Frank stole because he loved to have money yet when he had it, he gave it all away. Indeed, his criminality was closely bound up with what one criminologist described as an overt almost Samurai vindication of violent action in pursuit of inverted honour. Eva was a chip off the old block and as well as being Franks first partner in crime, stealing sweets from the corner shop, she had a lucrative career in a daring gang of girl shoplifters, The Forty Thieves, which traced its roots back to Victorian London and cleared many a West End store for furs and luxury goods. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Fraser earned his mad nickname during the second world war, when he managed to get himself out of military service by pretending to be mentally ill. To prove his unsuitability to the force, he assaulted a doctor before jumping out of the window at the Bradford assessment centre where he had been sent. He had an ungovernable temper and an inability to think through the undoubted consequences of his proposed actions. As an adult she was beaten by one of her boyfriends and the father of five of her seven children, Chris Hawkins, who was a fruit and vegetable seller in Hoxton. The women were completely faithful to their leader, known as the queen, who doled out harsh punishments and carried strict rules including not helping police officers by informing. Afraid of being heavily medicated for bad behaviour, Fraser stayed out of trouble and was released in 1955. In 1996 he was cast as the gangleader Pops Den in the film Hard Men, which premiered at the London film festival. 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. In August 1963, invited to take part in the Great Train Robbery, Fraser pulled out because he was on the run from the police. He was so attired when, in 1951, he attacked the governor of Wandsworth prison, William Lawton, as he walked his pet terrier on Wandsworth Common. [16], Fraser's 42 years served in over 20 different prisons in the UK were often coloured by violence. [6] Fraser was the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty. The Krays, according to Frank, were little more than thieves ponces.. 'I felt it was time for their story to be told and it inspired my novel, which is the first in a planned trilogy for Orion about the gang, stretching from the 1920s to the 1950s.'. 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 pair were the only ones of the children to embrace a life of crime. 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. Eva knew the Krays well and they treated her with reverence, although she saw them as little more than naughty boys. Nevertheless his campaigns and, on the outside, those of Eva, did bring the attention of the general public to the unpalatable conditions in which prisoners served then their sentences. He spent 42 years behind bars before achieving a certain cult status in later life as an author, after-dinner speaker, television pundit and tour guide. Former Northern Echo journalist Beezy Marsh has written a book about London gangster Mad Frankie Fraser. However, according to a new documentary, he is clearly not going gentle into any good night. She also passed on her 'wisdom' to a future queen, Shirley Pitts. Shortly afterwards, Fraser kidnapped Eric Mason, a Kray gang member, outside the Astor Club in Berkeley Square, with even direr consequences. If you love GANGLAND and women in crime who rubbed shoulders with Frank and the Krays, you're going to QUEEN OF CLUBS my new book set in seedy 1950s Soho and inspired by the Forty Thieves hoisters gang including Frank's sister Eva Fraser and the notorious hoister Shirley Pitts from Walworth who grew up with his sons David and Patrick. He stopped following a warning from the Kray Twins. She got six months in jail, for stealing stockings from Bentalls in Kingston upon Thames. According to one of his sons, David, Fraser was unharmed but he did not inform on his assailant. The first came when he was in the army during the second world war, the second time when he was sent to Cane Hill psychiatric hospital in Coulsdon, Surrey, and the third when he was transferred from Durham prison to Broadmoor. Morton was relieved that, rather than remonstrating, Fraser wanted him to write his life story. At his funeral, one of his old prison friends summed him up: Whether he has gone upstairs or downstairs, I cant say, but wherever he is, you can be sure of this: he will be protesting about the conditions.. Fraser was acquitted but received five years for affray. 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. [28], "Gangland enforcer sets the record straight about 'the bad old days': Rhys Williams meets "Mad" Frankie Fraser, once known as Britain's most violent man", "Find & contact The White Hart in Waterloo", "Local and community news, opinion, video & pictures - Southport Visiter", "Tories condemn prisoners' freedom to read criminal memoirs", "Gangland enforcer 'Mad' Frankie Fraser dies at 90", "Mad Frankie Fraser given Asbo at age of 89 after bust-up at care home", "Gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser dies at 90", "Mad Frankie Fraser dead: Notorious gangster dies in hospital aged 90 following leg surgery", Personal website with biography and details of gangland tours, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frankie_Fraser&oldid=1107726220, This page was last edited on 31 August 2022, at 15:09. She was an alcoholic and onceran out of a jeweller with a tray of 34 diamond rings and bumped straight into a policeman. Beezy said: "Frank's sister Eva was the one who led him into crime as a small boy. Ms Marsh said it 'was time to reappraise London's gangland' when she wrote The Queen of Thieves. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to 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. Even the gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser, whose sister Eva was a leading light in the gang in the thirties and forties, spoke with great reverence about Alice Diamond. "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. Mothers would hide hoisted clothes in their prams and move them to pubs, where they were sold on. Franks mother, Margaret, was a huge influence on him but his best pal and early partner in crime was his sister, Eva. Photograph: Crime and Investigation network. Furs were rolled on the hanger and tucked into the women's undergarments when the store assistant was distracted, while jewellery and watches were swapped for fake versions and hidden under hats or in their hair. 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. Fraser was just 13 when he was sent to an approved school for stealing 40 cigarettes. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can After three years in jail she tookpart in the Lambeth riot at Christmas 1925. Fraser spent practically half his life behind bars. Hughes was famed for her red hair, a love of drink and a violent temper. What saved him I think was the branch; it was supple and it bent. Although Lawton survived, the dog died. 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. He was moved from prison to prison more than 100 times because he was virtually impossible to control. As her reign came to an end, Forty Thieves queen Diamondpassed on her 'wisdom' to a future queen, Shirley Pitts. Despite this, or possibly because of it, newspapers of the day were tipping him as Spots natural successor. Shegot her first criminal record aged just 14 and, in 1923, she was jailed after running out of a jeweller's with a tray of 34 diamond rings straight into the arms of a policeman. He was then then given a 15-month prison sentence atHMP Wandsworthfor shop-breaking - this was just the first of 20 prisons Fraser would be sent to. The criminal, who has spent almost half his life in prison, passed away earlier at King's. Eva Fraser - the sister of notorious gangster Mad Frankie Fraser - was reputedly one of the last members of the Queens of the Forty Thieves shoplifting gang, which sold stolen goods from. Although he was never convicted of murder, police reportedly held him responsible for 40 killings, but the bluster and bravado of a media-savvy gangland relic almost certainly inflated this tally, the actual scale of which remains unfathomable. Jewellery was a favourite target, as it was easy to hide up a sleeve - rings could be switched for worthless fakes. These recollections, while often disordered and jumbled, nevertheless shed light on Frasers shameless and unrepentant defiance of the liberal consensus. Frankie Fraser Biography | HowOld.co 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. He was a deserter during the Second World War, escaping from his barracks . Frankie Fraser was a south London gangster who knew no language but violence and spent half his life behind bars. of James Fraser and Margaret Alice (Anderson) Fraser. We'll never send you spam or share your email address. 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. As a reward, he was shown his examination answers, and thats how I come top, he later boasted. Mad Frank: Memoirs of a Life of Crime appeared in 1994, with two further volumes following in 1998 and 2001. Frank's mother, Margaret, was a huge influence on him but his "best pal" and early partner in crime was his sister, Eva. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's 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! She was still hoisting well into her 70s.'. Underneath glamorous ensembles the women wore specially-adapted petticoats with hidden pockets or baggy bloomers with elastic at the knee. On this release, he determined to write his memoirs. There was American Indian blood in him; his grandfather had emigrated to Canada in the late 19th century and married a full-blooded American Indian woman. On the morning of Derek Bentleys execution at Wandsworth in 1953, he spat at the executioner Albert Pierrepoint and tried to attack him. Beezy, from Ealing, explained that it was in prison that Eva met Diana Mosley, wife of Oswald leader of fascist Blackshirts who were a fearsome presence in London in the 1920s and 30s. 'It was not just a man's world, despite the countless column inches still spent poring over the phenomenon that was the Kray Twins,' she added. She helped support her young siblings by taking milk and bread from neighbour's doorsteps. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription you will not receive any updates until your subscription is confirmed. Who was 'Mad' Frankie Fraser? | The Irish Sun Aged seven, Ms Pitts was stealing milk and bread to provide food for her five siblings. In the summer of 2013 it emerged that, at the age of 89, Fraser had been served with an Antisocial Behaviour Order (Asbo) after another incident, this time at his care home in Peckham, south London. Author Beezy Marsh investigates criminal matriarchs of 1950s London "Maybe he was bored with going to prison," Ronnie Richardson, Charlie's widow, tells the programme. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. Editors' Code of Practice. Those who had incurred Richardsons displeasure were wired up to a sinister black box with a wind-up handle that administered severe electric shocks to the genitals. 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. He then worked for legendary Soho crime boss Billy Hill in the 1950s, earning the nickname razor Fraser for his attacks on those who crossed him, before becoming embroiled in protection rackets in the 1960s, rising to the position of the Boss of Soho. [9] He was a deserter during the Second World War, escaping from his barracks on several occasions. Frankie Fraser - obituary - The Telegraph There were car chases and bank raids which would not have looked out of place in The Sweeney. It was almost as if the biggest thrill of all was the act of stealing itself. Author Beezy Marsh said: 'These women fought harder than the men and were feared by men and women in their communities. The violent thugs, the Kray twins, held The Forty Thieves member Eva Fraser in high regard during the 1940s and 1950s. 'Mad' Frankie Fraser handed Asbo at the age of 89 | Metro News Alice herself was famous for clouting three furs in one go: one down each leg and one under her gusset. Another grandson, Anthony Fraser, was being sought by police in February 2011 for his alleged involvement in an alleged 5 million cannabis smuggling ring. 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. However, it was in the early 1960s that Fraser began to take on even bigger crimes, when he first met Charlie and Eddie Richardson of the Richardson Gang - rivals to the Kray twins. 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. 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. After another, the car ran out of petrol in the Rotherhithe tunnel. At the age of five, Fraser, running in the road to beg for cigarette cards, was knocked down, and from his injuries he developed meningitis. Two people were left dead. In 1945, when he was 21, he assaulted the governor at Shrewsbury prison with an ebony ruler snatched from the governors desk, for which he received 18 strokes of the cat. When he was 10, the pair stole a cigarette machine from a local pub, hauled it to some waste ground and jemmied it open. Pictured, Marble Arch and Oxford Circus in the 1920s, Petite shoplifter Bertha Tappenden (right) stood just over 5ft 2in tall, but was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a man in Lambeth, after kicking down his front door and attacking him with razors and knives, to settle a score, aided by Diamond and another gang girl, Gertrude Scully (left). It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. His life of crime started aged nine when he worked for the notorious Sabini gang, which ran protection rackets at the racecourses at a time when off-course betting was illegal. 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. His gangster boss Charles Richardson remembered him as one of the most polite, mild-mannered men Ive met but he has a bad temper on him sometimes. Yet they fiercely guarded their right to 'earn' their own money. There was also kind of respect for them locally because people could get a nice dress or a pair of stockings cheaply. After trying his hand at crime as a. She liked to earn her own money and paid her own way quite something for a young woman in the 1930s and 1940s. However, it was the during the 'torture trial' of the Richardson gang in 1967, that Frankie Fraser become notorious nationally. He was frequently punished for breaking prison rules or fighting prison officers: "I've done more bread and water than any man alive. After trying his hand at crime as a. 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. "You name it, we nicked it," he says. It was during the war that he first became involved in serious crime, with the blackout and rationing, combined with the lack of professional policemen due to conscription, providing ample opportunities for criminal activities such as stealing from houses while the occupants were in air-raid shelters. Mad Frank. Then theres Frankie himself, who makes a brief appearance. [10], In 1941, Fraser was sent to borstal for breaking into a Waterloo hosiery store, then given a 15-month prison sentence at HM Prison Wandsworth for shop-breaking. Frankie Fraser was tried at the Old Bailey for Harts murder, while six others, including Eddie Richardson, faced lesser charges. When Mason demurred, Fraser buried a hatchet in his skull, pinning his hand to his head. Part of his mouth was shot away in the incident. 'My gran liked to go for tea at the Ritz, especially if she could pinch someone's fur coat from the cloakroom on the way out. The book upset some of those mentioned in it, and Morton was dismayed to arrive home one evening to find a message from Fraser on his answering machine, demanding to speak to him urgently. 'Mad Frank' the thug, hitman and enforcer It has emerged that the former gangland enforcer, who has spent 42 years in prison for 26. Another of Fraser's grandsons, James Fraser, also spent a short time with Bristol Rovers. In 1938, she was sentenced for stabbing a policeman in the eye with a hatpin. Francis Davidson "Frankie" Fraser, better known as "Mad" Frankie Fraser,was an English gang member and criminal who spent 42 years in prison for numerous violent offences. A witness changed his testimony and the charges were eventually dropped, though Fraser still received a five-year sentence for affray. It was not that he thought he was Napoleon. A keen Arsenal supporter, Fraser had four sons, the first three of whom, Frank Jr, David and Patrick, followed to an extent in his footsteps. Frankie Fraser Profiles | Facebook By Emer Scully and Beezy Marsh for MailOnline, Published: 10:41 GMT, 4 November 2021 | Updated: 13:07 GMT, 4 November 2021. It was just what we knew and to be honest, we loved it.. Various members were eventually caught, though and served their time in Holloway prison, where rations were meagre and they slept on boards. When the police arrived, they found Hart lying under a lilac tree in a nearby garden. In 1966 he was charged with the murder of Richard Hart, who was shot at a club in Catford, but the charges were dropped when a witness changed their testimony. The notorious gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser's sister Eva had risen through the ranks of the gang after joining in the 1930s. The Old Bailey jury heard, in grisly detail that still resonates 50 years on, how Frankie Fraser tried to pull Coulstons teeth out one by one with a pair of pliers. Many of the Forty Thieves were noted for their beauty as well as their shoplifting skills, such as Madeline Partridge and her sister Laura (pictured left), whose mother was often used by Diamond to sell stolen goods. 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. 42 years a lag She had died in. pre order Queen of Thieves now for just 2.99. Because of Frasers behaviour in jail over the years, he forfeited almost every day of his remission. Born inLambeth, south London, Frankie committed his first crime at the age of 13, when he stole a packet of cigarettes and was sent to an approved school. He regularly led conducted tours of East End crime scenes, invariably ending up in the Blind Beggar pub where Ronnie Kray shot George Cornell dead. When police switched on to the gang's methods they branched out, with trips to Southend, Brighton, Liverpool and Manchester. 'Speaking to relatives of some of the original gang members during my research for Queen of Thieves, I was struck by how secretive the gang had been about its methods, and how much of a career choice it was for working class girls. On his release, Fraser joined Richardsons brother Eddie in a company called Atlantic Machines, installing fruit machines at some of Sohos most profitable sites, with Sir Noel Dryden recruited as the respectable frontman. He was given an asbo, one of his sons told film-makers, after getting into an argument with a fellow-resident and is unrepentant about his life of crime. He appeared on pop records and in television documentaries, toured his one-man show of criminal reminiscences (flexing a pair of gilded pliers), and found himself invited into bookshops to sign copies of his memoirs. He really did live by a code of honour which he took with him to the grave. One such member was Lilian Goldstein, who was known as the Bob-Haired Bandit. He has been part of the most infamous criminal gangs of the past 100 years, while maintaining his South London roots and deep devotion to his family. inaccuracy or intrusion, then please If you love GANGLAND and women in crime who rubbed shoulders with Frank and the Krays, you're going to QUEEN OF CLUBS my new book set in seedy 1950s Soho and inspired by the Forty Thieves hoisters gang including Frank's sister Eva Fraser and the notorious hoister Shirley Pitts from Walworth who grew up with his sons David and Patrick.