True Crime Collection

The Kray Twins

Ronald "Ron" and Reginald "Reggie" Kray were born on 25th October 1933 in Haggerston, East London. The brothers were twins, with Reggie born 10 minutes before Ronnie. Their parents already had a 6 year old son, Charles James. A sister, Violet, died in fancy. When the twins were 3 years old, they contracted diphtheria. The twins first attended Wood Close School in Brick Lane, and then Daniel Street School. In 1938, the Kray family moved from Stean Street in Haggerston to 178 Vallance Road in Bethnal Green. The influence of their maternal grandfather, Jimmy "Cannonball" Lee, caused the brothers to take up amateur boxing, then a popular pastime for working class boys in the East End. Sibling rivalry spurred them on, and both achieved some success.

The Krays were called up to do National Service in the British Army in March 1952. Although the pair reported to the depot of the Royal Fusiliers at the Tower of London, they attempted to leave after only a few minutes. When the corporal in charge tried to stop them, he was seriously injured by Ronnie who punched him on the jaw. The Krays walked back to their East End home. They were arrested the next morning by the police and turned over to the army.

In September while absent without leave again, they assaulted a police constable who tried to arrest them. They became among the last prisoners to be held at the Tower of London before being transferred to Shepton Mallet military prison in Somerset for a month to await court martial. After they were convicted, both were sent to the Buffs' Home Counties Brigade Depot jail in Canterbury, Kent. However, when it became clear they were both to be dishonourably discharged from the army, The Krays' behaviour became worse. They dominated the exercise areas outside their one man cells, threw tantrums, emptied a latrine bucket over a sergeant, dumped a canteen full of hot tea on another guard, handcuffed a guard to their prison bars with a pair of stolen cuffs and set their bedding on fire. Eventually they were moved to a communal cell where they assaulted their guard with a vase and escaped. After being quickly recaptured, they spent their last night in military custody in Canterbury drinking cider, eating crisps and smoking cigarillos courtesy of the young national servicemen acting as their guards. The next day The Krays were transferred to a civilian prison to serve sentences for the crimes they committed while AWOL.

Their criminal records and dishonourable discharges from the Royal Fusiliers ended their boxing careers, and the brothers turned to crime full time. They bought a run down snooker club in Mile End where they started several protection rackets. By the end of the 1950s, The Krays were working for Jay Murray from Liverpool and were involved in hijacking, armed robbery and arson, through which they acquired other clubs and properties. In 1960, Ronnie was imprisoned for 18 months for running a protection racket and related threats. While Ronnie was in prison, Peter Rachman, head of a landlord operation, sold Reggie a nightclub called Esmeralda's Barn, to ward off threats of further extortion. The location is where the Berkeley Hotel now stands.

This increased The Krays' influence in the West End by making them celebrities as well as criminals. The Kray twins adopted a norm according to which anyone who failed to show due respect would be severely punished. They were assisted by a banker named Alan Cooper who wanted protection against the Krays' rivals, the Richardsons, based in South London.

In the 1960s, the Kray brothers were widely seen as prosperous and charming celebrity nightclub owners and were part of the Swinging London scene. A large part of their fame was due to their non criminal activities as popular figures on the celebrity circuit, being photographed by David Bailey on more than one occasion and socialising with lords, MPs, socialites and show business characters, including George Raft, Frank Sinatra, Peter Sellers, Judy Garland, Diana Dors, Shirley Bassey, Liza Minnelli, Cliff Richard, Jayne Mansfield, Danny La Rue, and Barbara Windsor.

They were the best years of our lives. They called them the swinging sixties. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were rulers of pop music, Carnaby Street ruled the fashion world... and me and my brother ruled London. We were f*****g untouchable...  - Ronnie Kray, in his autobiography My Story.