Top 10 Facts about the Great Train Robbery (1963)

Bridego Bridge – Great Train Robbery Site. Photo By Rob Farrow – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Facts about the Great Train Robbery (1963)

A first of its kind in British history, the Great Train Robbery of 1963 saw the theft of around £ 2.3 million in hard cash. The scandal shook the English to their core. It was named the Robbery of the Century.

The theft took place on Thursday, August 8^th, 1963. It was executed by 17 people; 15 career criminals from different gangs led by mastermind, Bruce Reynolds and two informants.

The targeted Royal Mail train was headed for Euston, London from Glasgow, Scotland. Because it was a bank holiday weekend, Reynolds and his team knew that large sums of money would be transported on Thursday.

1. A Senior Royal Mail Officer Aided In Plotting The Great Train Robbery

Because Reynolds had never raided trains before, he sought the assistance of the South Coast Raiders, an experienced criminal gang from London. The team put together a plan with the help of a security officer working at Royal Mail.

The officer was the key informant on how many bags of money the train was transporting. The whole plot took months to orchestrate; the details were carefully planned.

Learn about famous train robberies in the U.S here.

2. The Train Drivers Were The First Victims Of The Robbery

View towards ‘Sears Crossing’ where the robbers took control of the train. Photo By Sealman – Wikimedia Commons

In order for the train to stop, the gang had to be discreet and unforeseen. The smartest way to go about it was to alter the signal light at one of the train’s railway bridges known as Sears crossing.

After departing Glasgow Central Station, the Royal Mail Train headed out for London. It arrived at Sears at 3:00am where it came to a halt after noticing the red signal light. The co-driver, David Whitby, walked out to confirm with the signalman what the problem was.

 David was unexpectedly attacked by one of the gang members while another rendered the train driver in the train cab unconscious.

3. There Were No Security Alarms On The Royal Mail Train During The Great Train Robbery

By 1963, the Travelling Post Office had taken adequate security measures installing alarms and door catches in several of the HVP coaches. Those without the stated were reserved in their respective train stations.

The Royal Mail train had 12 carriages in total and only one was a high-value package (HVP) coach.  On the day of the robbery, only the reserved coaches were available for transit as the other HPV carriages were out of service.

With no security measures in place, jacking the carriage was a piece of cake. The carriage carrying the cash was transported to Bridego Bridge, half a mile down the railway, after its stop at Sear Crossroads.

4. Two Vehicles With Similar License Plates Were Used To Throw Off Possible Police Pursuit

At Bridego Bridge, two Land rovers and an Austin Loadstar truck were waiting for the arrival of the HPV coach. A human chain was used as a conveyor belt and the mailbags were transferred in around 15 minutes.

One hundred and twenty bags were loaded on the truck. As a destruction strategy, each of the two Land rovers had similar license plates. The vehicles set off and reached their hideout in Oakley, Buckinghamshire at 4:30 am.   

5. Telephone Lines Were Cut To Avoid Tip-Offs

Reynolds and his team ensured that there was no telephone connection available before jumping the train. It gave them enough time to offload the bags from the train to the runaway truck without any police interference.

However, one railman rang the alarm after hitchhiking a train heading to Cheddington, Buckinghamshire. A broadcast on the robbery was then made on a police radio at around 4:20 am, an hour after the heist.

Learn about other famous robberies on the Discover Walks website.

6. The Hideout Was Purchased Two Months Prior To The Great Train Robbery

Map of some places connected to the robbery. Photo By Cmglee and Open Street Map contributors – Wikimedia Commons

The Leatherslade farmhouse was purchased 8 weeks in advance to serve as the gang’s hideout. It was approximately 43 km from the anticipated crime scene, a 45-minute drive using minor routes.

Upon arrival, the collected money was split into full and small shares. Each of the 16 robbers got 150,000 pounds while the small chunks were distributed among the other associates.

When they caught the broadcast on the radio, the gang was aware that their hideout would soon be uncovered. Their initial plan was to leave on Sunday, but they quickly switched plans and dispersed two days before. The farmhouse was discovered 5 days after the robbery.

7. The Burglars of The Great Train Robbery Left A Trail Of Evidence

Image of fingerprints. Photo By Immo Wegmann – Unsplash

The execution was seamless. Everyone played their part except for one man under the alias Mark.

Mark’s crucial task was to get rid of all evidence from their hideout in the Leatherslade farmhouse. He was to burn the building down and clear the trucks that were used to transport the bags from Bridego Bridge.

A neighbour of the farmhouse informed the police about the suspicious activity that seemed to be going on the property. Pieces of the jigsaw puzzle came together after retrieving fingerprints, the getaway vehicles, and some notes left behind from the robbery.

8. 13 Out Of 17 Members Were Arrested and Convicted By The British Courts

The brains behind the heist, Bruce Reynolds, was arrested in 1969 after fleeing the country. He was sentenced to 25 years in HM Prison Durham.

The other 12 identified suspects were Ronnie Biggs, Gordon Gody, Bob Wech, Charlie Wilson, Buster Edwards, Roy James, Jimmy White, John Daly, Jim Hussey, Buster Edwards, Roger Cordrey, and Tommy Wisbey

 ‘Old Pete’, an unknown associate of Jimmy White, Henry Thomas, Patrick McKenna, and Danny Pembroke were the only robbers who successfully evaded the law.

Find out about the 20 most famous train robbers in the world, including Bruce Reynolds on the website. 

9. Two of The Arrested Gang Members Of The Great Train Robbery Broke Out Of Prison

Charlie Wilson’s role in the plot was to distribute the acquired money amongst the gang members. He was apprehended less than a year after the robbery but escaped from HMP Winson Green four months later.

Charlie successfully evaded the law for four years. He was recaptured in January 1968 and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

Ronnie Biggs was responsible for overseeing the movement of the train from Sears Crossing to Bridego Bridge. Unfortunately for him, his fingerprints were found on a bottle at Leatherslade Farmhouse. This led to his immediate arrest.

In 1965, Biggs escaped from Wandsworth Prison. He fled to Paris where he altered his facial appearance with plastic surgery.

After being on the run for 36 years, Biggs returned to the U.K where he was detained. Due to his deteriorating health, he was released on compassionate grounds in 2009. He died three years later at the Carlton Court Care Home, north London.

10. The Great Train Robbery Inspired Numerous Literature Works

Newspaper advertisement for Edwin S. Porter’s film The Great Train Robbery (Edison Manufacturing Company, 1903). Photo By Edison Manufacturing Company – Wikimedia Commons

Various works of literature have been written by gang members, investigators, and other great authors. The great train robbery has also been incorporated into video games such as Borderlands (2012), Starcraft (2010), and board games such as The Great Train Robbery (1970).

The latest film production is a BBC TV series, The Great Train Robbery. It was aired on August 2013 as a two-part.  

Though the actual carriages were not preserved, a monopoly board and banknote retrieved from the farmhouse were kept at the Thames Valley Police Museum for public viewing.

The burglars stole a total of £2.3 million which is 15 times the value of the British Pound today. Unfortunately, only a portion of the money was recovered.

Interested to know about other train robberies? Click here to read about the 10 most famous train robberies in history.