frankie fraser sister eva

On 26 November, Fraser died after his family made the decision to turn off his life-support machine. However, according to a new documentary, he is clearly not going gentle into any good night. Author Beezy Marsh said: 'These women fought harder than the men and were feared by men and women in their communities. He also ran a coach tour pointing out to a spectrum of customers the old criminal London. Fraser treated his various brushes with death as an occupational hazard: his thigh bone was shattered by a bullet fired during the melee in Catford, and part of his mouth was shot away in an incident in May 1991 when someone botched an attempt to assassinate him outside a nightclub in Farringdon. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. The first came when he was in the army during the second world war, the second time when he was sent to Cane Hill psychiatric hospital in Coulsdon, Surrey, and the third when he was transferred from Durham prison to Broadmoor. News reports were checked to see how much was owing. Francis Davidson Fraser, known as "Mad" Frankie Fraser, was the scourge of prison governors and warders up and down Britain during the periods when he served a total of more than 40 years'. Because of the type of person I am, he wrote, in the life I led, you learn to shrug off adversity better than people whove worked hard all their lives.. 'You name it, we nicked it,' he tells the . Photograph: Alex Segre/Rex. Having chronicled the life of old mad Frank, author Beezy Marsh has turned her pen to Peggy, Kathleen and Eva; in her new book Keeping My Sisters Secrets. When Mason demurred, Fraser buried a hatchet in his skull, pinning his hand to his head. Frank's mother, Margaret, was a huge influence on him but his "best pal" and early partner in crime was his sister, Eva. There was American Indian blood in him; his grandfather had emigrated to Canada in the late 19th century and married a full-blooded American Indian woman. Always well turned out and ineffably polite and punctual, he had a large and appreciative audience, and one woman was so impressed she named her son after him. It has emerged that the former gangland enforcer, who has spent 42 years in prison for 26. Underneath glamorous ensembles the women wore specially-adapted petticoats with hidden pockets or baggy bloomers with elastic at the knee. None of the gang were afraid to use razors on those who crossed them. His mother was of Irish and Norwegian descent, while his father was half Native-American. The business came to an end in 1966 when a fight in a Catford night club, Mr Smiths, left a Kray associate, Dickie Hart, dead, and Richardson and Fraser, who was charged with Harts murder, in prison. Once again, he was sent toprison, this timefor taking part in bank robberies. During the 1940s it was not unusual for 'hoisters', a historical term for shoplifters, to be paid a hundred pounds a week - out earning men's average wages ten-to-one. They set up a fruit machine enterprise, which they would sell to pub landlords, to cover up their crimes. Fraser was just 13 when he was sent to an approved school for stealing 40 cigarettes. Fraser was part of Britain's Underworld between the 1940s-1960's. He was a known associate of gangster Billy Hill throughout the 1950s. The memoir KEEPING MY SISTER'S SECRETS, (Pan Macmillan 2017) tells the moving story of three sisters born into poverty in 1930s London and their fight for a survival through a decade of social upheaval. 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. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Fraser served a total of 42 years in over 20 different prisons in the UK for numerous violent offences. Nevertheless he was good at sports, captaining the football team at St Patricks school, Southwark, and boxing as an amateur. The criminal, who has spent almost half his life in prison, passed away earlier at King's. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. Tue 11 Jun 2013 11.55 EDT He may be in his 90th year but "Mad" Frankie Fraser is still causing mayhem. 'My gran liked to go for tea at the Ritz, especially if she could pinch someone's fur coat from the cloakroom on the way out. The Forty Thieves posed as wealthy housewives innocently browsing the rails of the UK's most luxurious clothing stores before shoving stolen items down their undergarments. Notorious gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser died in hospital today aged 90, relatives have revealed. 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. He spent 42 years almost half his life in prison for 26 offences. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, 'Mad' Frankie Fraser was a notorious English gangster, Funeral of South London enforcer, FRANKIE FRASER at Honour Oak Crematorium, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). 'Any girl worth her salt in South London in those days was a hoister because they could outearn us men two to one,' he said. The notorious English gangster turned to a life of a crime and before he knew it, he was behind bars. Mad Frank. There was no evidence that Fraser had fired the fatal shots, and although he claimed to have been fitted up for the killing, he was convicted of affray and sentenced to five years imprisonment. Their view on Hatton Garden was that the world had moved on and robbing banks now was akin to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid trying to get away on horseback, while the police gave chase in cars. Frankie Fraser was tried at the Old Bailey for Harts murder, while six others, including Eddie Richardson, faced lesser charges. HP10 9TY. Following a trial at theOld Baileyin 1967, he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. As a solicitor, I defended him in the trial following the Parkhurst riot and as a result wrote a number of books with him. '", 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. [28], "Gangland enforcer sets the record straight about 'the bad old days': Rhys Williams meets "Mad" Frankie Fraser, once known as Britain's most violent man", "Find & contact The White Hart in Waterloo", "Local and community news, opinion, video & pictures - Southport Visiter", "Tories condemn prisoners' freedom to read criminal memoirs", "Gangland enforcer 'Mad' Frankie Fraser dies at 90", "Mad Frankie Fraser given Asbo at age of 89 after bust-up at care home", "Gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser dies at 90", "Mad Frankie Fraser dead: Notorious gangster dies in hospital aged 90 following leg surgery", Personal website with biography and details of gangland tours, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frankie_Fraser&oldid=1107726220, This page was last edited on 31 August 2022, at 15:09. She liked to earn her own money and paid her own way quite something for a young woman in the 1930s and 1940s. "At the races, I'd be bucket boy," says Fraser in the documentary, Frankie Fraser's Last Stand, which will be broadcast on the Crime and Investigation network on 16 June at 9pm. His parents never knew about his illegal activities, and if they ever suspected him apparently turned a blind eye, a habit . Fraser was the. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. According to Eddie Richardson, Fraser had Alzheimer's disease for the last three years of his life. But little by little, over weeks and months of interviews, cups of tea and chats, their life stories emerged and with that came a fascinating insight into the Fraser family history and what really made Frank tick. His funeral took place on December 18, 2014. Each incident added more time to his sentence. View our online Press Pack. [15] In 1966, Fraser was charged with the murder of Richard Hart, who was shot at Mr Smith's club in Catford while other Richardson associates, including Jimmy Moody, were charged with affray. His first conviction was for stealing cigarettes, and with the second he was sent to an approved school. His wife, Doreen, whom he married in 1965, and who with Eva loyally toured the prisons to visit him, died in 1999. He chose the latter because they had taken sides on behalf of his sisters husband, Tommy Brindle, who had received a heavy beating by the Rosa brothers from the Elephant and Castle. Sister of Frankie Davidson Fraser. He was full of contradictions: He hated authority but at the same time he understood the need for society to have rules and was against anarchy. Pictured, Marble Arch and Oxford Circus in the 1920s, Petite shoplifter Bertha Tappenden (right) stood just over 5ft 2in tall, but was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a man in Lambeth, after kicking down his front door and attacking him with razors and knives, to settle a score, aided by Diamond and another gang girl, Gertrude Scully (left). But few would perhaps know about the equally incredible lives led by his three sisters. of James Fraser and Margaret Alice (Anderson) Fraser. In 1969 Fraser led the Parkhurst prison riot on the Isle of Wight and found himself back in court charged with incitement to murder. Had it all gone to plan, she could have inhabited a very different side of the West End to her little sister Eva. 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. Beezy said: "Frank's sister Eva was the one who led him into crime as a small boy. He was a deserter during the Second World War, escaping from his barracks . The most famous 'queen', Alice Diamond (left), was the daughter of a docker and renowned for her row of diamond rings that doubled as a knuckle duster. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. Fraser spent a lot of time in solitary confinement, tormented by prison officers who would spit in his food. [8] Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, to whom he was close. But who were the gang's most brazen members? Descendants . Born near Waterloo station, central London, he was the fifth child of a poor family. He shot, slashed, stabbed and axed. "Hill paid by the stitch if you put 50 stitches in a man's face, you could expect 50," says James Morton, Fraser's biographer. Eva (Fraser) Brindle. Monty Python sketch featuring the Piranha brothers, Doug and Dinsdale. An early nickname Razor Fraser reflected his penchant for shivving his enemies faces with a cut-throat blade. I saved myself from Royal life, Harry says & insists 'sharing's an act of service', Love Island's Olivia Hawkins breaks silence as she returns to the UK, Loose Women star lined up to be Strictly's first contestant in wheelchair, Coronation Street fans horrified as Amy Barlow is raped in disturbing scenes, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. His mother was of Norwegian-Irish stock and his father was half Native American. 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. By the 1950s, the gang were facing ever-present store detectives and had to rely more on disguises. From then on until the end of the 1980s, Fraser was more often in jail than not. Both Frank and his sister, Eva, whom he adored, inherited their fathers features and his jet-black hair. Prisoners and ex-prisoners all over Britain speak about him with undisguised admiration. During the 1950s, Fraser's main criminal occupation was as bodyguard to well-known gangsterBilly Hill. When police switched on to the gang's methods they branched out, with trips to Southend, Brighton, Liverpool and Manchester. A Gannett Company. After another, the car ran out of petrol in the Rotherhithe tunnel. In 1969, Fraser was one of the ringleaders of the major Parkhurst Prison riot, which resulted in him spending the six weeks in the prison hospital due to his injuries. As her reign came to an end, Forty Thieves queen Diamondpassed on her 'wisdom' to a future queen, Shirley Pitts. 'In fact, she was one of the people who spotted his talent for stealing after he pinched a cigarette machine from a hotel as a small boy. They stole to put food on the table. He had 10 years added to a sentence he was serving in 1967 along with The Richardson Brothers in the Torture Trials which were the longest trials in British criminal history. 'Mad' Frankie Fraser: Sweet dapper. She also passed on her 'wisdom' to a future queen, Shirley Pitts. He may be in his 90th year but "Mad" Frankie Fraser is still causing mayhem. Eva knew the Krays well and they treated her with reverence, although she saw them as little more than naughty boys. 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 two Richardson brothers were convicted, and the elder, Charles, sentenced to 25 years. 'It was incredibly subversive to go against the class system and steal furs and luxury items and swan about like they were rich - but that is exactly what they did. 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. Many of the Forty Thieves were noted for their beauty as well as their shoplifting skills, such as Madeline Partridge and her sister Laura (pictured left), whose mother was often used by Diamond to sell stolen goods. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. According to one of his sons, David, Fraser was unharmed but he did not inform on his assailant. During World War 2 he was a deserter - escaping from his barracks on several occasions. Fraser was the youngest of five children who were growing up in poverty - he first turned to crime at the tender age of 10, alongside his sister Eva. He was frequently punished for breaking prison rules or fighting prison officers: "I've done more bread and water than any man alive. The following year, the British mobsterJack Spotand wife Rita were attacked on Billy Hill's say-so, by Fraser, Bobby Warren and at least half a dozen other men. He was also tried in court in the so-called 'Torture trial', in which members of the Richardson Gang were charged with burning, electrocuting and whipping those found guilty of disloyalty by a kangaroo court. In the second part, she reveals how Frank wasnt the only member of his family with a chequered past. 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. She once stabbed a policeman in the eye with a hatpin, blinding him. As a reward, he was shown his examination answers, and thats how I come top, he later boasted. . He has been part of the most infamous criminal gangs of the past 100 years, while maintaining his South London roots and deep devotion to his family. But few would perhaps know about the equally incredible lives led by his three sisters. And I felt the same way,' she said. Because of Frasers behaviour in jail over the years, he forfeited almost every day of his remission. She was chauffeured in a Bentley and always wore a sable coat. 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. The Krays, according to Frank, were little more than thieves ponces.. Morton was relieved that, rather than remonstrating, Fraser wanted him to write his life story. If you love GANGLAND and women in crime who rubbed shoulders with Frank and the Krays, you're going to QUEEN OF CLUBS my new book set in seedy 1950s Soho and inspired by the Forty Thieves hoisters gang including Frank's sister Eva Fraser and the notorious hoister Shirley Pitts from Walworth who grew up with his sons David and Patrick. Not long after being released, Hughes was involved in the Lambeth riot of Christmas 1925, when the home of Bill Britten was stormed. The women, who carried razors wrapped in lace handkerchiefs, were known for violent outbursts - including one furore that resulted in a woman blinding a police officer by stabbing him in the eye with her hatpin. 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. When caught by police she replied: 'I don't know anything about it.'. What saved him I think was the branch; it was supple and it bent. Although Lawton survived, the dog died. 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. People shook his hand in the street, others kissed him or asked for his autograph and taxi drivers honked their horns. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. Alice herself was famous for clouting three furs in one go: one down each leg and one under her gusset. Although he was conscripted, Fraser later boasted that he had never once worn the uniform, preferring to ignore call-up papers, desert and resume his criminal activities. 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'. [16], Fraser's 42 years served in over 20 different prisons in the UK were often coloured by violence. Mad Frank: Memoirs of a Life of Crime appeared in 1994, with two further volumes following in 1998 and 2001. The granddaughter of a member of the gang, who said she was taught how to steal in the 1970s, told Ms Marsh: 'My nan was always beautifully turned out. On 21 November 2014, Fraser fell critically ill whilst undergoing leg surgery atKing's College Hospital,Denmark Hill. This is Eva Fraser, sister of gangster " Mad" Frankie who was one of the leading lights in The Forty Thieves. Fraser was seen kicking Richard Hart, a Kray associate, as he lay on the pavement outside. At signing sessions of his books he was always willing to be photographed pretending to extract a tooth with pliers brought by the fan. 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. These recollections, while often disordered and jumbled, nevertheless shed light on Frasers shameless and unrepentant defiance of the liberal consensus. It was during the Second World War that he was branded 'Mad' Frankie, after he feigned a mental illness to avoid being called up to the front line. However, it was in the early 1960s that Fraser began to take on even bigger crimes, when he first met Charlie and Eddie Richardson of the Richardson Gang - rivals to the Kray twins. His fourth son, Francis, in Frasers joking words, let me down by having no criminal career at all. 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. He stopped following a warning from the Kray Twins. In the early half of the 20th century one queen, Diamond, regularly appeared in the press where she was once described as a 'tall and commanding figure with a cool demeanour'. The raids seem often to have been left to chance, and he was particularly unfortunate with cars. There was Eva, the naughty girl of the three, who became a key figure in the all-girl gang, the Forty Thieves, who targeted the West Ends big department stores. He was so attired when, in 1951, he attacked the governor of Wandsworth prison, William Lawton, as he walked his pet terrier on Wandsworth Common. After the war he was involved in a smash-and-grab raid on a jeweller's and was given a two year prison sentence. She and her friends looked like film stars when they went out down the pub. Such were the criminal opportunities during the war, Fraser joked in a television interview years later, that he had never forgiven the Germans for surrendering. It has emerged that the former gangland enforcer, who has spent 42 years in prison for 26 offences, has been issued with an asbo after an incident in his residential accommodation. He was still serving his sentence for the Catford affray when he was handed a further 10 years for his part in the Richardson torture case. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London on December 13, 1923. contact the editor here. 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. [23] In 1991, Fraser was shot in the head from close range in an apparent murder attempt outside the Turnmills Club in Clerkenwell, London. What officers didn't know then was that his crime spree would continue over a career spanning seven decades, and his offences only worsened. 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. Fraser, he recalled, was more than capable of doing what he threatened. A ponce was someone who thieves looked down on, because they lived by taking a cut from someone elses earnings. [22], Fraser gave gangland tours around London, where he highlighted infamous criminal locations such as The Blind Beggar pub. A witness later changed histestimony,and the charges were eventually dropped, though Fraser still received a five-year sentence for affray. Eva Brindle formerly Fraser. A keen Arsenal supporter, Fraser had four sons, the first three of whom, Frank Jr, David and Patrick, followed to an extent in his footsteps. Joining the Forty Thieves was something of a right of passage for Eva Fraser. The gang's ringleaders appeared in a secret register of criminals, that is now kept by the National Archives, which then existed to help police track down the most persistent offenders. Born to criminal parents in Southwark, South London, in 1886, her first crimes were aiding and abetting men. In later life he would say that had there been an elder criminal member of the family to advise him, he would not have served his sentences in what was called the hard way. Ancestors . Francis Davidson Fraser, criminal, born 13 December 1923; died 26 November 2014, Gangland criminal and in later life a minor media celebrity, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Frankie Fraser in 2002. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. During his time behind bars he was involved in violence and was a major instigator in the Parkhurst Prison riots in 1969. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. At least two home secretaries considered Fraser the most dangerous man in Britain, an image which, in old age, he only half-heartedly sought to dispel. The Kray twins (pictured) held The Forty Thieves member Eva Fraser in high regard. Fraser received seven years. He was still touring clubs and pubs in 2011. When he was 10, the pair stole a cigarette machine from a local pub, hauled it to some waste ground and jemmied it open. The thieves' earnings allowed them to live like upper-class debutantes. ', The notorious gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser's sister Eva had risen through the ranks of the gang after joining in the 1930s. Ronald 'Ronnie' Kray and Reginald 'Reggie' Kray, were identical twin brothers who led an organised crime ring in East London from the late 1950s to 1967. Here are some pictures of Eva Fraser of the Forty Thieves and her sister Kathleen. She helped him sell on his loot. In August 1963, invited to take part in the Great Train Robbery, Fraser pulled out because he was on the run from the police. Editors' Code of Practice. 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. 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. She lived an unashamedly lavish lifestyle and splashed her money around. [9] He was a deserter during the Second World War, escaping from his barracks on several occasions. He was then then given a 15-month prison sentence atHMP Wandsworthfor shop-breaking - this was just the first of 20 prisons Fraser would be sent to. Young Frankie attended local schools, captained the football team, and acted as bookies runner to one of the teachers. Many started as child lookouts. With Frankie Fraser, Chris Keenan, Steve Box, Michael Boyd. Eva was a chip off the old block and as well as being Franks first partner in crime, stealing sweets from the corner shop, she had a lucrative career in a daring gang of girl shoplifters, The Forty Thieves, which traced its roots back to Victorian London and cleared many a West End store for furs and luxury goods. Women carried tools needed for burglaries so the police had no evidence if they stopped the men following the crime. However, it was the during the 'torture trial' of the Richardson gang in 1967, that Frankie Fraser become notorious nationally. If you love GANGLAND and women in crime who rubbed shoulders with Frank and the Krays, you're going to QUEEN OF CLUBS my new book set in seedy 1950s Soho and inspired by the Forty Thieves hoisters gang including Frank's sister Eva Fraser and the notorious hoister Shirley Pitts from Walworth who grew up with his sons David and Patrick. contact IPSO here, 2001-2023. While still a teenager, in the spring of 1943, he took part in a daring raid to free an Army deserter from a squad sent to collect him from Wandsworth Prison. He was a member of the Richardson gang or the 'torture gang', led by brothers Charlie and Eddie Richardson, and were widely feared in Londons underworld. Frank Davidson Fraser (13 December 1923 - 26 November 2014), better known as 'Mad' Frankie Fraser, was an English gangster who spent 42 years in prison for numerous violent offences. ", 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. 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. For other inquiries, Contact Us. 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! She is thought to have killed herself in the 1970s. He undoubtedly had a wicked temper and a lack of empathy as seen in his capability for violence but he described that to me in terms of a soldier doing his job.

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