When Frank Sinatra came to London in the early 1970s, he made a special visit in his limo to Eva in her little terrace house in South London to pay his respects. But few would perhaps know about the equally incredible lives led by his three sisters. 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. He appeared on pop records and in television documentaries, toured his one-man show of criminal reminiscences (flexing a pair of gilded pliers), and found himself invited into bookshops to sign copies of his memoirs. Frankie Fraser was tried at the Old Bailey for Harts murder, while six others, including Eddie Richardson, faced lesser charges. He really did live by a code of honour which he took with him to the grave. 42 years a lag She had died in. Frankie Fraser was a south London gangster who knew no language but violence and spent half his life behind bars. Fraser became a minor celebrity of sorts, appearing on television shows such as Operation Good Guys,[18] Shooting Stars,[19] and the satirical show Brass Eye,[20] where he said Noel Edmonds should be shot for killing Clive Anderson (an incident invented by the show's producers), and writing an autobiography. At the age of five, Fraser, running in the road to beg for cigarette cards, was knocked down, and from his injuries he developed meningitis. As a solicitor, I defended him in the trial following the Parkhurst riot and as a result wrote a number of books with him. Some became pals with young actresses as they partied in Soho nightclubs and stole dresses to order for them to wear on the red carpet. Charles Richardson was a criminal businessman who reputedly specialised in various tortures administered at secret courts at which he presided, sometimes robed like a judge, a knife or a gun to hand. Francis Davidson "Frankie" Fraser, better known as "Mad" Frankie Fraser,was an English gang member and criminal who spent 42 years in prison for numerous violent offences. Afraid of being heavily medicated for bad behaviour, Fraser stayed out of trouble and was released in 1955. Throughout his life he denied the justice of this conviction, but he was happy to trade off it. Fraser was the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty. Fraser also appeared as East End crime boss Pops Den in the feature film Hard Men, a forerunner of British gangster movies such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and had a documentary made of his life, Mad Frank. The Kray twins (pictured) held The Forty Thieves member Eva Fraser in high regard. Aged seven, Ms Pitts was stealing milk and bread to provide food for her five siblings. In 1991, while emerging from Turnmills nightclub in Clerkenwell, London, he was shot at by an unidentified gunman. Members of The Forty Thieves worked department stores including Selfridges in teams of three or four during hoisting trips up to three times a week. Many of the Forty Thieves were noted for their beauty as well as their shoplifting skills, such as Madeline Partridge and her sister Laura, whose mother was often used by Diamond to sell stolen goods. Their loot would be stuffed into these 'hoister's drawers', allowing the women to leave the stores undetected. 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. She helped support her young siblings by taking milk and bread from neighbour's doorsteps. Old London Photographs | This is Eva Fraser, sister of gangster " Mad At the age of five, he moved with his family to a flat on Walworth Road, Elephant and Castle. After being sent to HM Prison Durham for taking part in bank robberies, he was again certified insane and this time was sent to Broadmoor Hospital. The raids seem often to have been left to chance, and he was particularly unfortunate with cars. His last jail term ended in 1989, but in 2011 he was handed an Asbo after getting into an argument with a fellow pensioner at the sheltered accommodation where he lived in Bermondsey. [3][4], Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London. ", A deserter during the war he pretended to be mad to avoid the call-up Fraser was certified insane three times and spent time in Broadmoor secure hospital. They enjoyed buying nice things with the money and putting on the posh. Fraser himself was accused of pulling out the teeth of victims with a pair of pliers. [25] In June 2013, the 89-year-old Fraser was served with an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) by police after a row with another resident. Swathed in luxurious fur coats, wearing diamond rings as a knuckledusters and hats to hide their stolen wares, Britain's most notorious all-female gang ruledthe tenements of Waterloo and Elephant and Castle and earned the respect of Soho's most feared underworld bosses. Born inLambeth, south London, Frankie committed his first crime at the age of 13, when he stole a packet of cigarettes and was sent to an approved school. Members of The Forty Thieves, whose mugshots were captured by the Police Gazette ahead of regular stays at Holloway Prison, often wore beautifully designed hats, coats and dresses in order to fit in - known as 'putting on the posh'. She was one of the top thieves during the war. Though like Eva, she struggled to come to terms with the choice facing women to work or marry. He was still touring clubs and pubs in 2011. Yet they fiercely guarded their right to 'earn' their own money. Had it all gone to plan, she could have inhabited a very different side of the West End to her little sister Eva. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road inWaterloo,London on December 13, 1923. 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. contact IPSO here, 2001-2023. Even decent folk were often only too happy to 'take a bit of crooked' to have something new. Born to criminal parents in Southwark, South London, in 1886, her first crimes were aiding and abetting men. 'Mad Frank' the thug, hitman and enforcer She got six months in jail, for stealing stockings from Bentalls in Kingston upon Thames. It was almost as if the biggest thrill of all was the act of stealing itself. The following year he was involved in a torture trial the Old Bailey, where members of the gang were charged with electrocuting, whipping and burning those disloyal to them. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London on December 13, 1923. 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. So it was in January 1965, when a club owner called Benny Coulston was hauled before Richardson for swindling him out of 600 over a consignment of cigarettes. She helped him sell on his loot. The Forty Thieves, a London-based exclusively female gang whose exploits were worse than those depicted in BBC drama the Peaky Blinders, posed as wealthy housewives innocently browsing the rails of the UK's most luxurious clothing stores. Mother of [private daughter (1940s - unknown)] Died 2000s. Notorious for high-speed getaways, she was eventually caught stealing lingerie and sentenced to hard labour in prison. Richardson Gang - Wikipedia This resulted in Fraser returning to prison once again - this time to serve a seven-year sentence. Descendants . Jack 'Spot' Comer showing the scar on his face left by Frankie Fraser and Alf Warren (GETTY), By 1956, Fraser had racked up 15 convictions and had twice been certified insane. He was frequently punished for breaking prison rules or fighting prison officers: "I've done more bread and water than any man alive. Pictured: The female cast of the hit BBC show Peaky Blinders. 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! 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. Nevertheless his campaigns and, on the outside, those of Eva, did bring the attention of the general public to the unpalatable conditions in which prisoners served then their sentences. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Tue 11 Jun 2013 11.55 EDT He may be in his 90th year but "Mad" Frankie Fraser is still causing mayhem. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Fraser was just 13 when he was sent to an approved school for stealing 40 cigarettes. But after shoving their stolen goods into waiting cars the women would head back to the grotty slums of Waterloo and Elephant and Castle - where their 'queen' exchanged the expensive items for a generous weekly wage. The notorious English gangster turned to a life of a crime and before he knew it, he was behind bars. Mink stoles and furs were the top prize, but some of the gang stole silverware and one even put on a maternity girdle to pinch an entire china tea set. In 1969 Fraser led the Parkhurst prison riot on the Isle of Wight and found himself back in court charged with incitement to murder. He had been shot in the face. The family was hard-working and kept themselves clean [out of crime].. The Krays, according to Frank, were little more than thieves ponces.. During the 1950s, Fraser's main occupation was as bodyguard to well-known gangster Billy Hill. of James Fraser and Margaret Alice (Anderson) Fraser. The two Richardson brothers were convicted, and the elder, Charles, sentenced to 25 years. After one snatch, he and his companion were arrested when their car would not start. Frankie Fraser Wiki & Bio - everipedia.org His mother was of Irish and Norwegian descent, while his father was half Native-American. 'They didn't see anything wrong in it because these things were too expensive for most people to afford and shops had insurance. He stopped following a warning from the Kray Twins. His mother was of Irish and Norwegian descent, while his father was half Native-American. Fraser was defended by a young solicitor called James Morton, who later became an author and wrote a history of Londons gangland in 1992. When the heat from the cops in London got too much, they headed off to the Costa del Crime to seek their fortunes there. His parents were honest and hard-working, but Frankie and his big sister Eva, to whom he was closest, soon turned to crime. Here are some pictures of Eva Fraser - MAD FRANK and SONS | Facebook Frankie Fraser's Last Stand: Directed by Matt Blyth. 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. The singer, 29, bared his chest and showed off his . Aged 17 she was convicted for stealing from a hat shop in Oxford Street. With Frankie Fraser, Chris Keenan, Steve Box, Michael Boyd. An unregenerate villain of the deepest dye, Fraser satisfied the public appetite for vicarious thrill-seeking with a series of self-exculpatory memoirs in the 1990s that launched him on a twilight career as a celebrity criminal. 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. I just waited, caught up with him, knocked him about and strung him up with his dog, Fraser remembered. Who was 'Mad' Frankie Fraser? | The Sun Tony Lambrianou, a one-time henchman of the rival Kray brothers, was also a fan. 'Mad Frankie' Fraser - a legend in his own gaol time Frankie Fraser, who has died aged 90, was a notorious torturer and hitman for the Richardson gang of south London criminals in the 1960s; he spent 42 years behind bars before achieving a. It wasnt that we chose to be thieves, said Patrick. Beezy reveals how the girls father would beat their mother a big influence on their outlook. MAD FRANK and SONS - Home - Facebook Shegot her first criminal record aged just 14 and, in 1923, she was jailed after running out of a jeweller's with a tray of 34 diamond rings straight into the arms of a policeman. Even the gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser, whose sister Eva was a leading light in the gang in the thirties and forties, spoke with great reverence about Alice Diamond. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. Fraser was jailed along with other members of the Richardson gang for violently punishing people whom the Richardsons believed owed them money. 'It was not just a man's world, despite the countless column inches still spent poring over the phenomenon that was the Kray Twins,' she added. He spent more than 40 years in prison. As people facedblackouts, rationing and a lack of professional policing due toconscription, Fraser had ample opportunities for criminal activities, such as stealing from houses while the occupants were hiding for safety in air-raid shelters. '", 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. Frasers partner in this endeavour was Bobby Warren, an uncle of the boxing promoter Frank Warren. In 1966 he was charged with the murder of Richard Hart, who was shot at a club in Catford, but the charges were dropped when a witness changed their testimony.

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