Days That Shook the World (2003) s02e05 Episode Script

The course of British history
is littered with criminal intent.
But two of the boldest heists ever attempted
stand out above all others -
the great train robbery
and the theft of the Crown Jewels.
Based on eye-witness accounts
this is a dramatised reconstruction of the events
as they happened on two days that shook the world.
It is the 9th May 1671.
Louis XIV of France
has agreed a treaty of neutrality
with the Hapsburg Empire.
In England, Charles II is on the throne
following the restoration of the monarchy.
And in London, a long-standing tradition
has just begun as the Crown Jewels
go on public display.
In a small disused church in London
a 53 year old man,
dressed in the traditional smock
of a clergyman is praying.
In just a few hours
he will lead an attempt to pull off
the boldest robbery of the age -
a theft that will target
the nation's most valuable treasures
and put his own life at risk.
The Tower of London.
77 year old Talbot Edwards
walks through the basement chamber
of the Martin Tower.
Edwards has one of the
most important jobs in the country.
He is the sole protector
of the Crown Jewels of England.
At the heart of the royal regalia -
the king's States Crown,
solid gold and
bedecked with 400 precious stones,
the golden orb,
inlaid with 600 jewels
and the solid gold
sovereign sceptre or staff.
22 years ago
the original Medieval Crown Jewels
were destroyed by Oliver Cromwell
soon after his republican army had defeated
Charles I in the English civil war.
Following the restoration
of the monarchy 11 years later,
the new king, Charles II, insisted on
having new ceremonial jewels
for his extravagant coronation.
They had cost a staggering 32,000 pounds.
The regalia now represent
the symbolic glory of the crown
and in particular
the glory of the current king.
Every morning Charles II
swims near his favourite home,
the palace of Whitehall.
Charles was only 19
when his father Charles I was executed
at the end of the English civil war.
Known as "the merry monarch"
Charles is so self-conscious
that he refuses to remove
his wig even while swimming.
The king is looking forward to his
41st birthday in three week's time.
Keeper of the Jewels, Talbot Edwards,
lives in an apartment above
the jewel room in the Martin Tower.
He does not receive a salary.
The kind inherited an impoverished throne
and the exchequer is over-stretched
so Edwards' only income
was to come from visitors
paying to see the jewels.
While his son is away fighting
on the continent in the Dutch wars
he alone must support his wife and daughter
on this meagre income.
Edwards has been looking forward to today.
He and his family
are due to meet a clergymen and his nephew,
hopefully a rich suitor for his daughter.
The clergyman has finished his prayers
and waits for four friends
tojoin him for breakfast
at an inn near the Tower of London.
His closest friend arrives first, Robert perrit,
a silk dyer,
followed by Richard Halliwell, William Smith
and Tom Hunt.
Once a Roundhead Soldier
fighting for Cromwell against Charles the First,
perrit is still against the Monarchy.
- You have true intention of this.
- I do indeed. Sure I have.
His friend, William Smith,
is a prominent anarchist.
Anti-Cromwell 20 years ago,
anti-monarch now.
Now you all tell me,
are you with me on this?
I'm with you, sir.
Of course we're with you.
Mr Halliwell.
Richard Halliwell, also an anarchist,
by trade a tobacco cutter,
this religious zealot
was described only four months ago
by London magistrates as
"full of traitorous matter
and a dangerous person".
Say a prayer, say a prayer for all of us.
- I will now. I will say a prayer for us.
- Alright
And for our success, if God wills it.
I've already prayed for us.
The bogus clergyman
who greets them all this morning
is Colonel Thomas Blood,
known as Old Blood.
There's enough money,
for all of us to be split -
The final and youngest of the rebels
is notorious highwayman Tom Hunt.
He is really the colonel's son,
Thomas Blood Junior.
The English crown ruled Ireland at this time
and after Charles II was reinstated in 1660
Cromwellians like Blood
quickly lost faith.
He began to plot against
the new royalist regime.
Last year he tried to
murder his arch enemy,
the Duke of Ormond.
One of the king's favourites,
Ormond had claimed
Blood's land
in Ireland four years ago.
In revenge Blood abducted the duke
and tried to shoot him in the street.
But his midnight attack failed
and earned him
a reputation as an outlaw.
Under the assumed rank of colonel,
he is now plotting
to steal the Crown Jewels.
But he cares nothing for their value.
His interest is in gaining
publicity for his cause
and in delivering
a humiliating slight to the king.
Three weeks ago
Old Blood arrived at the Martin Tower
to hatch his plan.
He was accompanied by
a woman pretending to be his wife,
thought to be an actress called Jenny Blaine.
This is your good lady?
With 1000 pounds bounty on his head,
as a result of the failed Ormond plot,
Blood was disguised then,
as now, as a parson.
The parson paid to see the Crown Jewels
and Talbot Edwards took Blood down
to the basement room where they were kept.
you can see.
Colonel Blood now surveys
the new Crown Jewels,
the most powerful symbols of
a ruling monarchy he despises.
They are beautiful, aren't they?
They are indeed.
As part of his plan,
Blood ingratiated himself with Edwards
but Jenny, his stooge wife,
suddenly became ill
complaining of
"a qualm upon her stomach".
The deception worked.
Edwards dashed off to get help.
Oh please. I'm sorry,
I think I need some fresh air.
Oh, allow me, madam.
Jenny was helped upstairs to lie down
and Blood started to make
a mental inventory of the room.
Blaine quickly recovered
and she and Blood left together.
Three days later,
in the next step of Blood's plan,
he returned to the Martin Tower
with four pairs of white gloves
to thank Mrs Edwards and their daughter
for looking after his wife.
we're so happy My dear,
look what the parson has brought for us.
The clergyman had mentioned
that his unmarried nephew
had "two or three hundred a year" in land.
The parson suggested the possibility of marriage
between his nephew and Edward's daughter.
A dinner was arranged
to discuss the matter further.
I'd love to, father.
King Charles is an energetic
and physical man.
He loves walking and sports.
Married for ten years,
the king also enjoys
a constant flux of mistresses,
including the notorious
actress Nell Gwyn.
He will have 13 children
by his mistresses
and none by his
long-suffering queen, Catherine.
Blood and his gang approach the Martin Tower.
The Martin Tower has only one entrance
and is flanked by imposing walls
and a deep moat.
The only way to steal the jewels
is for Edwards to
virtually give them away.
Blood's confidence tricks on Edwards
is the only way in to the prize.
The King is limbering up
before his favourite sport.
Charles is dedicated to tennis,
the game he plays with blistering energy.
He once weighed himself
before and after a game
and proved he had lost 4lbs
through his exertion.
Colonel Blood arrives
and greets Talbot Edwards
as an old friend.
Edwards proudly offers
to show his guests the Crown Jewels
while they wait for his daughter.
With Blood is his son
posing as his so-called nephew.
Tom Tom
Oh, this is the young man?
Fine young gentleman if I may
Tom Hunt
A pleasure, sir. A pleasure.
Come come come inside, yes.
Richard Halliwell guards
the door of the Martin Tower
as the other three go inside.
Halliwell too must stay obscure.
Like Blood, he has a bounty on his head.
William Smith keeps
watch outside the walls.
Talbot Edwards, meanwhile,
has no idea that the parson's friends
are all heavily armed.
Preparing their apartments upstairs,
Edwards' daughter is intrigued
to spot the young man she is to marry.
She sees Halliwell and presumes
the surly man is to be her fiance.
Here you are, young parson.
As you see, all safe
As soon as they are near the jewels,
Blood and perrit attack.
Blood tells Edwards if he cooperates
he won't be harmed.
Get down and shut up.
Keep quiet and you won't get hurt
Be quiet Shut up!
Shut up! Be quiet! Shut up!
Perrit hits him on the head with a mallet.
Still struggling,
Edwards tries to cry out
and one of the thieves
stabs him in the stomach.
You're point my Lord
Edwards is still alive
but decides that it is safer to play dead.
Blood only has eyes for the jewels.
The emblem of a whole nation
is inches from his grasp.
He immediately snatches
the most valuable treasure first -
the King's state crown.
But fate is about to
deal Blood a body blow.
At that very moment
Talbot Edwards' son Whyth
is entering the castle grounds -
home for the first time in ten years
after fighting as a mercenary in France.
Right, I'm onto it.
The sovereign sceptre,
solid gold with 393 jewels.
Blood Junior attempts to file it in half
as his father batters
the crown with a mallet
to flatten it enough to fit under his cloak.
It's a farcical scene
as Robert perrit stuffs
the orb down his breeches
and Thomas Blood Junior
continues to file the sceptre in half.
Suddenly, Richard Halliwell raises the alarm.
Talbot Edwards' son is heading straight
for the Martin Tower.
The thieves panic.
Ah come on. Come on, boy. Come on!
Blood decides to flee
and in the confusion the partially
filed sceptre is tossed to the ground.
Talbot Edwards fears for the crown
and for his life.
Treason, murder. Help!
His daughter hears his cries
and runs to him.
Moments later she rushes out to the
parade ground and raises the alarm.
the crown has been stolen!
Young Blood and Halliwell
race through the castle grounds,
searching for a quick exit.
But they are cornered.
Whyth Edwards has heard
his sister's cries for help
and he is heading for the Martin Tower.
Well take the crown and find a way out,
for god's sake!
There's no way out!
Halt! Halt I say!
In the name of the King I said
Blood and perrit panic.
Blood attempts to shoot
his way out but misses.
Edwards has Blood cornered.
As he closes in,
Colonel Blood fails to recock his pistol
and the game is up.
I said halt! Vagabond and rogue
Already an outlaw,
Blood has now been caught fleeing
with the state crown of England.
He faces certain death.
Blood makes one clear statement
to Whyth Edwards as he is led away.
It was a gallant attempt,
how unsuccessful so ever
for it was for a crown.
The King has won his game,
unaware of how much
he might have lost in the last hour.
Colonel Blood and Robert perrit
are immediately imprisoned at Whitehall,
then jailed at the Tower.
Blood and perrit are searched
on their way intojail at the Tower.
All precious gemstones
and jewels are retrieved.
Thomas Blood Junior
is also in the Tower.
Often involved with his father's schemes,
his own misdemeanours cost him
a spell in prison last July.
The 20 year old is now
contemplating the hangman's noose.
Within an hour of Blood's
attempt to steal the Crown Jewels
the three principle
conspirators are all in jail.
In the England of the 17th century
a man could be hanged for theft,
certainly for treason.
The infamy of Blood's assault
quickly spreads across the kingdom.
In a desperate attempt to delay the inevitable,
he immediately declares that he will confess
to no one except King Charles II himself.
They take the state crown
which they mallet - beyond repair,
they take my orb,
they leave the sceptre which is damaged.
According to one contemporary account,
Blood's old friend
the Duke of Buckingham,
prime Minister at the time,
infused into his majesty the curiosity of
seeing so extraordinary a person whose crime,
great as it was,
displayed extraordinary force of mind.
I'm intrigued to meet this fellow.
What an audacious chap he is
Blood has always piously excused his villainy,
aligning his life of crime to "Elords cause".
It appears that for now
Blood has been very lucky,
his appeal to the King is keeping him alive.
Three days after the arrests Colonel Blood
is brought from the Tower
to the court to meet the King.
- Ah. Blood.
- Your Majesty.
To the great surprise of his court,
Charles grants Old Blood
an audience a week later.
This is Blood's last chance.
His life hangs in the balance.
So, Blood, perhaps you'd
favour me with an explanation.
For less of a crime Charles beheaded
a group of fanatics ten years ago.
Blood plays his cards cleverly,
intimating to the King
that his powerful friends
would be most unhappy
to see his head on the block.
I that you will see fit
not to execute me
because I have several hundred friends
Charles understands the
frightening power of rebellion.
His father, King Charles I,
lost his head following a popular uprising.
A contemporary account,
the Newgate Calendar,
recounts Blood's attempt
to save his neck.
"While he magnified the spirit
and resolution of the party
to which he adhered and had always
acted against the monarchy
he insinuated his own and their veneration
for the person of the King".
By the river
Blood appeals to the King's vanity.
He tells him he had once been given
the assignment of shooting His Majesty,
he had hidden in the reeds of the Thames
at a place in Battersea park
where the King often swam.
But he was unable to shoot the monarch,
so taken was Old Blood with the nobility
and presence of the King.
magnificence. The weapon
clattered to the ground. I couldn't
The King asks the rogue,
"what if I should give you your life?".
And Blood replies
And I will endeavour to deserve it, sire.
I shall give due consideration
to your request. You may go.
Blood is sent back to await
his fate in the Tower.
His son and Robert perrit
also sit and await the King's decision.
They and the whole country
expect them to hang.
King Charles considers
Colonel Blood's appeal.
Knowing the threat of a war
with Holland looms
he is keen to avoid any treachery
from malcontents at home.
Should he make an example of Old Blood?
Should he avoid stirring up trouble?
Exactly 70 days after
the gang snatched the jewels,
Charles reaches his decision.
He signs Blood's pardon.
There is no provision yet
for his son Thomas Junior.
Colonel Blood's pardon goes beyond
the theft of the Crown Jewels.
The King forgives him for all treasons,
murders and felonies
committed throughout the last 11 years.
It cost the exchequer 7870 pounds
to repair the crown and sceptre.
Talbot Edwards survived the ordeal
by three years.
On his death
Edwards was replaced
with a formal armed guard,
still the protection for
the Crown Jewels to this day.
King Charles II
lived for another 14 years.
Three months before his 55th birthday
he died after a series of strokes.
Thomas Blood Junior wasn't hanged
but was freed four weeks after his father.
It is believed that
he later emigrated to America.
In 1680 Thomas Blood died saying
he would meet death unafraid.
In a bizarre twist there was a rumour
that the old man had faked his own death.
The body was exhumed and it was decided
that it was indeed Old Blood.
Apparently, one of his
most distinguishing features
was his bigger than usual thumb.
"Here lies the man who boldly hath run through
more villainies than ever England knew
"and ne'er to any friend he had was true.
"Here let him then, by all unpitied lie
and let's rejoice his time has come to die."
After a life of diving
between fantasy and reality
the only man to have ever snatched
the Crown Jewels was finally laid to rest.
It is the 8th August 1963
and a nuclear test ban treaty
is signed in New York.
Pope paul VI
is the new pope in the Vatican.
In Britain, Secretary of State for war,
John profumo,
has resigned following a sex scandal
and the British establishment
is about to be rocked again.
A train rolls steadily through the English
countryside just outside Warrington.
It's cargo is 128 mail sacks
and bank notes worth
an estimated 5 million pounds.
It is due to arrive in London
at 3:59 this morning
after a nine hourjourney.
At Crewe train station
two men wait at the track side,
a driver and his fireman,
ready to take over the locomotive
when it arrives in ten minutes
and take it to its final destination,
Euston Station.
138 miles south of Crewe,
in Buckinghamshire,
32 year old Bruce Reynolds
is changing into
the uniform of an army major.
"Who dares wins" says
the insignia on his beret.
He has 14 men under his command tonight.
He is about to mount
the biggest operation of his life.
Yesterday evening, shortly before 7pm
the Up Special left Glasgow
heading to London Euston.
At the same time Bruce Reynolds was trying to
deal with the growing frustration of his troops,
holed up in a broken down farmhouse the
15 young men had been waiting for two days.
Later tonight
they will meet the train
that has just departed from Scotland.
This is the TpO or travelling post office.
There are no passengers.
The train carries over 70 post office staff,
one guard, a driver and his assistant
known as the fireman.
One carriage is the post office sorting coach
for high value packets, the HVp.
As the train left Glasgow
58 year old train driver Jack Mills
was at home in Crewe.
He lives with his wife and two sons.
Oh eh Flo, I forgot to tell you,
I were talking to Dave t'other day.
He wants to go fishing again.
Jack knows the routine of the night shift.
He has been a train driver for 25 years.
He also understands
the prestige of driving the TpO.
The high value packets on board are
sent weekly by banks from all over the country.
They contain cash surplus
to individual banks' needs.
Last weekend was
a bank holiday in Scotland
so tonight an even greater amount
of money will be on board.
Which is why Bruce Reynolds
and his team are waiting for the train.
They plan to hold up the locomotive
and rob the travelling post office.
Five months ago
the great train robbery was just a dream.
Train robberies were the stuff of
wild west adventures and the movies.
South London is dominated
by the Richardson brothers.
Everyone wants a piece of the cake.
Bruce Reynolds is known as
the smartest jewel thief in London
but now he's found a new opportunity.
This self-educated charmer
learned his criminal craft
from an early age.
Starting out as a teenage shop-lifter,
Reynolds was sent to borstal by 16.
By 21
he found himself
in the dreaded Wandsworth prison.
It was called the Hate Factory.
You just learned to hate
society and everything else.
If society didn't care about me
I didn't care about society.
Simple as that.
Ten years on Bruce has committed
some lucrative thefts,
including an airport
payroll robbery a year ago.
But this evening is the big one.
Shortly before 9pm
the diesel locomotive D326
stops at Carlisle for ten minutes.
Frank Dewhurst and Les pen,
both classed as high grade postmen,
join the train.
Dewhurst has worked on the TpO for 12 years.
He is the supervisor.
Leatherslade Farm, the gang's base.
Bought anonymously through
a crooked solicitor
four months ago as a lay up.
Hidden from local traffic,
connected by only a single rough road
and unremarkable in every way.
Reynolds and his gang
have five hours to wait
before the train arrives
28 miles north of them
at the planned robbery spot.
Bruce Reynolds has found
the perfect location for the job -
quiet open countryside
and a railway bridge
with an escape road underneath,
Bridego Bridge.
The money bags will be unloaded down the
embankment, directly into the getaway vehicles.
No nearby houses, totally isolated.
After a botched robbery a year ago
Bruce realised railway signals
were the best way to stop a train.
A few hundred yards
from the Bridego Bridge
are a set of signals.
The train will be stopped
and then driven to the bridge.
So what you doing?
You know what we're doing.
You know what you're doing?
You know everyone knows what they're doing,
right? We all know what we're doing.
The gang is drawn from some of
London's most infamous criminals,
including Charlie Wilson, Ronnie Biggs
and Buster Edwards.
- Yes, boss. - Good to go?
Good to go.
But the real whiz kid is Roy John James.
The youngest of the boys,
Roy is 27 and nicknamed The Weasel.
After a spell in prison in the mid-50s
he was working as a milkman
when faster vehicles beckoned.
Roy James is now known to the world
as a champion racing driver.
Racing for only nine months
he is a natural.
Since March this year
he has won nine out
of 16 formulajunior races.
Only three days ago
he set the lap record at Aintree.
But Roy James has been
a criminal most of his life,
the best getaway driver around.
I was born with brains in my feet,
that's what my old man said.
Even my shadow don't catch up with me,
d'you know what I mean?
Yeah? Cos I'm the fastest boy out the blocks.
And there ain't no stopping me, yeah?
Bruce Reynolds thinks
about his wife Franny
and his son, two year old Nick.
This will be his last job,
the big one,
and it's all for Nick.
Nick won't be going
the way of the hate factory.
I left school at 14,
my old man at 12.
Education is the key
to everything, the future.
I just wanted the best for Nick.
Train driver Jack Mills
takes the same snack
to work every night.
His wife Flo always cooks him
a bacon and egg sandwich
and he carries it in his Oxo tin
in a gas mask box.
It will take him about 25 minutes
to walk to Crewe station.
The gang begins
changing into military uniform.
With an army base only a few miles away
Reynolds won't attract attention
on manoeuvres at this time of night.
The Major surveys his troops
before preparing to leave.
The scene was reminiscent of all
the old war films that I'd seen -
the strung out faces,
perpetual fag hanging from dry lips,
the long silences.
Secret meetings in Finsbury park
had provided a time table, security details,
numbers of train staff.
In Edwards' flat in Camberwell,
south London,
the gang began to meet, led by Reynolds.
I didn't consider myself a leader really.
More of a dynamo to get it all going.
Criminals can be quite lazy.
From the Ulsterman
they gleaned an idea of the prize -
potentially 6 million pounds.
The master came up with a plan.
The north sheds
next to Crewe railway station.
Jack Mills meets David Whitby,
his regular fireman.
31, 32 in half an hour, right?
Got a watch.
Make sure it's working.
We're doing it in 30 minutes.
All clear on that, yeah?
Whoever's nervous,
just keep a cool head.
We all back each other up, alright.
Les, we've got one chance at this, alright.
Roy James is frustrated.
For the last four months
he has been hanging around train yards.
The train arrives at Crewe.
Jack and David take over the cab.
What have we got here, lad?
- Er lpswich, Bishop, yes.
- Yes, mm hm. Yep
By 12:30 the train
is heading out towards the Midlands,
Buckinghamshire and finally London Euston.
At approximately 2am
Major Reynolds and the gang
arrive at Bridego Bridge,
just over half a mile from
where the train will be stopped first.
Reynolds and Roy James set off
to cut the local phone line.
Agile Roy is perfect for this job.
A fast driver
but also one of the most successful
cat burglars on the French Riviera.
The TpO train passes Bletchley,
21 miles away.
The gang are waiting.
At Sears crossing,
200 yards up the line,
lie the signals.
Two signals.
The distant signal is the first
to be seen by the driver.
It has two lights.
It is usually set to green,
meaning all clear.
However, the gang sets
this signal to amber,
sending a warning to slow down
and indicate a probable
red light on the second signal.
At the second signal
they place a glove over the green light
and illuminate the red light permanently
by disconnecting the automatic system
and attaching four six volt batteries.
The train driver must now
slow down at the first signal
and stop at the second.
As the gang waits Reynolds lights
a Montecristo number two cigar,
knowing he won't be able to finish it.
My favourite. The hunter's moon,
the poacher's friend.
I'll see you back at the bridge.
Be lucky.
I looked at Roy.
His face was as composed and focused
as he was in a picture in the Motoring press
a week before at Goodwood.
You haven't been for ages, no.
Aye up, what's this?
We've got a red.
Well what d'you think it is?
I don't know.
- D'you think it might be a cow?
- Something's not right.
Jack applies the brakes.
The train stops six yards
from the red home signal.
you better get out and have a look.
- Can you see owt? - No, not yet.
It is usual practice for the fireman
to get out and investigate a red signal.
Something's wrong.
Can you see owt?
No, not yet.
David Whitby sees two men
lurking by the coaches further back.
He presumes they must be postmen.
What's up, mate?
Whitby is led away from the coaches.
The two men are uncoupling the locomotive
and the HVp coach
from the rest of the train.
One of them is Roy James.
Go on, go.
They have mistakenly ignored
the connecting power pipes.
What the bloody hell's
Get get back! Get back!
Jack Mills is coshed repeatedly.
He is bleeding profusely and is in shock.
You go on your own and get him now!
And you!
Unaware that Jack Mills has been injured,
Reynolds watches
as the gang's driver
is brought onto the locomotive.
In the high value carriage
Frank Dewhurst and Les pen
are unaware that their coach
has been uncoupled.
You stay there
Confused and nervous,
the gang's driver is unable to
make the train move and gives up.
It's a problem.
Reynolds commands the robbers
to get Jack Mills back again.
now. Right, go, drive.
Keep your eyes down. Keep your eyes down.
Frank Dewhurst and the HVp postman
realise the train has been separated
as they hear the
connecting steam pipe break.
Better get to the door.
Hold on, hold on.
I'll see what I can do with it.
Struggling to maintain power
due to the fault caused when
Roy James separated the train carriages,
Jack drives the train 1200 yards forward.
Jack Mills is then pushed
into the engine compartment
and handcuffed to David Whitby.
Charlie Wilson and seven of the gang
race round to the back of the HVp coach.
One of the offside windows smashed
as if something had come in.
Frank, it's a raid!
Someone shouted "it's a raid!".
I tried to stack bags against the doors.
Get off. Get out you lot, get out of here.
Get down! Get down!
Les pen and Frank Dewhurst
were both hit repeatedly
with the handle of the axe.
Charlie Wilson and the boys
start in with the axes
into the high value packet cupboards.
Come on!
Down here
Meanwhile, Jack Mills and David Whitby
are forced onto the tracks and lie down
with their faces to the ground.
One man was standing over us
when we were on grass.
He said I'll get your address
when this is all over
and send you a few quid".
David Whitby watches as a human chain
begins to pass the mail bags down
to the vehicles under the bridge.
here you are!
I had a cigarette
and I tried to light one for Mr Mills
and one of the raiders said
"I'll have one if you have one to spare"
and I gave him one.
They have unloaded 120
of the 128 bags
but time is up.
Reynolds knows that
the alarm will soon be raised
when the train fails to
arrive at the next station.
Jack Mills and David Whitby are taken into
the rear of the second coach,
still handcuffed.
The gang are soon all in the vehicles
heading back to Leatherslade Farm.
Come on.
The mood is euphoric.
Roy James had suggested
making a fast getaway to London
but Reynolds decided
it was safer to hide out
than risk getting stopped
by the police on the way.
120 mail sacks,
each one holding over
636 high value packets.
The convoy arrives at the farm.
Reynolds hears the first radio
broadcast by Buckinghamshire police.
"You won't believe this,
they've stolen a train" says the voice.
Alright then, let's get the loot out the back.
The mail bags are stacked along the walls.
Soon the beer is flowing.
It is Ronnie Biggs' 34th birthday today
which adds to the party atmosphere.
Around me a party was starting.
Each man getting off on the greatest,
most cynical drug in the world.
Jack Mills and David Whitby,
still handcuffed together,
have now been brought to
the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital.
How long have we been waiting here?
Jack Mills has five
lacerations around his head,
all between an inch and two inches long.
One is half an inch deep.
He requires 14 stitches and is in shock.
He and David Whitby will have to wait before
a policeman can be spared
to remove the handcuffs.
One, two, three, four, five
The gang is in celebratory mood,
drinking and playing Monopoly
with real stolen bank notes.
No one realises how significant
the game is going to be.
How much have we got?
Well, only 2,595,997 pounds
and ten shillings!
The average Briton earns
20 pounds a week.
With a cut of 150,000 pounds,
each of the train robbers
is a very rich man indeed.
Advance to go.
Oooh, look at that. Shine on, Lady Luck.
Right
put my Nick's name up for Harrow.
Apparently Churchill went there.
I thought Eton was a fancy
If it's good enough for Churchill
it's good enough for Nick.
Anyway, Eton's common.
Probably why I never went there.
The gang prepares to split up
and leave the next morning.
Reynolds orders a complete
clean up of the farm.
He wants no fingerprints
left for the police to find.
As an extra precaution,
someone has been paid
28,000 pounds to come in after them
and destroy any evidence.
Five days later a local village
bobbie called John Woolley
chanced across Leatherslade farm
and found more than
the robbers were banking on.
The gang's clean up man
failed to do his job properly.
A bonfire had destroyed a lot of evidence
but fingerprints were found on plates,
money packets and on the
Monopoly pieces used by the gang.
Roy James' prints were found
on a copy of Movie Screen magazine.
Ten days after the robbery,
and seemingly untouched by recent events,
Roy James won two races at Cadwell park
but the big dreams were not to come true.
Within four months ten members
of the gang would be caught.
In December
the police raided
Roy James's flat in London.
11 of the gang were tried
between January and April 1964.
As Roy was sent down for 30 years
Bruce Reynolds watched the reports on a television
in his hideout in Albert Mews, London,
now living under a pseudonym and still free.
Within 18 months Charlie Wilson
escaped from Winson Green prison.
Roy James, his motor racing ambitions
were never fulfilled
and he died in 1999.
Frequently off sick from work
Jack Mills died of leukaemia in 1970.
He was 65.
Only 336,518 pounds of the
stolen money was ever found.
Bruce Reynolds went on
the run for five years
but in 1968 he was arrested
and sentenced to 25 years.
He was released in 1978.
None of his share of the money
has ever been recovered.