The thieves' earnings allowed them to live like upper-class debutantes. It will only make me a worse villain! When Frankie was in prison, Eva helped to run his protection rackets in Soho and even sent her daughters to collect payments, as the police would not stop a child. 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. "As I was growing up, I never had to buy a shirt Eva made sure she nicked them for me. I don't think they felt bad about it. ", The new documentary returns to this theme, suggesting he had a hard time in prison because there were no criminals in his family. 'You name it, we nicked it,' he tells the . Photo taken in the late 1940s on a pub Beano (day out) in Walworth, before the group travelled to Margate On the back row: the girls mum, Margaret, next to daughter Kathleen. 42 years a lag She had died in. When the police arrived, they found Hart lying under a lilac tree in a nearby garden. But few would perhaps know about the equally incredible lives led by his three sisters. An unregenerate villain of the deepest dye, Fraser satisfied the public appetite for vicarious thrill-seeking with a series of self-exculpatory memoirs in the 1990s that launched him on a twilight career as a celebrity criminal. Then theres Frankie himself, who makes a brief appearance. 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. "At the races, I'd be bucket boy," says Fraser in the documentary, Frankie Fraser's Last Stand, which will be broadcast on the Crime and Investigation network on 16 June at 9pm. Together they set up the Atlantic Machines fruit-machine enterprise, which acted as a front for the criminal activities of the gang. 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. And involvement in such activities often led to his sentences being extended. Please report any comments that break our rules. After one snatch, he and his companion were arrested when their car would not start. 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. ", Of the war years, when he was heavily involved in theft from bombed-out stores, he says: "You wanted to win the war but you wanted it to go on for ever. Harry Styles put on an animated display as he took to the stage for a second night at the Accor Stadium in Sydney's Olympic Park on Saturday.. [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. 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! He was moved from prison to prison more than 100 times because he was virtually impossible to control. Mad Frankie Fraser - Everything2.com 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. 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.. 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. Some became pals with young actresses as they partied in Soho nightclubs and stole dresses to order for them to wear on the red carpet. Born near Waterloo station, central London, he was the fifth child of a poor family. Bought stolen goods and sold them on in a role known as 'the fence'. A witness changed his testimony and the charges were eventually dropped, though Fraser still received a five-year sentence for affray. 'Any girl worth her salt in South London in those days was a. And I felt the same way,' she said. contact the editor here. Francis Davidson Fraser, known as "Mad" Frankie Fraser, was the scourge of prison governors and warders up and down Britain during the periods when he served a total of more than 40 years'. 'Any girl worth her salt in South London in those days was a hoister because they could outearn us men two to one,' he said. ", A deserter during the war he pretended to be mad to avoid the call-up Fraser was certified insane three times and spent time in Broadmoor secure hospital. Born 1920s. 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. It was during the Second World War that he was branded 'Mad' Frankie, after he feigned a mental illness to avoid being called up to the front line. He may be in his 90th year but "Mad" Frankie Fraser is still causing mayhem. The raids seem often to have been left to chance, and he was particularly unfortunate with cars. However, according to a new documentary, he is clearly not going gentle into any good night. Frankie Fraser belonged to a bygone era of crime and was cut from a different cloth than so many other gangsters of his generation. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? This is Eva Fraser, sister of gangster " Mad" Frankie who was one of the leading lights in The Forty Thieves. His funeral took place on December 18, 2014. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. [22], Fraser gave gangland tours around London, where he highlighted infamous criminal locations such as The Blind Beggar pub. According to one of his sons, David, Fraser was unharmed but he did not inform on his assailant. At least two home secretaries considered Fraser the most dangerous man in Britain, an image which, in old age, he only half-heartedly sought to dispel. 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. He was released from prison in 1985.[17]. '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. But by the 1930s, the breeding ground for its recruits was South London. The pair were the only ones of the children to embrace a life of crime. 'And they were the best fun for a night out.'. What saved him I think was the branch; it was supple and it bent. Although Lawton survived, the dog died. Somehow Eva found herself in the opposite company of her eldest sister Peggy, whose boyfriend was heavily involved in the Communist Party, whom the Blackshirts fought in the famous Battle of Bermondsey, and the even more famous Battle of Cable Street. 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". The notorious gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser's sister Eva had risen through the ranks of the gang after joining in the 1930s. Had her first criminal conviction aged 14 and went on to become Diamond's accomplice. He had 10 years added to a sentence he was serving in 1967 along with The Richardson Brothers in the Torture Trials which were the longest trials in British criminal history. 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. Franks mother, Margaret, was a huge influence on him but his best pal and early partner in crime was his sister, Eva. The Krays 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 Maggie 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. So it was in January 1965, when a club owner called Benny Coulston was hauled before Richardson for swindling him out of 600 over a consignment of cigarettes. 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!' Updated November 28, 2014 2.43pmfirst published at 2.41pm Save Share A constant troublemaker in prison, attacking governors and warders over perceived injustices which inevitably resulted in floggings, bread and water and the loss of remission, Fraser had by this time been certified insane on three occasions. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road inWaterloo,London on December 13, 1923. 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. Frankie Fraser, who has died aged 90, was a notorious torturer and hitman for the Richardson gang of south London criminals in the 1960s; 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. Beezy reveals how the girls father would beat their mother a big influence on their outlook. Sometimes the hoisters' lives became entangled with those of underworld bosses through affairs, family ties or marriage. Physically slight at only 5ft 4in, and invariably wearing a smile and in retirement a sharp Savile Row suit, Frankie Fraser was nevertheless a ferocious and brutal hatchet man. 'In fact, she was one of the people who spotted his talent for stealing after he pinched a cigarette machine from a hotel as a small boy. The Forty Thieves, a London-based exclusively female gang whose exploits were worse than those depicted in BBC drama the Peaky Blinders, posed as wealthy housewives innocently browsing the rails of the UK's most luxurious clothing stores. As a reward, he was shown his examination answers, and thats how I come top, he later boasted. '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. Who was 'Mad' Frankie Fraser? | The Scottish Sun [9] He was a resident at a sheltered accommodation home in Peckham. Following the Frankie Fraser story is akin to re-tracing the history of gangland London throughout the 20th Century. Aged seven, Ms Pitts was stealing milk and bread to provide food for her five siblings. Tallymen, who sold goods door-to-door, would shift them across London. Hughes was famed for her red hair, a love of drink and a violent temper. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can Peggy stayed out of crime and worked for the Post Office. 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. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Not long after being released, Hughes was involved in the Lambeth riot of Christmas 1925, when the home of Bill Britten was stormed. They bought fur coats, jewellery and went dancing in West End nightclubs. His fourth son, Francis, in Frasers joking words, let me down by having no criminal career at all. For latest book news including updates on the forthcoming film Mad Frank and Sons please like my page Beezy Marsh. But few would perhaps know about the equally incredible lives led by his three sisters. Facebook gives people the power. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London on December 13, 1923. ', The notorious gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser's sister Eva had risen through the ranks of the gang after joining in the 1930s. The publisher also decided to include a glossary for the reader. Throughout his life he denied the justice of this conviction, but he was happy to trade off it. But Hill was already an admirer: a picture taken at a party to launch Hills ghosted autobiography in 1955 shows Fraser draped artistically over a piano. Who was 'Mad' Frankie Fraser? | The Irish Sun '", 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. Diamond took her under her wing and showed her how to shoplift in 1947, when Pitts was just 12. 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. We'll never send you spam or share your email address. Fraser has complained in the past that "I had no help from my family; my mother and father were dead straight so I had to make my own way. But his greatest moment of national notoriety came a quarter of a century earlier, during what the media billed as the Torture Trial (in fact a series of trials) in 1967 that became one of the longest in British criminal history. 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. "Hill paid by the stitch if you put 50 stitches in a man's face, you could expect 50," says James Morton, Fraser's biographer. Richardson Gang - Wikipedia Harry Styles bares his impressively toned torso and body art at gig