the krays
Contact sheet 'David Bailey'
Twin brothers Ronald "Ronnie" Kray (24 October 1933 – 17 March 1995) and Reginald "Reggie" Kray (24 October 1933 – 1 October 2000) were English gangsters who were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the EastEnd of London during the 1950s and 1960s.
Ronald, commonly called Ron or Ronnie, most likely suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
With their gang, "The Firm", the Krays were involved in armed robberies, arson, protection rackets, assaults, and the murders of Jack "The Hat" McVitie and George Cornell.
As West End nightclub owners, they mixed with prominent entertainers including Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and with politicians. The Krays were much feared within their milieu, and in the 1960s became celebrities in their own right, even being photographed by David Bailey and interviewed on television.
They were arrested on 9 May 1968 and convicted in 1969 by the efforts of a squad of detectives led by Detective Superintendent Leonard "Nipper" Read, and were both sentenced to life imprisonment.
Ronnie remained in Broadmoor Hospital until his death on 17 March 1995, but Reggie was released from prison on compassionate grounds in August 2000, eight weeks before his death from cancer.
Ronald, commonly called Ron or Ronnie, most likely suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
With their gang, "The Firm", the Krays were involved in armed robberies, arson, protection rackets, assaults, and the murders of Jack "The Hat" McVitie and George Cornell.
As West End nightclub owners, they mixed with prominent entertainers including Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and with politicians. The Krays were much feared within their milieu, and in the 1960s became celebrities in their own right, even being photographed by David Bailey and interviewed on television.
They were arrested on 9 May 1968 and convicted in 1969 by the efforts of a squad of detectives led by Detective Superintendent Leonard "Nipper" Read, and were both sentenced to life imprisonment.
Ronnie remained in Broadmoor Hospital until his death on 17 March 1995, but Reggie was released from prison on compassionate grounds in August 2000, eight weeks before his death from cancer.
early life
Ronnie and Reggie Kray were born on 24 October 1933 in Hoxton, East London, to Charles David "Charlie" Kray, Sr., (10 March 1907 – 8 March 1983), a scrap gold dealer, and Violet Lee (5 August 1909 – 7 August 1982).
Reggie was born about 10 minutes before his twin Ronnie. Their parents already had a six-year old son,
Charles Jr, (9 July 1926 – 4 April 2000)
A sister, Violet, born 1929, died in infancy. When the twins were three years old, they contracted diphtheria but recovered. Ron Kray almost died in 1942 from a head injury suffered in a fight with his twin brother.
In 1938, the Kray family moved from Stean Street, Hoxton, to 178 Vallance Road, Bethnal Green. At the beginning of the Second World War, 32-year-old Charles Kray was conscripted into the army, but went into hiding rather than serve.
The twins first attended Wood Close School in Brick Lane and then went to Daniel Street School.
The influence of their maternal grandfather, Jimmy "Cannonball" Lee, caused both boys to take up amateur boxing, at that time a popular pastime for working class boys in the East End.
Sibling rivalry spurred them on, and they both achieved some success. They are said to have never lost a match
before turning professional at age 19.
Reggie was born about 10 minutes before his twin Ronnie. Their parents already had a six-year old son,
Charles Jr, (9 July 1926 – 4 April 2000)
A sister, Violet, born 1929, died in infancy. When the twins were three years old, they contracted diphtheria but recovered. Ron Kray almost died in 1942 from a head injury suffered in a fight with his twin brother.
In 1938, the Kray family moved from Stean Street, Hoxton, to 178 Vallance Road, Bethnal Green. At the beginning of the Second World War, 32-year-old Charles Kray was conscripted into the army, but went into hiding rather than serve.
The twins first attended Wood Close School in Brick Lane and then went to Daniel Street School.
The influence of their maternal grandfather, Jimmy "Cannonball" Lee, caused both boys to take up amateur boxing, at that time a popular pastime for working class boys in the East End.
Sibling rivalry spurred them on, and they both achieved some success. They are said to have never lost a match
before turning professional at age 19.
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national service
The Kray twins were notorious locally for their gang and its violence. They narrowly avoided being sent to prison several times, and 1952 both were called up for national service with the Royal Fusiliers. They reported, but they deserted several times, always being recaptured. While absent without leave, the brothers assaulted a police constable who tried to arrest them. They were held at the Tower of London (among the very last prisoners ever kept there) before being transferred to Shepton Mallet military prison in Somerset for a month to await court-martial. They were convicted and sent to the Home Counties Brigade Depot jail in Canterbury, Kent The Kray twins were notorious locally for their gang and its violence. They narrowly avoided being sent to prison several times, and 1952 both were called up for national service with the Royal Fusiliers. They reported, but they deserted several times, always being recaptured. While absent without leave, the brothers assaulted a police constable who tried to arrest them. They were held at the Tower of London (among the very last prisoners ever kept there) before being transferred to Shepton Mallet military prison in Somerset for a month to await court-martial. They were convicted and sent to the Home Counties Brigade Depot jail in Canterbury, Kent The Kray twins were notorious locally for their gang and its violence. They narrowly avoided being sent to prison several times, and 1952 both were called up for national service with the Royal Fusiliers. They reported, but they deserted several times, always being recaptured. |
Reg & Ron
The Twins & Mum Violet
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Ronnie & Christine Keeler
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While absent without leave, the brothers assaulted a police constable who tried to arrest them. They were held at the Tower of London (among the very last prisoners ever kept there) before being transferred to Shepton Mallet military prison in Somerset for a month to await court-martial.
They were convicted and sent to the Home Counties Brigade Depot jail in Canterbury, Kent. Their behaviour in prison was so bad that they both received dishonourable discharges from the army. For their few weeks in prison, when their conviction was certain, they tried to dominate the exercise area outside their one-man cells. They threw tantrums, emptied their latrine bucket over a sergeant, dumped a dixie (a large camp kettle) full of hot tea on another guard, handcuffed a guard to their prison bars with a pair of stolen cuffs, and burned their bedding. Major Peter B Engel, RAMC was tasked with administering sedation to try and subdue the pair. He used the largest, longest hypodermic needle he could find and, with great difficulty, did manage to make the two injections. Major Engel was the only man the twins were scared of. Before their conviction, when they were moved from a one-man cell to a communal one, they assaulted their guard with a china vase and escaped. |
Quickly recaptured, while awaiting transfer to civilian authority for crimes committed while at large, they spent their last night in Canterbury drinking cider, eating crisps, and smoking cigarillos courtesy of the young national servicemen acting as their guards.
nightclub owners
Esmerald's Barn
Their criminal records and dishonorable discharges ended their boxing careers, and they turned to crime.
They bought a rundown local snooker club in Bethnal Green, where they started several protection. By the end of the 1950s, the Krays were involved in hijacking, armed robbery and arson, through which they acquired a few clubs and other properties.
In 1960 Ronnie Kray was imprisoned for 18 months for running a protection racket and related threats.
While he was in prison, Peter Rachman, head of a violent landlord operation, gave Reggie a nightclub called Esmeralda's Barn on the Knightsbridge end of Wilton Place next to Joan's Kitchen, a bistro. The location is where the Berkeley Hotel now stands, on the corner opposite the church.
This increased the Krays' influence in the West End, by now celebrities rather than criminals. They were assisted by a banker named Alan Cooper, who wanted protection from the Krays' rivals, the Richardsons, based in South London.
They bought a rundown local snooker club in Bethnal Green, where they started several protection. By the end of the 1950s, the Krays were involved in hijacking, armed robbery and arson, through which they acquired a few clubs and other properties.
In 1960 Ronnie Kray was imprisoned for 18 months for running a protection racket and related threats.
While he was in prison, Peter Rachman, head of a violent landlord operation, gave Reggie a nightclub called Esmeralda's Barn on the Knightsbridge end of Wilton Place next to Joan's Kitchen, a bistro. The location is where the Berkeley Hotel now stands, on the corner opposite the church.
This increased the Krays' influence in the West End, by now celebrities rather than criminals. They were assisted by a banker named Alan Cooper, who wanted protection from the Krays' rivals, the Richardsons, based in South London.
