Once again, he was sent toprison, this timefor taking part in bank robberies. David had perfected the prison whisper talking very quietly, in case he was overheard by the guards. Over the last decade or so he was on the cabaret circuit and ran gangland tours of the East End, taking in such sights as the Blind Beggar pub, where Ronnie Kray shot dead George Cornell, one of the Richardson gang, in 1966. His mother was of Irish and Norwegian descent, while his father was half Native-American. And I felt the same way,' she said. Many started as child lookouts. Frasers partner in this endeavour was Bobby Warren, an uncle of the boxing promoter Frank Warren. Her story has been told in The Queen of Thieves, written by author Beezy Marsh, which sheds a light on the lives of the girl gang that gained the respect of male criminals because of their lucrative and violent methods. Fraser was acquitted but received five years for affray. Who was 'Mad' Frankie Fraser? | The Sun His greatest moment of national notoriety came during what was known as the 'torture trial' of the Richardson gang in 1967, which became . Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. It was not that he thought he was Napoleon. Beezy, from Ealing, explained that it was in prison that Eva met Diana Mosley, wife of Oswald leader of fascist Blackshirts who were a fearsome presence in London in the 1920s and 30s. At the age of five, he moved with his family to a flat on Walworth Road, Elephant and Castle. 'You name it, we nicked it,' he tells the . Fraser, he recalled, was more than capable of doing what he threatened. After three years in jail she tookpart in the Lambeth riot at Christmas 1925. 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. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London on December 13, 1923. 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. From the time of Frankie Fraser's - MAD FRANK and SONS | Facebook But who were the gang's most brazen members? The years just after World War II were a boom time for the gang, as clothing was rationed until 1949. When Frankie was in prison, Eva helped to run his protection rackets in Soho and even sent her daughters to collect payments, as the police would not stop a child. Fraser was placed into an induced coma, but just five days later, on November 26, 2014, Fraser passed away after his family made the decision to turn off his life-support machine. Frankie Fraser - obituary - The Telegraph Fraser had no problem dealing with rival operators whose business was dented as a result. We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. Photograph: Alex Segre/Rex. She helped him sell on his loot. Fraser in 1997 with his then girlfriend Marilyn Wisbey, daughter Of Great Train Robber Tom Wisbey (REX FEATURES). "At the races, I'd be bucket boy," says Fraser in the documentary, Frankie Fraser's Last Stand, which will be broadcast on the Crime and Investigation network on 16 June at 9pm. Mad Frank and Sons: Tougher than the Krays, Frank and his boys on 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. She operated out of Walworth, South East London and her home was called an 'Aladdin's cave of loot'. A keen Arsenal supporter, Fraser had four sons, the first three of whom, Frank Jr, David and Patrick, followed to an extent in his footsteps. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription you will not receive any updates until your subscription is confirmed. Their loot would be stuffed into these 'hoister's drawers', allowing the women to leave the stores undetected. Here are some pictures of Eva Fraser - MAD FRANK and SONS | Facebook Frankie Fraser | The Kray Twins Wiki | Fandom Its clear she still had to feed her family by acting on the wrong side of the law Beezy said. Prisoners and ex-prisoners all over Britain speak about him with undisguised admiration. Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, to whom he was close. At the same time Fraser was concerned to protect his West End business interests, chiefly the installation and operation (on an exclusive basis) in the clubs of Soho of one-armed bandits, or fruit machines, then growing in popularity. He was moved from prison to prison more than 100 times because he was virtually impossible to control. 'Any girl worth her salt in South London in those days was a. 'And they were the best fun for a night out.'. 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. 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. In 1969 Fraser led the Parkhurst prison riot on the Isle of Wight and found himself back in court charged with incitement to murder. New biography of notorious Frankie Fraser promises to reveal the late This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. [6] Fraser was the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty. 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. 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. Together they set up the Atlantic Machines fruit-machine enterprise, which acted as a front for the criminal activities of the gang. The memoir KEEPING MY SISTER'S SECRETS, (Pan Macmillan 2017) tells the moving story of three sisters born into poverty in 1930s London and their fight for a survival through a decade of social upheaval. But his criminal activities didn't stop when he was locked up. The Richardson Gang was an English crime gang based in South London, England in the 1960s.Also known as the "Torture Gang", they had a reputation as some of London's most sadistic gangsters. His new career took off and he was in regular demand as a radio and television pundit. They set up a fruit machine enterprise, which they would sell to pub landlords, to cover up their crimes. Because of Frasers behaviour in jail over the years, he forfeited almost every day of his remission. HP10 9TY. In 1938, she was sentenced for stabbing a policeman in the eye with a hatpin. A bucket boy would offer to clean the bookies' blackboards with a sponge, for which they were obliged to pay the Sabinis. He was still touring clubs and pubs in 2011. His enduring nickname Mad Frank derived from his violent temperament which caused him to attempt to hang the governor of Wandsworth prison (and the governors dog) from a tree, and to be certified insane on three separate occasions. She once stabbed a policeman in the eye with a hatpin, blinding him. Morton was relieved that, rather than remonstrating, Fraser wanted him to write his life story. As he languished in jail, his sons David and Patrick and their older brother, Frank Jnr currently living quietly on the Costa del Sol carved their own careers as bank robbers and jewellery thieves in 1970s London. Women carried tools needed for burglaries so the police had no evidence if they stopped the men following the crime. Photograph: Crime and Investigation network. Diamond's second-in-command Maggie Hughes (right) was known as 'Babyface' for her sweet looks and made a habit of cheekily shouting back at the judge when she was sentenced to jail: 'It won't cure me! He chose the latter because they had taken sides on behalf of his sisters husband, Tommy Brindle, who had received a heavy beating by the Rosa brothers from the Elephant and Castle. Fraser spent practically half his life behind bars. 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. In 1941, Fraser was given his first taste of punishment when he was sent to borstal for breaking into a Waterloo hosiery store. 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. These recollections, while often disordered and jumbled, nevertheless shed light on Frasers shameless and unrepentant defiance of the liberal consensus. Francis Davidson Fraser, known as "Mad" Frankie Fraser, was the scourge of prison governors and warders up and down Britain during the periods when he served a total of more than 40 years'. While the award-winning TV show Peaky Blinders was inspired by the all-male Brummagem Boys gang from the same period, the Forty Thieves make some of even their escapades seem tame by comparison. 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. She would send her girls out in teams of three or four at least three days a week, to stores all over London and as far afield as Birmingham and Brighton. According to one of his sons, David, Fraser was unharmed but he did not inform on his assailant. With Frankie Fraser, Chris Keenan, Steve Box, Michael Boyd. Aged 17 she was convicted for stealing from a hat shop in Oxford Street. When caught by police she replied: 'I don't know anything about it.'. Pitts wore a school girl's outfit, complete with straw boater, to act as a decoy. The reader is also introduced to the girls brother Jim, who became a sergeant in the army and fought in North Africa. The youngest of five children, he grew up in poverty in the Elephant and Castle and Borough, areas teeming with moneylenders, prostitutes and backstreet abortionists. Fraser was the. 'Mad' Frankie Fraser handed an asbo aged 90 - the Guardian Francis Davidson Fraser, criminal, born 13 December 1923; died 26 November 2014, Gangland criminal and in later life a minor media celebrity, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Frankie Fraser in 2002. [28], "Gangland enforcer sets the record straight about 'the bad old days': Rhys Williams meets "Mad" Frankie Fraser, once known as Britain's most violent man", "Find & contact The White Hart in Waterloo", "Local and community news, opinion, video & pictures - Southport Visiter", "Tories condemn prisoners' freedom to read criminal memoirs", "Gangland enforcer 'Mad' Frankie Fraser dies at 90", "Mad Frankie Fraser given Asbo at age of 89 after bust-up at care home", "Gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser dies at 90", "Mad Frankie Fraser dead: Notorious gangster dies in hospital aged 90 following leg surgery", Personal website with biography and details of gangland tours, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frankie_Fraser&oldid=1107726220, This page was last edited on 31 August 2022, at 15:09. Last seen in public in October at the funeral of his former boss, Charlie Richardson, Fraser is one of the few remaining members of a generation of "celebrity criminals". 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. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Young Frankie attended local schools, captained the football team, and acted as bookies runner to one of the teachers. Although he was acquitted, a further five years were added to his sentence. Mad Frank: Memoirs of a Life of Crime appeared in 1994, with two further volumes following in 1998 and 2001. She also passed on her 'wisdom' to a future queen, Shirley Pitts. She was sentenced to five months. According to Fraser, it was they who helped him avoid arrest for theGreat Train Robberyby bribing a policeman. 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. of James Fraser and Margaret Alice (Anderson) Fraser. Petite shoplifter Bertha Tappenden 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. The cells did not have a reforming effect on her character or on that of her gang leader Diamond, who was arrested on numerous occasions over the following decade. He was said to have pulled out the teeth of one of the victims with a pair of pliers. If you weren't actually stealing, you were outranked by The Forty Thieves. Frankie Frasers wife Doreen, with whom he had four sons, died in 1999. Fraser has complained in the past that "I had no help from my family; my mother and father were dead straight so I had to make my own way. 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. By the time of the Swinging Sixties, she was drinking champagne with the Krays. 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. Comments have been closed on this article. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Both Frank and his sister, Eva, whom he adored, inherited their fathers features and his jet-black hair. Peggy stayed out of crime and worked for the Post Office. Eva knew the Krays well and they treated her with reverence, although she saw them as little more than naughty boys. He stopped following a warning from the Kray Twins. Frankie Fraser Profiles | Facebook Fraser himself was charged with pulling out people's teeth with pliers and sentenced to 10 years in prison. 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. Frank Davidson Fraser[1] (13 December 1923 26 November 2014),[2] better known as "Mad" Frankie Fraser, was an English gangster who spent 42 years in prison for numerous violent offences. He undoubtedly had a wicked temper and a lack of empathy as seen in his capability for violence but he described that to me in terms of a soldier doing his job. Eric wasnt a bad fellow, Fraser later explained, but that particular night he was bang out of order.. Another of Fraser's grandsons, James Fraser, also spent a short time with Bristol Rovers. Profile manager: Evelyn Wolff [send private message] 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. 42 years a lag She had died in. Their alleged specialities included pulling teeth out using pliers, cutting off toes using bolt cutters and nailing victims to floors using 6-inch nails. Who was 'Mad' Frankie Fraser? | The Irish Sun Fraser was part of Britain's Underworld between the 1940s-1960's. But his greatest moment of national notoriety came a quarter of a century earlier, during what the media billed as the Torture Trial (in fact a series of trials) in 1967 that became one of the longest in British criminal history. The judge, Mr Justice Griffith-Jones, complained of attempts to nobble one of the jurors, but in the case of Fraser, who was tried separately, he directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty. But little by little, over weeks and months of interviews, cups of tea and chats, their life stories emerged and with that came a fascinating insight into the Fraser family history and what really made Frank tick. '", Frankie Fraser's Last Stand will be broadcast on the Crime and Investigation network on 16 June at 9pm, New TV documentary shows ex-gangland enforcer is far from mellowing with age and has few regrets about his life of crime, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Frankie Fraser has no regrets over his life of crime, which involved him being jailed for a total of 42 years for 26 offences. He was frequently punished for breaking prison rules or fighting prison officers: "I've done more bread and water than any man alive. In 1996 he was cast as the gangleader Pops Den in the film Hard Men, which premiered at the London film festival. [9] He was a deserter during the Second World War, escaping from his barracks on several occasions. He may be in his 90th year but "Mad" Frankie Fraser is still causing mayhem. Join Facebook to connect with Frankie Fraser and others you may know. Fraser was jailed along with other members of the Richardson gang for violently punishing people whom the Richardsons believed owed them money. The Krays held Eva Fraser in high regard because of her role in the gang and during the 1940s and 1950s, and the Soho gang boss Billy Hill - brother of the fiery Maggie Hughes - was careful not to encroach too much on their territory because he respected their right to earn their own money, free from male interference.