would be arrested for receiving. I cautioned him and told him he would be taken to New Scotland Yard and later to Aylesbury Police Station. He said, ‘I’m not arguing. It’s fair enough.’ He later asked to examine the search warrant [which] was [dated] 27 September. He pointed to the date and said, ‘27 September. I wish you had come then. I never had it then. I’ve only had it two days.’ He was taken to New Scotland Yard. He there made a statement under caution. Taken down in writing by DC Thorburn and signed by the accused Harvey. He was later taken to Cannon Row Police Station and detained there.30

  On the morning of Thursday 10 October, as a result of further information received, Flying Squad officers led by DS Nevill and DS Slipper went to 14 Linel House, Murray Grove, Shoreditch, N1. During the search of the flat, which was occupied by bookmaker’s marker Walter Albert Smith and his wife Patricia, DS Slipper became suspicious of Mrs Smith’s stocky appearance, which he was not convinced was the result of her weight. When he challenged her on this, she became abusive and he informed her that he would have to summon a WPC to search her.

  At this point Mrs Smith pulled up her skirt to reveal that her knickers were stuffed with money. When the WPC arrived it was discovered that the money concealed in her knickers totalled £470 in rolled-up £1 notes. When Mrs Smith was asked why the pound notes had been individually rolled up it was revealed that the couple had received a sack of £2,000 in £1 notes and had hidden it on the roof. However, it had rained and the money had been soaked. Mrs Smith had subsequently been rolling up the notes (to try and get rid of the crinkles caused by the rain) and drying them in her airing cupboard. In the airing cupboard a further £363 was found. Elsewhere in the flat, £325 was found in £5 postal orders. They were both arrested and charged with receiving £2,000 in stolen money.

  According to an IB report:

  The two Smiths had, in fact, embarked on a plan of exchanging the stolen money by purchasing £5 postal orders and then en-cashing them. As a result of this, and at the request of Detective Chief Superintendent Butler, a special notice was issued on 17 October 1963 to all counter officers in the LPR area drawing attention to persons purchasing or en-cashing an abnormal number of £5 postal orders. There was a good response to this circular but although some apparent irregular practices on the part of bookmakers were brought to light it did not result in any further person being apprehended in this mail case. The circular has been withdrawn.31

  While there was no certain evidence, the police suspected that the Smiths had received the money from Patricia Smith’s brother, Daniel Regan, and had been gradually laundering it by the purchase and cashing of postal orders. It was equally believed that Regan was minding some or all of Harry Smith’s share of the robbery money.

  While making enquiries to trace Smith, DS Slipper learnt that his father Henry had recently left the East End and moved to 41 Rochford Way, Croydon, a house owned by his sister-in-law. On 18 October, a warrant was obtained to search the property and this was carried out by DS Nevill, DS Van Dyck and DS Slipper. While the search proved negative, they spoke to Henry Smith Snr who made a statement to Slipper:

  I am a married man and live with my wife. I have six sons Henry Thomas, Patrick Joseph, Leonard James, Heydon Francis, Charles Gordon and Kevin Barry who is the only one who lives at home. I also have two daughters Beryl Florence who is married to Walter Probyn and Rosemary who is married to Richard Aldridge. Henry Thomas who is my eldest son married Shirley Young about 1950 and they had two daughters. When Henry who is nicknamed ‘Harry Boy’ got into trouble last time his wife who had threatened to leave him in fact did so taking the two children with her.

  Harry then went to live with a woman named Margaret Wade. She already had two children of her own. This was about four years ago. Since then she has given birth to a son Harry being the father. Up until 12 August 1963 I lived at 263 Chatham Avenue N1. I only left that address as a sister-in-law offered me better accommodation in Croydon. On 18 May this year Harry bought a school of driving business from Mr John Muskett of 1 Chatham Avenue N1 and Mr Charles Poulton. Harry paid them £400 for the business and agreed to take over the Hire Purchase outstanding on the cars. Harry asked me if I would run the business for him and I agreed to do so.

  I remember going round to his home on the Sunday previously to the big train robbery in Buckinghamshire. Why I am so certain of this is because I saw Margaret Wade and told her I wanted to see Harry. She said, ‘He’s gone away for a few days. He’s on a big job that’s coming off’. I then left. This was not unusual for her to tell me when Harry was going out to do a job in fact she tells everybody and seems to want to brag about it. When I read in the newspaper a few days later about the big train robbery I realised that’s what she was talking about. Since then I’ve heard conversations in Shoreditch and Hoxten [sic] that both Harry and his mate were involved in the train robbery. I haven’t seen Harry or Margaret since the job or heard from them. I have heard that Harry has changed his address three times since the robbery and nobody seems to know where he is. Harry has always brought his children to see me on a Sunday but since the train job I haven’t even seen them. What I have said is perfectly true and although my son is involved I am willing if need be to give this evidence in Court.32

  Of those believed by the police to have taken part in the robbery, Roger Cordrey, Bill Boal,33 Charlie Wilson, Ronald Biggs, Thomas Wisbey, James Hussey, Brian Field and Lenny Field were now in custody. John Wheater was also under arrest as an accessory. Six more - Bruce Reynolds, Buster Edwards, Jimmy White, John Daly, Bob Welch and Roy James - were either on the run or in hiding. Daniel Pembroke and Daniel Regan had been taken in for questioning but had been released without charge, and Harry Smith was still being sought for questioning.

  In the absence of fingerprint evidence, Gordon Goody also remained at liberty while the police thought out their next move in marshalling a case against him. Commander Hatherill and other senior officers were also more than aware from their informants that three, possibly four others who had been at Bridego Bridge on 8 August, were unaccounted for, but in the absence of hard evidence there was little if anything that they could do at this point.

  Not only were half the gang still at large, so too was most of the money. Somehow, £2,300,000 or thereabouts, weighing around one and a half tons, had disappeared without trace. How could it h
ave been got rid of without attracting attention? Britons travelling to the Continent during the autumn and winter of 1963 brought back stories of delays at banks and currency exchanges while English £5 notes they handed over were checked by tellers against lists of serial numbers. The Guardian declared in an editorial that the numbers of more than half of the stolen banknotes were known to the police, who had circulated lists throughout Britain, Europe and the United States. The story, more than likely sourced from someone at Scotland Yard, was totally inaccurate, as the banks had the serial numbers for only 15,000 £5 notes. The Daily Mirror, the Daily Mail, the Daily Herald and the Daily Sketch all ran stories that the police were confident the money was still hidden in London and were concentrating their search in the capital. But what had really happened to the money and how did those still at large plan to make good their new-found fortunes?

  Notes

  1. Atkins is referred to as ‘Ivy’ by Bruce Reynolds in his book Crossing the Line (p. 130 ff) and as ‘Rose’ by Ronald Biggs in his book Ronnie Biggs: His Own Story (p. 41 ff). According to the Electoral Register, Biggs lived with Atkins at 138 Malmstone Avenue, Merstham, during 1957-58.

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

  3. Ibid.

  4. Daily Mirror, 12 August 1963, p. 1.

  5. Alf is referred to by Piers Paul Read as ‘Old Stan’ in his book The Train Robbers (W.H. Allen, 1978). Ronald Biggs refers to him as ‘Old Peter’ in Ronnie Biggs: His Own Story, as does Bruce Reynolds in Crossing the Line.

  6. POST 120/95 (originally closed until 2001; opened 2002). While ‘Old Alf’ was never definitively identified, the principal police suspect was one Alfred Stevens, who ultimately was neither arrested nor charged.

  7. MEPO 2/10571 (still closed at time of writing); DPP 2/3718 2 of 6 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version opened 25/6/10).

  8. DPP 2/3717, Report 3 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version released 25/6/10).

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

  10. POST 120/130 (opened 2011).

  11. The address in the statement was misspelt: it was in fact 1 Redcross Way. The betting shop was owned by three partners: Frederick Foreman, William Gorbell and Thomas Wisbey (Frederick Foreman alludes to this and other business interests in his book Freddie Foreman: The Godfather of British Crime (John Blake, 2008), p. 151 ff.

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

  13. Ibid.

  14. DPP 2/3717, Report 5 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version released 25/6/10). According to DCI Frank Williams, he had told Copeland that he stood to lose his licence if it turned out that he had given a false alibi. See Frank Williams, No Fixed Address: Life On The Run for the Great Train Robbers (W H Allen,1973), p. 41 ff.

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

  16. Ibid.

  17. Ibid.

  18. The Antecedent History of Brian Field, J82−245 (opened 1994).

  19. Ibid.

  20. The Times, 6 August 1958, p. 5.

  21. DPP 2/2861 (opened 1991).

  22. Solicitors Regulatory Authority; Wheater was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors of England & Wales in March 1949 and had formerly practised in partnership with Richard Lomer at 48 Beaufont Gardens, Brompton Road, Chelsea SW3 between 1956 and 1959. In 1959 he began practising as a sole solicitor under the name ‘TW James & Wheater’ at 3 New Quebec Street, London W1.

  23. Brian Hocking, Property Agent, Flat D, 4 Leinster Square, Bayswater, London W2 (CRO File 18147/55).

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

  25. BT 31/765560; 765622; 765633; 765634.

  26. ASSI 13/658 (opened 1993), & DPP 2/3735 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version opened 22/9/10).

  27. BT 31/734607; In Freddie Foreman, the Godfather of British Crime (John Blake, 2008), p. 154 ff, Frederick Foreman describes how and why he set up the company under the aegis of his associate Derek Ruddell (also referred to in the book as ‘Ding Dong’). The company was dissolved on 11 August 1966.

  28. MEPO 2/10571 (still closed at time of writing).

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

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

  31. POST 120/95 (originally closed until 2001; opened 2002).

  32. MEPO 2/10575 (still closed at time of writing).

  33. By common consent today, Boal had no involvement in the robbery and was unknown to all those who participated in it with the exception of Cordrey (see Reynolds, Crossing the Line, pp. 203, 221 and 287).

  9

  AND THEN THERE WERE SIX

  Following the release of Gordon Goody on 25 August, the police stepped up their efforts to find something that might stick, something that would enable them to charge him. Two days earlier, on 23 August, a search had been conducted by DS John Vaughan at The Windmill public house in Blackfriars:

  On the 23 August 1963, I went to the Windmill Public House, 17 Upper Ground, SE1, in company with Dr Holden. There I saw the licensee, Mr Alexander, who after brief conversation took me to the second floor front bedroom. There he said, ‘This is my daughter’s bedroom but she is away at the moment and Mr Goody is using it’. I said, ‘How long has he been using it?’ Mr Alexander said, ‘He is an old friend of mine and has been here some weeks.’

  I said, ‘Whose property is this?’ Mr Alexander said, ‘All the male clothing is his’. He then opened the wardrobe and said, ‘Everything in here is his except my daughter’s clothes’. He pointed to a pair of shoes under the wardrobe saying, ‘Those are his’. He then indicated a pair of boots under the bed and a pair of slippers saying, ‘Those are his as well’. Then, pointing round the room he said, ‘All the rest of the male clothing, and the books and bag are Mr. Goody’s’. He then left the room. Dr Holden and I then commenced to search the room. I took possession of the pair of brown suede shoes, ‘True Form’ make size 10, which were under the wardrobe.1

  Interestingly, it would be nearly a month before any significance was attached to these shoes. On 28 August DC Keith Milner took custody of a partially squashed tin of yellow paint at Leatherslade Farm. While in his later statement he recalled seeing ‘this tin of paint on my first visit to the farm on 14 August and subsequent visits there’, he gave no explanation as to why he finally decided, on 28 August, to take the tin and hand it over to Dr Holden the following day.2 A further three weeks passed before Dr Holden, in Milner’s presence, removed some yellow paint from the clutch and break pedal of a Land Rover at Leatherslade Farm, along with a sample of khaki paint on 19 September.3

  Scotland Yard also appear to have got it into their heads that Bill Boal was also one of the robbers. Unable to find any trace of his fingerprints at Leatherslade Farm, they set about securing alternative evidence of his guilt. As a result of an in-depth search of his Fulham home, three items were passed on to Dr Holden on 26 August by DS Price; a pair of knuckledusters, a blue jacket and a peaked cap.4

  DS McArthur was later to report that:

  A jacket which was found at Boal’s house was also examined and a knurled knob of yellow paint was found in the right jacket pocket. This paint was the same colour and chemical composition as that found on Goody’s shoes. Dr Holden was quite satisfied that the shoes must have been at Leatherslade Farm.5

  As a result of Dr Holden’s conclusions, DCS Butler was now confident he could charge Goody:

  At 2.50 pm on Thursday 3 October 1963, at Putney Police Station, with Chief Inspector Vibart, I saw Goody in the presence of Mr Brown of Lesser and Co solicitors. I said to Goody, ‘You know us both. Enquiries have now been completed in connection with yourself in relation to the mail robbery which o
ccurred at Cheddington, Bucks, on the 8 August, 1963’. I showed him a pair of size 10 brown suede shoes by True Form, and said, ‘Would you examine these, as they were found in a room at the Windmill Public House, Blackfriars, where you were staying when you left for Leicester on the 22 of August this year. Are these your shoes?’ Goody examined them and said, ‘Yes, Mr. Butler, they are mine’. I said, ‘Have you ever loaned them to anybody?’ He replied, ‘Of course not’. I said, ‘You will recall being questioned regarding your visit to Ireland between the 2 and the 6 August, 1963. Would you now care to tell me how and on what date you travelled back?’ Goody replied, ‘My going to Ireland and coming back had nothing to do with what you’re enquiring about. It was all personal and certainly not incriminating’. I said, ‘Would you care to say what it was?’ He said, ‘Can I speak to my Solicitor alone?’ I told him that he would be arrested and charged at Aylesbury Police Station with being concerned with others in robbing a mail train at Cheddington, Bucks, on the 8 August, 1963. He was cautioned, and he said, ‘Yes, I see’.6

  With Goody in custody, there were now six suspects – Bruce Reynolds, Buster Edwards, Jimmy White, Roy James, John Daly and Bob Welch – who were effectively in hiding or on the run. While there were other suspects in the frame, police believed that they had enough tangible evidence to charge the six and DCS Butler now focused his manhunt on arresting them as quickly as possible.

  Reynolds had gone to ground almost immediately, hiding out in London flats and safe houses. After he had been publicly named as ‘wanted’ on 22 August he had to move yet again. In December, Reynolds was almost arrested when a police patrol car spotted a ladder up against the first-floor window of the flat he and his wife were sharing above a dry-cleaning shop in Handcroft Road, Thornton Heath. Unbeknown to them, they had just been burgled. When the police rang the doorbell and asked to look over the flat they found a naked man in the bedroom. The woman who opened the door to the police officer explained that her husband was away and that the man in the bedroom was her lover. They had, she explained, been in bed when he rang the doorbell. The naked Reynolds gave a false address in Battersea and the two officers left. Only when they got back to the police station did they recognise him from a poster. By the time they raised the alarm and informed Scotland Yard, Reynolds and his wife were gone. After the flat had been raided and subjected to a fingerprint search, prints belonging to Roy James were found in the kitchen.7 Reynolds had been lucky in more ways than one; the Thornton Heath area had been staked out for some weeks by Flying Squad officers who had information he was living in the neighbourhood. Had it not been for his unplanned departure they might well have eventually located him.8