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The following year, the British mobsterJack Spotand wife Rita were attacked on Billy Hill's say-so, by Fraser, Bobby Warren and at least half a dozen other men. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to The cells did not have a reforming effect on her character or on that of her gang leader Diamond, who was arrested on numerous occasions over the following decade. Fraser had no problem dealing with rival operators whose business was dented as a result. His first conviction was for stealing cigarettes, and with the second he was sent to an approved school. For a time he was engaged to Marilyn Wisbey, daughter of the Great Train Robber Tommy Wisbey, with whom he briefly ran a massage parlour in Islington, in which Fraser made the tea. She got six months in jail, for stealing stockings from Bentalls in Kingston upon Thames. Mother of [private daughter (1940s - unknown)] Died 2000s. Prior to that he was a bodyguard to notorious gangland leader Billy Hill, where he took part in bank robberies and and carried out razor blade attacks - which earned him 50 a time. The gang passed on their secrets from mother to daughter, aunt to niece, so whole generations of families saw crime as a way of life. Involvement in such activities often led to his sentences being extended. From the time of Frankie Fraser's sister Eva and the gang of hoisters The Forty Thieves, comes a book which will have you gripped this summer. Fraser was the youngest of five children who were growing up in poverty - he first turned to crime at the tender age of 10, alongside his sister Eva. Mad Frank (1994), which went on to sell around 100,000 copies, was the first in a successful series. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can Members of The Forty Thieves worked department stores including Selfridges in teams of three or four during hoisting trips up to three times a week. During the 1950s, Fraser's main occupation was as bodyguard to well-known gangster Billy Hill. This is Eva Fraser, sister of gangster " Mad" Frankie who was one of the leading lights in The Forty Thieves. End-right girl on the back row is Eva.. Every old-school south Londoner knows the folklore of cockney criminal Frankie Fraser, whose violent tendencies were infamous on the streets of Walworth. Francis Davidson Fraser was born on December 13 1923 in Cornwall Road, a slum area of south London on the site of what is now the Royal Festival Hall. During his time behind bars he was involved in violence and was a major instigator in the Parkhurst Prison riots in 1969. They didnt go to jail, they did bird or got a lagging. She lived an unashamedly lavish lifestyle and splashed her money around. Fraser also appeared as East End crime boss Pops Den in the feature film Hard Men, a forerunner of British gangster movies such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and had a documentary made of his life, Mad Frank. For other inquiries, Contact Us. In 1966, Fraser was charged with the murder of Richard Hart - who was shot at Mr Smith's club inCatfordwhile other Richardson associates, includingJimmy Moody, were charged withaffray. When police switched on to the gang's methods they branched out, with trips to Southend, Brighton, Liverpool and Manchester. Notorious gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser died in hospital today aged 90, relatives have revealed. "My father was the most honest man I've ever come across," says Fraser, who also refers to his Native American antecedents, saying that his grandmother was "a Red Indian", According to his sons, Fraser has no regrets: "He said, 'No, I wouldn't have done my life any other way. Both Fraser and his sister, Eva, were also active juvenile thieves. Frank stole because he loved to have money yet when he had it, he gave it all away. But the victory was pyrrhic in many senses, because by the time he finally left prison the in mid 1980s, the world had changed and gangland had moved on. But by the time of his death at the age of 90 from complications following leg surgery, Fraser had become something of a minor celebrity. Join Facebook to connect with Frankie Fraser and others you may know. Frank Davidson Fraser (13 December 1923 - 26 November 2014), better known as 'Mad' Frankie Fraser, was an English gangster who spent 42 years in prison for numerous violent offences. Diamond's second-in-command Maggie Hughes (right) was known as 'Babyface' for her sweet looks and made a habit of cheekily shouting back at the judge when she was sentenced to jail: 'It won't cure me! When she married the father of five of her seven children, Chris Hawkins, he subjected her to cruel beatings - but quickly stopped following a warning from the Kray Twins. As a young woman, Eva became an accomplished hoister (shoplifter). Such were the criminal opportunities during the war, Fraser joked in a television interview years later, that he had never forgiven the Germans for surrendering. Mothers would hide hoisted clothes in their prams and move them to pubs, where they were sold on. Fraser spent practically half his life behind bars. Swathed in luxurious fur coats, wearing diamond rings as a knuckledusters and hats to hide their stolen wares, Britain's most notorious all-female gang ruledthe tenements of Waterloo and Elephant and Castle and earned the respect of Soho's most feared underworld bosses. To evade discovery they posted the stolen items back to London or depositing a suitcase of loot at the railway station's left luggage office, to be collected later. Updated November 28, 2014 2.43pmfirst published at 2.41pm Save Share Having chronicled the life of old mad Frank, author Beezy Marsh has turned her pen to Peggy, Kathleen and Eva; in her new book Keeping My Sisters Secrets. 42 years a lag She had died in. Members of The Forty Thieves, whose mugshots were captured by the Police Gazette ahead of regular stays at Holloway Prison, often wore beautifully designed hats, coats and dresses in order to fit in - known as 'putting on the posh'. Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, to whom he was close. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London on December 13, 1923. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, 'Mad' Frankie Fraser was a notorious English gangster, Funeral of South London enforcer, FRANKIE FRASER at Honour Oak Crematorium, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London. Last seen in public in October at the funeral of his former boss, Charlie Richardson, Fraser is one of the few remaining members of a generation of "celebrity criminals". Ms Marsh said: 'These women fought harder than the men and were feared by men and women in their communities. Ms Marsh said it 'was time to reappraise London's gangland' when she wrote The Queen of Thieves. The violent thugs, the Kray twins, held The Forty Thieves member Eva Fraser in high regard during the 1940s and 1950s. Jack 'Spot' Comer showing the scar on his face left by Frankie Fraser and Alf Warren (GETTY), By 1956, Fraser had racked up 15 convictions and had twice been certified insane. Moment brazen thieves jump behind counter at Chicago Drug baron, 58, who 'hid 198MILLION fortune from police' is Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Dozens stuck in car park as staff refuses to open gate for woman, Incredible footage of Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russians in Bakhmut, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' It was not that he thought he was Napoleon. After the war he was involved in a smash-and-grab raid on a jeweller's and was given a two year prison sentence. Diamond took her under her wing and showed her how to shoplift in 1947, when Pitts was just 12. It spent six weeks in the Sunday Times top ten and held the coveted #1 Globe and Mail chart slot in Canada for three months. In 1969, Fraser was one of the ringleaders of the major Parkhurst Prison riot, which resulted in him spending the six weeks in the prison hospital due to his injuries. The Kray twins (pictured) held The Forty Thieves member Eva Fraser in high regard. The violent thugs, the Kray twins, held Eva Fraser in high regard because of her role in the gang and during the 1940s and 1950s and the Soho gang boss Billy Hill - brother of the fiery Ms Hughes - was careful not to encroach too much on their territory because he respected their right to earn their own money, free from male interference. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. Eva knew the Krays well and they treated her with reverence, although she saw them as little more than naughty boys. On the night of March 7 1966 Fraser and Eddie Richardson were badly hurt in a brawl at Mr Smiths club in Catford, the incident that broke the Richardson familys grip on south London. After trying his hand at crime as a child, Fraser then continued into his later life. They set up a fruit machine enterprise, which they would sell to pub landlords, to cover up their crimes. Fraser treated his various brushes with death as an occupational hazard: his thigh bone was shattered by a bullet fired during the melee in Catford, and part of his mouth was shot away in an incident in May 1991 when someone botched an attempt to assassinate him outside a nightclub in Farringdon. Mason was found, barely alive, wearing only his underpants and wrapped in a blanket, on the steps of the London Hospital in Whitechapel. She helped support her young siblings by taking milk and bread from neighbour's doorsteps. In later life he would say that had there been an elder criminal member of the family to advise him, he would not have served his sentences in what was called the hard way. [3][4], Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. She also passed on her 'wisdom' to a future queen, Shirley Pitts. The publisher also decided to include a glossary for the reader. Peggy stayed out of crime and worked for the Post Office. She was an alcoholic and onceran out of a jeweller with a tray of 34 diamond rings and bumped straight into a policeman. The granddaughter of a member of the gang, who said she was taught how to steal in the 1970s, told Ms Marsh: 'My nan was always beautifully turned out. The following year, the British mobster Jack Spot and wife Rita were attacked, on Hill's say-so, by Fraser, Bobby Warren and at least half a dozen other men. Underneath glamorous ensembles the women wore specially-adapted petticoats with hidden pockets or baggy bloomers with elastic at the knee. Theres one account of one of Peggys colleagues pretending to still be single so she could carry on working as a Post Office manager. Whereas for Eva it was about her earning her own money on her own terms. Charles Richardson was a criminal businessman who reputedly specialised in various tortures administered at secret courts at which he presided, sometimes robed like a judge, a knife or a gun to hand. Sister of Frankie Davidson Fraser. He refused to discuss the shooting with the police. The gang probably had its roots in the Victorian slums around Seven Dials, near Covent Garden, infamous in Dickens's day. 'MAD' Frankie Fraser, was one of the most feared and respected West End crime lords of the 1960s. Part of his mouth was shot away in the incident. Beezy said: "Frank's sister Eva was the one who led him into crime as a small boy. While serving this sentence, Fraser received 10 years for his part in the so-called Richardson torture trial. On the morning of Derek Bentleys execution at Wandsworth in 1953, he spat at the executioner Albert Pierrepoint and tried to attack him. The family was hard-working and kept themselves clean [out of crime].. After Frasers release from the Spot sentence, he was courted by the Kray Twins and the Richardson gang. And involvement in such activities often led to his sentences being extended. He was still serving his sentence for the Catford affray when he was handed a further 10 years for his part in the Richardson torture case. The most famous 'queen', Alice Diamond (left), was the daughter of a docker and renowned for her row of diamond rings that doubled as a knuckle duster. Fraser became a minor celebrity of sorts, appearing on television shows such as Operation Good Guys,[18] Shooting Stars,[19] and the satirical show Brass Eye,[20] where he said Noel Edmonds should be shot for killing Clive Anderson (an incident invented by the show's producers), and writing an autobiography. Frank Davidson Fraser[1] (13 December 1923 26 November 2014),[2] better known as "Mad" Frankie Fraser, was an English gangster who spent 42 years in prison for numerous violent offences. End-right girl on the back row is Eva.. VIEWS Every old-school south Londoner knows the folklore of cockney criminal Frankie Fraser, whose violent tendencies were infamous on the streets of Walworth. I saved myself from Royal life, Harry says & insists 'sharing's an act of service', Love Island's Olivia Hawkins breaks silence as she returns to the UK, Loose Women star lined up to be Strictly's first contestant in wheelchair, Coronation Street fans horrified as Amy Barlow is raped in disturbing scenes, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. He shot, slashed, stabbed and axed. He also attacked various governors. Jewellery was a favourite target, as it was easy to hide up a sleeve - rings could be switched for worthless fakes. Fraser was seen kicking Richard Hart, a Kray associate, as he lay on the pavement outside. Francis Davidson Fraser, criminal, born 13 December 1923; died 26 November 2014, Gangland criminal and in later life a minor media celebrity, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Frankie Fraser in 2002. [9] He was a resident at a sheltered accommodation home in Peckham. By the 1950s, the gang were facing ever-present store detectives and had to rely more on disguises. But who were the gang's most brazen members? Beezy a former Sunday Times journalist whose biography Mad Frank & Sons was published last year was given unprecedented access to interview the family and learn about the three bold women, who grew up in Howley Terrace, in Waterloo during the 1930s. In 1938, she was sentenced for stabbing a policeman in the eye with a hatpin. 'You name it, we nicked it,' he tells the . In August 1963, invited to take part in the Great Train Robbery, Fraser pulled out because he was on the run from the police. The notorious English gangster turned to a life of a crime and before he knew it, he was behind bars. On 26 November, Fraser died after his family made the decision to turn off his life-support machine. Borstal was followed by prison, where in 1943 he met the influential London villain Billy Hill, for whom he worked on and off for more than a decade, culminating in his slashing of Hills rival Jack Spot in 1956 after the self-styled kings of the underworld had fallen out. 'The other side of the story involves these feisty women and it is perhaps more fascinating given the limited powers such working class girls had to earn a decent wage.'. Its clear she still had to feed her family by acting on the wrong side of the law Beezy said. The judge, Mr Justice Griffith-Jones, complained of attempts to nobble one of the jurors, but in the case of Fraser, who was tried separately, he directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty. He was released from prison in 1985.[17]. Fraser himself was charged with pulling out people's teeth with pliers and sentenced to 10 years in prison. By Emer Scully and Beezy Marsh for MailOnline, Published: 10:41 GMT, 4 November 2021 | Updated: 13:07 GMT, 4 November 2021. In the early half of the 20th century one queen, Diamond, regularly appeared in the press where she was once described as a 'tall and commanding figure with a cool demeanour'. There were car chases and bank raids which would not have looked out of place in The Sweeney. He was also tried in court in the so-called 'Torture trial', in which members of the Richardson Gang were charged with burning, electrocuting and whipping those found guilty of disloyalty by a kangaroo court. He was a member of the Richardson gang or the 'torture gang', led by brothers Charlie and Eddie Richardson, and were widely feared in Londons underworld. But his criminal activities didn't stop when he was locked up. Fraser was just 13 when he was sent to an approved school for stealing 40 cigarettes. Diamond's second-in-command Maggie Hughes was known as 'Babyface' for her sweet looks and made a habit of cheekily shouting back at the judge when she was sentenced to jail: 'It won't cure me! Tallymen, who sold goods door-to-door, would shift them across London. Together they set up the Atlantic Machines fruit-machine enterprise, which acted as a front for the criminal activities of the gang. She helped him sell on his loot. As a reward, he was shown his examination answers, and thats how I come top, he later boasted. Reporters claimed she was 6ft tall - despite police records from 1919 putting her at 5ft9in. She liked to earn her own money and paid her own way quite something for a young woman in the 1930s and 1940s. But she was once caught stealing stockings and was sent to prison.. The gang's ringleaders appeared in a secret register of criminals, that is now kept by the National Archives, which then existed to help police track down the most persistent offenders. The business came to an end in 1966 when a fight in a Catford night club, Mr Smiths, left a Kray associate, Dickie Hart, dead, and Richardson and Fraser, who was charged with Harts murder, in prison. The women, who carried razors wrapped in lace handkerchiefs, were known for violent outbursts - including one furore that resulted in a woman blinding a police officer by stabbing him in the eye with her hatpin. Eric wasnt a bad fellow, Fraser later explained, but that particular night he was bang out of order.. His enduring nickname Mad Frank derived from his violent temperament which caused him to attempt to hang the governor of Wandsworth prison (and the governors dog) from a tree, and to be certified insane on three separate occasions. '", Frankie Fraser's Last Stand will be broadcast on the Crime and Investigation network on 16 June at 9pm, New TV documentary shows ex-gangland enforcer is far from mellowing with age and has few regrets about his life of crime, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Frankie Fraser has no regrets over his life of crime, which involved him being jailed for a total of 42 years for 26 offences.