What became of the Great Train Robbers | London Evening Standard
What became of the Great Train Robbers
Thursday 7 August 2003 23:00 BST
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The Evening Standard
The Great Train Robbery turned those involved into some of Britain's most notorious criminals. On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the infamous heist, here is what became of them.
Bruce Reynolds
The gang leader, thief and antiques dealer who masterminded the robbery. Reynolds, nicknamed "Napoleon", was the most erudite of the train robbers. As well as getting rich he wanted to "make his mark" with a crime to go down in the history books - which he achieved.
Afterwards, he fled to Mexico on a false passport and was joined by his wife Angela and son Nick. They later moved on to Canada but the cash from the robbery ran out and he came back to England.
Five years after the heist, in 1968, a broke Reynolds was captured in Torquay and sentenced to 25 years in jail. He was released on parole in 1978 and moved, alone and penniless, into a tiny flat off London's Edgware Road.
In the 1980s he was jailed for three years for dealing amphetamines, which he still denies. In 1995 he wrote a successful set of memoirs.
He says the Great Train Robbery proved a curse which followed him around and no-one wanted to employ him, legally or illegally. "I became an old crook living on handouts from other old crooks," he says.
Ronald "Buster" Edwards
An ex-boxer, club owner and small-time crook who fled to Mexico after the heist but gave himself up in 1966. Edwards is widely believed to be the man who wielded the cosh used to hit train driver Jack Mills over the head.
Mills' family say he never recovered and he died seven years later. Edwards served nine years in jail and then became a familiar figure selling flowers outside Waterloo station in London.
He was the subject of the 1988 film Buster, in which he was played by Phil Collins. Edwards was found hanged in a garage in 1994 at the age of 62. Two wreaths in the shape of trains accompanied his funeral cortege.
Charlie Wilson
Wilson was the gang's "treasurer" who gave each of the robbers their cut of the haul. He was captured quickly and jailed for 30 years.
During the trial at Aylesbury Crown Court in 1964 he got the nickname "the silent man" as he refused to say anything at all. He was jailed for 30 years but escaped after just four months. He was captured again in Canada after four years on the run and served 10 more years in jail.
He was the final train robber to emerge from prison in 1978. He was later a suspect in a £100 million gold fraud. Wilson moved to Marbella, Spain, where he was shot and killed by a hitman on a bicycle in 1990.
Ronnie Biggs
Biggs, who had met Reynolds in jail, became the most famous of the train robbers after decades on the run. He was caught soon after the heist and jailed for 30 years. But in July 1965 he scaled the wall at Wandsworth Prison, jumped on to a removal van and got away.
Biggs fled to France, Spain, Australia and then Brazil where he made a new life and fathered a son. In old age and ill health he returned to Britain voluntarily in May last year to complete the rest of his 30-year sentence.
He is now in Belmarsh high security jail in London. His son Michael has repeatedly argued that 74-year-old Biggs is too ill to be kept in prison. While in Belmarsh Biggs finally married Michael's mother, Raimunda Rothen, 55.
Roy James
A silversmith and racing driver, once said to have beaten Jackie Stewart, James dreamed of investing his share of the loot in new car technology.
He was nicknamed "weasel" and was the chief getaway driver. James left a tell-tale fingerprint at the gang's farm hide-out after the heist. He was caught after a chase over rooftops in London and jailed for 30 years. He served 12.
He later sold silver from a market stall and then moved to Spain where he was a suspect in a jewellery theft. He was jailed again for six years in 1993 after shooting his wife's father and hitting her with a pistol.
He died at the age of 62 soon after getting out of prison.
Brian Field
A bent solicitor who the gang used for the conveyancing when they bought the farm hide-out used after the heist.
Reynolds regarded Field as the "weakest link" in the plan and felt if he was caught he would quickly co-operate with police. He still used Field because he was confident the gang would never be linked to the farm.
Field was arrested and sentenced to 25 years which was later reduced to five. He died in a motorway crash in 1979.
Tommy Wisbey
A bookie and self-confessed "heavy" whose job in the heist was to frighten the train staff. Wisbey was sentenced to 30 years and released in 1976. He was jailed for another 10 years in 1989 for cocaine dealing and later ran a flower stall.
On release from prison he went to live in north London and suffered several strokes. His daughter embarked on a long relationship with the gangster "Mad" Frankie Fraser.
Bobby Welch
A nightclub owner who was sentenced to 30 years in jail and was released in 1976. He was later left crippled after an operation on his leg went wrong.
After jail he became a car dealer and gambler in London. He was once suspected of dishonestly handling diamonds but cleared.
Gordon Goody
A hairdresser who was jailed for 30 years and released in 1975. Goody moved to Spain to run a bar. He was later suspected of cannabis smuggling but cleared.
James Hussey
A decorator known as "Big Jim" who was sentenced to 30 years and released in 1975. Hussey later worked on a market stall and then opened a Soho restaurant. He notched up a conviction for assault in 1981 and in 1989 was jailed for seven years for a drug smuggling conspiracy with fellow train robber Tommy Wisbey.
Roger Cordrey
Part of the South Coast Raiders gang, Cordrey was a florist and was considered by Reynolds to be very discreet and one of the least likely train robbers to be caught.
He was arrested in Bournemouth after having the bad luck to rent a lock-up from a policeman's widow. He was jailed for 20 years which was reduced to 14 on appeal.
When he was released in 1971 he remained discreet as ever, going back to the flower business and moving to the West Country.
Jimmy White
A former paratrooper described as "quartermaster" for the robbery. White was on the run for three years before being caught in Kent and sentenced to 18 years. He was released in 1975 and went to live in Sussex.
Bill Boal
An engineer who was arrested with Cordrey in possession of £141,000. Reynolds says he had never heard of Boal. He claims Boal was not involved in the robbery and was "an innocent man".
Boal was charged with receiving stolen goods and jailed for 24 years which was reduced to 14 on appeal. He died of cancer in jail in 1970.
Leonard Field
A former merchant seaman Field was sentenced to 25 years which was later reduced to five years. He was released from jail in 1967 and went to live in north London.
John Wheater
A solicitor who was sentenced to three years for conspiring to pervert the course of justice. He was released in 1966 and went to live in Surrey.
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