", The new documentary returns to this theme, suggesting he had a hard time in prison because there were no criminals in his family. 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. It was during the war that he first became involved in serious crime. Frankie Fraser was known anotorious torturer and hitman, who worked as an enforcer for some of London's most feared gang leaders. 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. Photograph: Alex Segre/Rex. Another of Fraser's grandsons, James Fraser, also spent a short time with Bristol Rovers. 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. Frankie Fraser Biography | HowOld.co Whilst in Strangeways, Manchester in 1980, Fraser was 'excused boots' as he claimed he had problems with his feet because another prisoner had dropped a bucket of boiling water on them after Fraser had hit him; he was allowed to wear slippers. 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. When police visited she showed them ledgers to demonstrate her honest buying. 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. 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. Tallymen, who sold goods door-to-door, would shift them across London. [21] In 1999, he appeared at the Jermyn Street Theatre in London in a one-man show, An Evening with Mad Frankie Fraser (directed by Patrick Newley), which subsequently toured the UK. In 1996 he was cast as the gangleader Pops Den in the film Hard Men, which premiered at the London film festival. 'Any girl worth her salt in South London in those days was a. The trial which became one of the longest in British criminal history. The reader is also introduced to the girls brother Jim, who became a sergeant in the army and fought in North Africa. They enjoyed buying nice things with the money and putting on the posh. According to one of his sons, David, Fraser was unharmed but he did not inform on his assailant. She was chauffeured in a Bentley and always wore a sable coat. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. 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. Franks mother, Margaret, was a huge influence on him but his best pal and early partner in crime was his sister, Eva. Frankie Fraser was a notorious torturer and hitman, who worked as an enforcer for some of London's most feared gang leaders, including Billy Hill in the 1950s and the Richardson gang in the 1960s. Fraser was seen kicking Richard Hart, a Kray associate, as he lay on the pavement outside. It was not that he thought he was Napoleon. When Mason demurred, Fraser buried a hatchet in his skull, pinning his hand to his head. Author Beezy Marsh investigates criminal matriarchs of 1950s London Although he was acquitted, a further five years were added to his sentence. Eva was a leading light in the gang in the thirties and forties, having risen through the ranks of the gang after joining in the 1930s. We'll never send you spam or share your email address. When he was 10, the pair stole a cigarette machine from a local pub, hauled it to some waste ground and jemmied it open. Eva (Fraser) Brindle. 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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. 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. The two Richardson brothers were convicted, and the elder, Charles, sentenced to 25 years. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription you will not receive any updates until your subscription is confirmed. He received a further five years when, in 1970, he was acquitted of incitement to murder but convicted of grievous bodily harm after he had led the Parkhurst prison riot the previous year. The grim terraces of Waterloo and the tenements of Elephant and Castle provided plenty of girls desperate enough to join The Forty Thieves. 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. [4] He was involved in riots and frequently fought with prison officers and fellow inmates. 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 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. She had known their father, who was a fence (seller of stolen goods) or a 'thieves' ponce' - he would put up the money to finance criminal operations - which was a career on which she looked down. 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. Both Fraser and his sister, Eva, were also active juvenile thieves. [25] In June 2013, the 89-year-old Fraser was served with an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) by police after a row with another resident. None of the gang were afraid to use razors on those who crossed them, Some of London's The Forty Thieves' antics made the Peaky Blinders look like choirboys. After the war, Fraser was involved in a smash-and-grab raid on a jeweller, for which he received a two-year prison sentence, mostly served atHMP Pentonville. In 1991, while emerging from Turnmills nightclub in Clerkenwell, London, he was shot at by an unidentified gunman. Mad Frank and Sons: Tougher than the Krays, Frank and his boys on 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. Afraid of being heavily medicated for bad behaviour, Fraser stayed out of trouble and was released in 1955. According to Eddie Richardson, Fraser had Alzheimer's disease for the last three years of his life. 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. After the war he was involved in a smash-and-grab raid on a jeweller's and was given a two year prison sentence. Women carried tools needed for burglaries so the police had no evidence if they stopped the men following the crime. 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. Fraser was the. They stole to put food on the table. 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. Fraser was released in 1988 and almost immediately served a two-year sentence for receiving. Frankie Fraser Profiles | Facebook The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. It has emerged that the former gangland enforcer, who has spent 42 years in prison for 26. Even decent folk were often only too happy to 'take a bit of crooked' to have something new. Frankie Fraser was a south London gangster who knew no language but violence and spent half his life behind bars. The Guardian, October 12 1980 Frank Fraser is a thorn in the Prison Department's side - a thorn so big that he is possibly the only British criminal who has become a legend simply by serving time. He was still touring clubs and pubs in 2011. [11] In 1942, while serving a prison sentence in HM Prison Chelmsford, he came to the attention of the British Army. It has emerged that the former gangland enforcer, who has spent 42 years in prison for 26 offences, has been issued with an asbo after an incident in his residential accommodation. Richardson Gang - Wikipedia 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. 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. 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. Morton was relieved that, rather than remonstrating, Fraser wanted him to write his life story. She was an alcoholic and onceran out of a jeweller with a tray of 34 diamond rings and bumped straight into a policeman. What saved him I think was the branch; it was supple and it bent. Although Lawton survived, the dog died. 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. '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. Throughout his life he denied the justice of this conviction, but he was happy to trade off it. [9] He was a deserter during the Second World War, escaping from his barracks on several occasions. Mad Frank (1994), which went on to sell around 100,000 copies, was the first in a successful series. 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. 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. He really did live by a code of honour which he took with him to the grave. Diamond took her under her wing and showed her how to shoplift in 1947, when Pitts was just 12. An early nickname Razor Fraser reflected his penchant for shivving his enemies faces with a cut-throat blade. Sister of Frankie Davidson Fraser. A bucket boy would offer to clean the bookies' blackboards with a sponge, for which they were obliged to pay the Sabinis. After trying his hand at crime as a. She is thought to have killed herself in the 1970s. [6] Fraser was the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty. There was no evidence that Fraser had fired the fatal shots, and although he claimed to have been fitted up for the killing, he was convicted of affray and sentenced to five years imprisonment. Born to criminal parents in Southwark, South London, in 1886, her first crimes were aiding and abetting men. What officers didn't know then was that his crime spree would continue over a career spanning seven decades, and his offences only worsened. Fraser served a total of 42 years in over 20 different prisons in the UK for numerous violent offences. '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.'. He spent more than 40 years in prison. Jewellery was a favourite target, as it was easy to hide up a sleeve - rings could be switched for worthless fakes. When shoplifting she used a number of techniques including: wearing different wigs, putting stolen items under her skirt and the use of barrier bags lined with tin foil to prevent the detection of security tags. Former Northern Echo journalist Beezy Marsh has written a book about London gangster Mad Frankie Fraser. She was sentenced to five months. He was a deserter during the Second World War, escaping from his barracks . The years just after World War II were a boom time for the gang, as clothing was rationed until 1949. When caught by police she replied: 'I don't know anything about it.'. . Mad Frank: Memoirs of a Life of Crime appeared in 1994, with two further volumes following in 1998 and 2001. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Alex Murdaugh unanimously found GUILTY of murder of wife and son, Isabel Oakeshott clashes with Nick Robinson over Hancock texts, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Do not sell or share my personal information. 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. 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). His new career took off and he was in regular demand as a radio and television pundit. Here are some pictures of Eva Fraser - MAD FRANK and SONS | Facebook They set up a fruit machine enterprise, which they would sell to pub landlords, to cover up their crimes. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Born on Cornwall Road, Waterloo, Lambeth, South London, Fraser was the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. "If you play by the sword, you've got to expect the sword as well," says his son. There was also kind of respect for them locally because people could get a nice dress or a pair of stockings cheaply. She was taught by Alice Diamond in the 1930s and a very senior member throughout the. 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. As a reward, he was shown his examination answers, and thats how I come top, he later boasted. Part of his mouth was shot away in the incident. 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. He was moved from prison to prison more than 100 times because he was virtually impossible to control. Eva got six months for stealing stockings from Bentalls in Kingston upon Thames. In 1941, Fraser was given his first taste of punishment when he was sent to borstal for breaking into a Waterloo hosiery store. It was almost as if the biggest thrill of all was the act of stealing itself. During his time in prison, Fraser was involved in a number of riots and frequently fought with prison officers, fellow inmates and governors. Notorious for high-speed getaways, she was eventually caught stealing lingerie and sentenced to hard labour in prison. After trying his hand at crime as a. The police were cozzers and a burglary was a screwer, hitting someone was a clump, while jewellery was tom as in Tom Foolery, in rhyming slang. 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. After the war, he worked for underworld boss Billy Hill, for whom he carried out razor attacks. A famous Monty Python sketch featuring the Piranha brothers, Doug and Dinsdale, has often been associated with Fraser and the Kray twins and some aspects of the new documentary may add to this impression. Always well turned out and ineffably polite and punctual, he had a large and appreciative audience, and one woman was so impressed she named her son after him. Two people were left dead. Their loot would be stuffed into these 'hoister's drawers', allowing the women to leave the stores undetected. 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. ', As the photographs show, the women often wore beautifully designed hats , coats and dresses in order to fit in, known as 'putting on the posh'. Both Frank and his sister, Eva, whom he adored, inherited their fathers features and his jet-black hair. '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. Fraser was the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty. '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. Frankie Fraser's Last Stand (2013) - IMDb Facebook gives people the power. Though like Eva, she struggled to come to terms with the choice facing women to work or marry. Fraser, he recalled, was more than capable of doing what he threatened. With Frankie Fraser, Chris Keenan, Steve Box, Michael Boyd. The Soho gang boss Billy Hill - brother of the fiery Maggie Hughes - was also careful not to encroach too much on their territory because he respected their right to earn their own money, free from male interference. 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. 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. 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. Fraser was defended by a young solicitor called James Morton, who later became an author and wrote a history of Londons gangland in 1992. Queen of Thieves: The gangland women who made Peaky Blinders look like Frank's mother, Margaret, was a huge influence on him but his "best pal" and early partner in crime was his sister, Eva. His greatest moment of national notoriety came during what was known as the 'torture trial' of the Richardson gang in 1967, which became . A machine costing 400 could quickly recoup its cost if well-sited, and Frasers company offered club owners 40 per cent of the take rather than the standard 35 per cent as an inducement to install their machines. 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. Joining the Forty Thieves was something of a right of passage for Eva Fraser. The publisher also decided to include a glossary for the reader. It will only make me a worse villain!'. Mother of [private daughter (1940s - unknown)] Died 2000s. After Frasers release from the Spot sentence, he was courted by the Kray Twins and the Richardson gang. 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. Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, to whom he was close. [9] Aged 17 she was convicted for stealing from a hat shop in Oxford Street. His decision to join the Richardsons rather than their rivals, the Krays, has been described as "like China getting the atom bomb". 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. The Krays, according to Frank, were little more than thieves ponces.. 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'. 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. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to Here are some pictures of Eva Fraser of the Forty Thieves and her sister Kathleen. 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. 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. He had an ungovernable temper and an inability to think through the undoubted consequences of his proposed actions. 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. 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.