The Great Train Robbery

A gang stopped a Royal Mail train in Buckinghamshire and took about £2.6 million. Most members were caught, and the case became famous in Britain.

Context

In the early hours of 8 August 1963 a gang tampered with trackside signals to halt the Royal Mail night train from Glasgow to London near Ledburn, close to Cheddington. They uncoupled the front carriages containing the high-value packages and had the train moved to Bridego Bridge, where sacks were passed down to waiting vehicles.

The haul of about £2.6 million was many times the annual pay of a typical worker and is often compared with tens of millions of pounds today. Reports say the gang, led by Bruce Reynolds, numbered around a dozen or more men. Driver Jack Mills was struck on the head and never fully recovered.

Police found the gang's hideout at Leatherslade Farm and identified several members through fingerprints. At trial in 1964 most defendants received long sentences, with some at 30 years, and only a small portion of the money, about £100,900, was recovered.

Two famous members, Charlie Wilson and Ronnie Biggs, escaped from prison. Biggs spent decades as a fugitive and returned to Britain in 2001.

Combined sentences on the thirteen men tried in 1964 totalled about 307 years, although several terms were later cut on appeal.