This article is about the actual robbery in 1963. And the former engine driver they recruited for this part of the job had no knowledge of how to drive this type of engine. In the epilogue, Reynolds describes what happened to some of the robbers. 04/29/23. Given that the police had insufficient evidence against Pembroke, either at Leatherslade Farm or definitive connection with either of the two gangs, Butler was prepared to let him go. Bruce Reynolds, the last of the robbers to be caught, was released from prison on 6 June 1978 after serving 10 years. In the end, the only one caught after the airport raid was Mickey Ball, who pleaded guilty to being a getaway driver when a witness mistook him for Flossy, and to avoid being blamed for the actual violence he agreed to plead guilty as an accomplice, and was in prison during the Great Train Robbery. Comments have been closed on this article. [14], The robbers had cut all the telephone lines in the vicinity, but one of the rail-men left on the train at Sears Crossing caught a passing goods train to Cheddington, where he raised the alarm at around 04:20. He was most notable for leading the team of detectives that investigated the Great Train Robbery in 1963. This paid off with the arrests of first Wilson, then Reynolds. Speaking for the first time about the aftermath of the robbery which happened 50 years ago on Thursday the 83-year-old says: I was constantly scared, always worried. But I knew even then they were a professional gang whod coshed the train driver, so I think I knew what I was letting myself in for., Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. The BBC say there was a problem using Southern locations because many of them no longer looked anything like they did in the 1960s. [55], On 15 April 1964 the proceedings ended with the judge describing the robbery as "a crime of sordid violence inspired by vast greed" and passing sentences of 30 years' imprisonment on seven of the robbers. (Ron Edge collection) Although soldiers in the Service Corps were considered combat personnel, they were primarily associated with transport and logistics. Police stand guard outside Leatherslade Farm at Oakley in Buckinghamshire, used as a hide-out by the Great Train Robbers, Mr Bernard Rixon, owner of Leatherslade farm talking to journalists ahead of the beginning of the Great Train Robbers' trial in Aylesbury in January 1964, Entrance to Leatherslade farm used by the Great Train Robbers, Items left at Leatherslade Farm by the Great Train Robbers, Police officers and police dog outside Leatherslade Farm, 13th August 1963: Police stand guard outside Leatherslade Farm at Oakley in Buckinghamshire, used as a hide-out by the Great Train Robbers, led by Bruce Reynolds and including men such as Ronnie Biggs and Buster Edwards, The memorial marking spot children were made to burn father alive, The symptoms to look out for as cases of Arcturus Covid variant reported in UK, A total of 120 cases of the new variant have been confirmed across the nation, Aylesbury United's forgotten football stadium has been reclaimed by nature after tenants were evicted, Football clubs being forced out of their home grounds is a heart-breaking aspect of the beautiful game, but that feeling is magnified when the stadium is completely abandoned and reclaimed by nature, Coronation will see public asked to swear allegiance to King Charles, They will be asked to 'pay true allegiance' to the King, Aylesbury man who led police on chase handed suspended sentence for dangerous driving, He was sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court on Wednesday, April 26, People shocked after learning what plastic pull tab on oil bottle lids is for, Most people just throw it away, but this clever cooking hack shows how useful it really is, Teenage boy taken to hospital with 'serious' injuries after assault in Milton Keynes, Thames Valley Police are appealing for witnesses and information following the incident, The riverside Buckinghamshire wedding venue where guests can enjoy private boat rides on River Thames. . ][non-primary source needed] On one occasion he described the contents and layout of a house near Weybridge where his wife Karin had once been a nanny.[39]. [77] Furthermore, both Ronnie Biggs and Gordon Goody, two surviving gang members at the time, gave sworn affidavits asserting that Boal was innocent. Leatherslade Farm served as a . No action was taken against Butler for his mistake in not ensuring the case against Daly was more thorough. Chief executive Sally Joynson said: The Great Train Robbery is one of 20 major film and TV productions that have filmed in the region as a direct result of Screen Yorkshires work. He was released again in March 1985 and dedicated himself to helping his wife recover from a mental breakdown. If you're looking for a way to stay up to date with the latest breaking news from around Bucks, our newsletter is a good place to start. According to Bruce Reynolds, "Flossy had no previous convictions and stayed well out of contact with the group. Leatherslade Farm is situated nearby to the forest The Walks and the village Honeyburge. This process of exchange allowed mail to be distributed locally without delaying the train with unnecessary stops. But in spite of our strong suspicions, nothing could be proved against him and so no charge could be brought. The criminals then detached the first two of the 12 cars on the train, instructing Mills, whose head bled heavily, to drive half a mile further down the track. 2023 Getty Images. Of course it shaped our lives, we were then a happy family and we intended to stay in the area and wanted to progress with owning our own small-holding we would rent from the council, then eventually own our own farm. The legal action was part of a defence strategy by three of the gang Wisbey, James Hussey and Robert Welch who claimed they had never been at the farm and their fingerprints were only found because they had turned up two days afterwards. When asked by a reporter after the sentencing of Reynolds whether that was the end of it, Butler replied that it was not over until Biggs was caught. The jury retired to the Grange Youth Centre in Aylesbury to consider its verdict. [13][pageneeded][unreliable source? Jean Sherrard. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. I remember joking that morning, Whod want to pinch a train? Then my next remark was that will be them up on the farm, indicating Leatherslade Farm next door. A Mercedes driven by Amber Bessone, the pregnant 28-year-old daughter of a well-known hairdresser Raymond Bessone (Mr Teasy Weasy) crossed a damaged section of the guard rail and slammed into Field's oncoming Porsche. Taking place a day later than originally planned, the gang set off from Leatherslade Farm near Oakley, Buckinghamshire at around 1am on Thursday 8 August 1963. The vehicles they had driven to the farm could no longer be used because they had been seen by the train staff. The robbers played Monopoly with real money at their hide-out and one of the tatty sets they used was recently valued at 200. I was a herdsman for a farmer but I was no poorly educated country yokel, he recalls. Field had arranged with "Mark" to carry out a comprehensive clean-up and set fire to the farm after the robbers had left, even though the robbers had already spent much time wiping the place down to be free of prints. A quantity of Irish and Scottish money was also stolen. Want the latest news from across Bucks? In 2001, he and his son Nicholas travelled with reporters from The Sun newspaper to take Biggs back to Britain. Reynolds gave up trying to find Field. He noted that it seemed to him that Butler was sceptical of his efforts and that at the press conference Hatherill and Millen did not reveal the circumstances behind the find and that he was never asked to talk with them about it. The hide-out, dubbed Robbers Roost, was surrounded by open countryside in 1963 and it became a challenge finding an alternative in increasingly built-up Southern England. This gang, although very successful in the criminal underworld, had virtually no experience in stopping and robbing trains, so it was agreed to enlist the help of another London gang called The South Coast Raiders. [13][30][31] In a 2003 interview, Reynolds recalled: "from an early age I always wanted a life of adventure." John was working in Oakley, a quiet Buckinghamshire village 25 miles away. It was renamed by the owners who even diverted the nearby public footpath to further discourage the curious. On Monday 12 August 1963, Butler was appointed to head the police investigation of the London connection and quickly formed a six-man Train Robbery Squad. None of those arrested informed on this person, although it was claimed that he had completely disobeyed instructions and used violence during the robbery. In later years, the robbers generally came together only for the funerals of their fellow gang members.