I see that Ronnie Biggs, the most famous of The Great Train robbers, has been taken from Norwich prison to the cities Norwich University Hospital. His son Michael confirmed that his 79 year old father was thought to be suffering from pneumonia. He went on to say "Why is my father still in prison? He's costing the tax payer thousands. He's been in prison for 10 years now and he is no danger to society." Perhaps someone should remind son Michael that his sentence was 30 years, a good deal of which was spent living the high life in Paris, Australia and Brazil. Biggs had served only 15 months of his sentence in Wandsworth prison, before escaping and going on the run for the next 35 years. He has still only served 11 years and 3 months of his sentence.
The Great Train Robbery
On the 8th August 1963 perhaps the most daring and well organized crime ever committed in this country was carried out. The Glasgow to London mail train was intercepted in a quiet area of Buckinghamshire. It was boarded by fifteen men wearing ski masks and helmets who stole 120 bags of money containing £2.6m. In terms of today's values that may not seem a great amount, especially compared to some more modern day hauls, but in 1963 it represented a huge amount of money, equivalent to about £40m today. The scale and size of the robbery captured the imagination of the British people and a massive police operation was launched. The whole operation was masterminded by a known armed burglar by the name of Bruce Reynolds. It was Reynolds who was privy to inside information as to where, when and how the money would be transported. As the train travelled through Buckinghamshire it was halted at Sears Crossing by a red light. Unbeknown, to the driver the gang had concealed the green light with a glove and had used a six-volt battery to temporarily power the red light. The fireman on the locomotive tried to ring the signalman, only to find the wires had been cut. The driver, Jack Mills, was then forced to move the train down the track. The carriage containing the money bags was then uncoupled from the others and driven a further half mile to a spot called Bridego Bridge where the gang's Land Rovers and an army truck were waiting to ferry the haul from the scene. The gang then unloaded the money sacks into the vehicles on the road below the bridge. Jack Mills the driver of the train was coshed over the head with an iron bar, though it was never proved who carried out the attack, he was left traumatised for the rest of his life. The gang holed up at Leatherslade Farm, near Oakley, Buckinghamshire. Acting on an anonymous tip-off police raided the farm five day's later only to find the robbers had fled. Thirteen of the gang members, including Ronnie Biggs, were eventually caught. They were tried and sentenced on16th April 1964. Train driver Jack Mills died from Leukemia in 1964.
