On the 8th of August 1963 the biggest robbery of all time took place. The Royal Mail train on its way to London was robbed of two and a half million pounds. From that day it was known as The Great Train Robbery. The sentences were also the biggest ever handed out......

Would Be Train Robber

At the time of the Great Train Robbery on August 8 1963 I was on the run then about the incident with Harry Rogers. I was then living up in Clacton in a caravan. You couldn't do that these days because the police are alerted to that sort of thing. I'd come out and phone up to find out how things are going on and had they got in touch with Rogers to alter his evidence and everything. My sister Eva told me that Tommy Wisbey had been around and would like to see me. That's all she knew. So I made my way to London to see Tom and he invited us onto the Great Train Robbery which I was all for and actually got to Leatherslade Farm. But it was decided and quite wisely that I shouldn't take part.

I was on the run at the time and was red hot. I could have been more of a hindrance to them, caus leading up to the Train Robbery you had to do certain things, my face could have been recognised. The police put me on Police 5, that was all the go at that time .(television programme) I had to pull out at the last minute unfortunately,

and I was really upset about that. That's another thing I owe Harry Rogers for. And that's how I wasn't on it at the end.

The Great Train Robbery

The Great Train Robbery, it was marvellous. It was the biggest robbery of all time. It was also the biggest sentences ever handed out. Thirty years was given to Tommy Wisbey, Douglas Goody, James Hussey, Charlie Wilson, Robert Welch, Ronnie Biggs and Roy James. Bruce Reynolds who they thought was the brains behind it got twenty five years. He wasn't caught until four years after the robbery. His son Nick by the way is an up and coming sculptor and he's had exhibitions and things.

Buster Edwards and Jimmy White were caught in 1966 and sentenced to 15 years and 18 years.

The charges were: conspiring to rob a mail train, carrying out a robbery with offensive weapons and receiving money knowing it to be stolen.

 Charlie Wilson escaped but was caught some years later. Ronnie Biggs escaped and is still free. He lives in Brazil. He recently had a heart attack but is on the mend. Tommy Wisbey is Marilyns dad.

Although the robbery was well planned and executed the events afterwards were slapdash to say the least. Neighbours had noticed a lot of unusual activity at Leatherslade Farm where the money was taken to. Fingerprints were found all over the place which gradually led to the arrest of most of those involved. But it was a great robbery, marvellous.

The Great Escape

 In about July 1965, they'd already been convicted, them that had been arrested for The Great Train Robbery, including Ronnie Biggs. He was in Wandsworth Prison.

There was a guy there doing 4 years who was what they call Special Watch same as Ronnie Biggs. That meant they wore a very distinctive prison uniform, yellow things on it to signify that they were escape risks.
Well Paul, that's the name of the guy doing 4 years, I can't remember his other name, a lovely little guy, he's dead now, today he wouldn't be on Special Watch because prisons are so secure to what they were then. But they'd keep them on it then right till they had about a month to do.

He was sitting next to Ronnie sewing mailbags in Wandsworth. He said "I've only got about 3 months to do but when I get out I'll get you away". Wandsworth, like every other prison only had a wall around it, a very big wall but that's all. No fence. Well almost every prison has got them now, inside the wall and some outside but not then. And it was arranged that Ronnie would have money sent to Paul to finance getting him away caus Paul went out with no money. Ronnies wife supplied him with the money.

It was marvellous when they done that wonderful escape. Nothing to do with us, we didn't have a clue about it.

One of the guys working for us, a lovely man, Patsy Fleming, an old pal of mine from way back, been in many prisons with him, an engineer, a mechanic on the one armed bandits, he got arrested when he was working for us. Nothing to do with us. He was remanded in custody in Brixton and eventually acquitted.

Whilst in Brixton Andy Anderson one of the men who escaped with Ronnie Biggs was on remand for robbing a post office security van. He was due to go up the Old Bailey and Patsy told him "If you are lucky enough to break out from the coach going to the Old Bailey or coming back, come round to the offices of Frank and Eddie who I work for at Alantic Machines, Windmill street, Tottenham Court Road. You'll see the name there wrote over the top and you'll get all the help in the world"

After Patsy was acquitted he never told us this.

Months went by then it happened.

The furniture van with the false roof that opened parked against the wall. The ladder went up to the top of the wall and the rope ladders went down the other side.
The first up was Andy Anderson.

By now he was convicted of the Post Office van raid and got 12 years. It was quite a long sentence then, well it is now but then exceptionally long.No parole them days or anything. A lot harder.

He was the first up. they said "Oi, we haven't come for you. We've a good mind to sling you back" joking mind you and they pulled him over.

Four of them escaped, Ronnie Biggs, Eric Flowers, Andy Anderson...Eric Flowers was doing 12 years and Andy doing 12 and the other man 4 years I think. I can't remember his name.

Anyway Andy and the man doing 4 years split up from Ronnie and Eric. The car they were given broke down 300 yards down the road so they separated and went there own way.

Back at Atlantic Machines we heard the news over the radio and we let out a big cheer.

got a phone call from Italian Albert who owned a betting shop in Frith street, Soho and he said he wanted to see me. I said I would come right over. I asked Patsy to drop me over caus of the parking. We went down and got in the van and all of a sudden somebody spread themselves across the bonnet. I thought it was a drunk. I said "oi, clear off you drunk, clear off out of it". Patsy looked up and said "Frank, it's only one of those that escaped".

We took him into the office, Stanley Baker the famous film star was there, he was a great friend of ours. We had a collection for him gave him some clothes and then I took him round my mums till I could get him away.

I got in touch with some friends of mine in Scotland, Mendel Morris and Arthur Thompson. They put him up for a few months. Then he went to Manchester for a while but was caught sneaking back to Glasgow on weekend trips.

A Whip Round For The Boys

After Biggs and the others escaped, we had a benefit for the boys that helped the escape by holding back the screws. My sister Eva sent the money into the prison, but the Governor told Tommy Butler and he went to see my sister. He claimed that the money was from the Great Train Robbery. I went to a solicitor and made a statement of the facts about how we got the money. Nothing ever came of it. John Sullivans solicitor, one of the boys convicted of aiding in the escape, sent my sister a letter. ...............shown opposite

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