In 1963, a group of experienced robbers pulled off one of the largest heists England has ever seen. While the identity of the robbers has long since been discovered, one mystery does, partially, remain: Who truly masterminded The Great Train Robbery?
In the early 1960s, Gordon Goody and Buster Edwards were approached by a man who claimed to have been in the employ of the Royal Mail Service. This man was disgruntled. And he had a plan. His plan was to intercept the overnight mail train from Glasgow to London, and heist the money that the train carried.
The train itself consisted of 12 coaches, and carried 72 postal workers on board. As the train would depart from Glasgow, the postal workers would work overnight in order to sort the mail. Along the journey, the train would make a few stops, where the mail would be swapped. All in all, it was and efficient, quick overnight mail delivery system which serviced the line from Glasgow to London. This system was also very, very insecure.
The train’s second coach was its most vulnerable, and, ironically, it’s most valuable. Aptly named the “high-values package” coach, or HPV coach, the carriage usually only carried a few postal workers, but carried large amounts of cash and bank notes. This was the carriage that the senior member of the Royal Mail Service had tipped off to Goody and Edwards to target.
Goody and Edwards needed help. In no short order, they’d enlisted the services of a London solicitor’s clerk, Brian Field, along with Bruce Reynolds, and Charlie Wilson. Reynolds took the helm of the heist as the “mastermind”.
This group had no experience robbing trains. If they were to pull this off, they needed help. Through connections, they got in touch with The South Coast Raiders, a local London gang, and enlisted their assistance. This group included Tommy Wisbey, Bob Welch, Jim Hussey, Roger Cordrey, and an acquaintance of Reynolds, Ronnie Biggs.
By the end, the group totaled roughly 16 men, with the inclusion of Roy James, Jimmy White, John Wheater, and the ever elusive man who spearheaded the entire endeavour, known only as “The Ulsterman” – the Royal Mail worker.
The group plotted and planned over the course of several months, and finally decided to strike on the evening of August 7th, going into August 8th, 1963. This date was decided upon as there would be a large influx of cash on board the train due to a bank holiday.
On the morning of Thursday, August 8th, 1963, at roughly 3:00 AM, the train from Glasgow to London came to a stop at a red signal light near the village of Cheddington. This delay was highly unexpected. Both the driver, Jack Mills, and the co-engineer, David Whitby, both in the lead locomotive, were perplexed.
David exited the locomotive, and went to investigate the cause for the red signal light. He found that the green light had been covered, and that a 6-volt battery had been wired into the red light in order to light it up. He also noticed that the phone lines near the signal light had been cut. Just as he was about to return to the locomotive to signal the alarm, David was grabbed from behind, and told that he caused a ruckus, he’d be killed.
Wearing balaclavas, several men entered the lead locomotive, with David in tow. Jack Mills put up one hell of a fight, but he was knocked down by a blow to the head with a cosh. While these men were dealing with the main car, others were busy outside unhooking the rest of the train from the first two cars. The robbers only needed to locomotive, and the HPV coach, after all.
The robbers had brought along an accomplice who’d informed them that he could drive the train to where they needed it in order to offload the cash bags. However, upon inspection of the locomotive, the man said he couldn’t drive it. It was too new, and he was used to driving older trains. The robbers were stuck. They did what they had to do. They forced a concussed, bleeding Jack Mills to drive the train to Bridego Bridge.
Once the train was in place, the robbers hacked their way through to the HPV coach with iron tools. This coach was only accessible from the inside, and this was the best way to get to what they wanted.
Inside this coach, Frank Dewhurst was in charge of security, as well as overlooking four postal workers – Thomas Kett, Leslie Penn, Joseph Ware, and John O’Connor. Once the robbers made it inside the carried, the five men were easily subdued. They were told to lie on their stomachs, and not to move. Jack Mills and David Whitby were cuffed together, and placed on the floor alongside them.
As a result of the robbery, Jack Mills lost his job, and suffered from severe headaches for the rest of his life. He died of leukaemia in 1970. David Whitby also suffered from severe trauma, experiencing PTSD to a severe degree. He died of a heart attack at the young age of 34.
With the train stationed at Bridego Bridge, the robbers made quick work of removing the cash bags from the coach, and into awaiting vehicles. The robbers took 120 of the 128 bags on board the coach in roughly fifteen minutes. The bags were heavy, but the robbers were quick and efficient, forming a human chain in order to load the bags into two waiting Land Rovers. Both vehicles bore registration plates of BMG 757A in order to confuse witnesses.
Once the vehicles were loaded, the robbers took side-roads, circuiting around for 45 minutes to an hour to thwart potential attempts at being followed. Around 4:30 AM, the robbers arrived at Leatherslade Farm. According to the police broadcast they were listening to, the first reports of the robbery were being made just as they’d made it to the safe house.
The farm itself was rundown and abandoned. It had been purchased for the purpose of acting as a safe house just a couple months prior to the robber. The purchase was facilitated by Brian Field. It was in the middle of nowhere, between Oakley and Brill. It was perfect.
Once there, the robbers divided up the loot In total, they’d stolen roughly £2.6 million in total. Split 16 ways, that was roughly £150,000 each. The robbers stayed put, listening to the police broadcast. They learned that the police were looking for a hideout roughly a half hour’s drive from the robbery location.
They bided their time, formulating a plan. The robbers rested, ate, and played Monopoly.
They also discovered that the police were setting up road blocks, and persuading the public to come forward with information – otherwise known as a “dragnet tactic”. In order to escape, the robbers decided to leave Leatherslade Farm on Friday, August 9th, rather than the planned Sunday. The robbers then attempted to wipe the place clean of their presence – wiping away fingerprints from most surfaces.
Later on Thursday, the 8th, Brian Field went to the farm, as planned, to pick up his share, and pick up Roy James. They returned to London, where James picked up and extra vehicle. Others also picked up a couple vehicles, in order to split up. The others were picked up in vans by Field and his wife, and driven to Field’s home in London in order to recover.
An associate of Field’s, known only as “Mark”, was tasked with destroying the evidence. He was paid £10,000 to torch the farm. For whatever reason, “Mark” did not live up to his end of the bargain. Instead, he took the money, and disappeared. The identity of the would-be arsonist has never been revealed.
As the robbers were lying low, a guard on board the mail train grew suspicious of the long delay in Cheddington. When he saw what had happened, he found the nearest phone, and called the police. They descended upon the scene within an hour of the robbery. By then, the robbers were long gone.
Local police canvassed local farms and houses for clues before calling in Scotland Yard for assistance. The “Flying Squad”, a team of investigators who specialized in high stakes robbery, were immediately assigned to the case. Seeing as they had contacts and informants in London’s criminal underworld, they figured their expertise would be put to good use.
It was obvious to investigators that only someone with intimate knowledge of the Royal Mail Service, and the mail train in particular, could have been behind the robbery. They thoroughly investigated several members of the Royal Mail Service, but no clear-cut suspect ever came to light.
On August 13th, 1963, police finally had a breakthrough. A herdsman had grown suspicious about all the activity he’d seen around previously abandoned Leatherslade Farm, and informed the police. Police descended upon the farm, and found 20 empty mail bags. They also found the Land Rovers with the false registration plates, and a kitchen full of food.
As police gathered evidence, they found that the robbers had done an almost thorough job of wiping the entire place of their presence. However, police managed to lift some from the Monopoly board game, and a ketchup bottle.
Despite this breakthrough, the investigation was at a standstill. The robbers had since gone to ground, and were lying low with their ill-gotten gains. Just as they were on the brink of giving up, someone came forward with information.
A barrister came forward and told police that someone was willing to inform on the gang. In quintessential gangster fashion, the informant and the barrister met with a police officer in the smoking room of a club in the West End of London. The informant then told police what they knew. Even though they, themselves, weren’t involved in the robbery, they knew the names of those involved personally, as well as important key facts in the case. It was enough for the police officer to believe them.
William Boal was helping his friend Roger Cordrey lie low after the robbery. William was not, at all, involved in the robbery, but he got caught in the crossfire. When police were tipped off about their hiding place, both men were arrested. Shortly thereafter, 8 more robbers were arrested.
In January of 1964, 12 of the original 16 were brought to trial. The trial lasted 51 days, and consisted of 613 exhibits, and 240 witnesses. One man was acquitted due to lack of evidence. The other 11 were all found guilty of charges ranging from robbery, to conspiracy, to obstruction of justice. As soon as the sentences were handed down, appeals processes began.
Gordon Goody, one of two men who knew the identity of The Ulsterman, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was released in 1975. Upon his release, he moved to Spain, where he owned and operated a bar. He passed away in January of 2016.
Ronnie Biggs was also senteced to between 20 to 30 years in prison. However, in 1965, he escaped, and then fled to Paris. From there, he went to Australia, then moved on to Brazil in the 1970s. In 2001, he returned to Britain, where he was immediately apprehended by authorities. While in prison, he caught pneumonia, and suffered several strokes. In 2009, as a result of his failing health, he was granted “compassionate leave”. He passed away in December of 2013.
Bruce Reynolds evaded capture, and fled to Canada with his family. In 1968, he returned to England, where he was apprehended and sentenced to 25 years. He was released in 1978, but was jailed again briefly in the 1980s for dealing amphetamines. He passed away in February of 2013.
Buster Edwards, the only man other than Goody to know the identity of the Ulsterman, fled to Mexico after the robbery, but gave himself up in 1966. After serving 9 years, he ran a small flower stall. He passed away in 1994.
Charlie Wilson was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but he escaped in 1964. He fled to Canada, where he was found four years later and arrested. He was released in 1978, and, like Goody, moved to Spain. He was murdered by a hitman on a bicycle in 1990.
Roy John James was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but was released after serving 12. He also moved to Spain. In 1993, after an altercation in which he shot his father-in-law, and hit his wife with a pistol, he was jailed again. Shortly after this release, he passed away.
Brian Field, for his role in the robbery, was sentenced to 25 years, but had it shortened to 5. He passed away in 1979.
James Hussey was sentenced to 30 years, but was released in 1975. In 1989, he was sentenced to 7 years in prison for drug smuggling.
Roger Cordrey was sentenced to 20 years, but was released in 1971. A florist by trade, he returned to selling flowers upon his release.
Jimmy White spent three years hiding out before he was apprehended in Kent. He was sentenced to 18 years, and released in 1975.
Tommy Wisbey was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and released in 1976. He was sentenced to 10 years in 1989, alongside his good pal James Hussey, for cocaine dealing. He ran a flower stall in north London upon his release.
Bobby Welch was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but released in 1976. He became a car dealer and a gambler upon his release.
William Boal was sentenced to 24 years, but had it reduced to 14 upon appeal. He passed away in prison in 1970. He was in no way, shape, or form involved with the robbery. Too little too late, police acknowledged that his arrest and sentencing was a massive miscarriage of justice.
John Wheater was sentenced to three years for conspiring to pervert the course of justice. He was released in 1966.
Despite their best efforts, investigators never discovered the identity of the man with the plan – The Ulsterman. There have been many speculations, including well-known London gangster Billy Hill, but the general consensus was that the Ulsterman was an Irishman.
In 2014, Gordon Goody identified Patrick McKenna as The Ulsterman. This identification cannot be confirmed. But it’s as close a guess as any to the identify of the mysterious mastermind behind The Great Train Robbery.
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Sources:
The Great Mystery Behind The Great Train Robbery May Have Finally Been Solved – Carrie Hagen – Smithsonian Magazine
The Great Train Robbers: Who Were They? – BBC News
Has the Great Train Robbery’s leader finally been unmasked? – Duncan Campbell – The Guardian
Seeing Red podcast – Episode 15 – The Great Train Robbery
A Tale of Two Thieves documentary
Great Train Robbery (1963) Wikipedia page