Latest news with #KrayTwins
The Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Shocking tapes reveal unbreakable bond between Kray twins & how vain overreaction led to brutal machete attack
DURING their brutal 10-year reign as London's kingpin gangsters, Ronnie and Reggie Kray were known as hard men who let their fists do the talking before moving onto knives, guns and murder. But the notorious pair shared an incredibly tender bond which few would have understood - until now. 18 18 The loving relationship has been revealed in remarkable, never-before-heard prison tapes that Reggie made to his twin brother from one prison to another, along with his own personal memories of their life together. The two-part Amazon documentary, Krays: London 's Gangsters, also features interviews with their criminal associates, family friends and psychologists in an attempt to get under their skin and discover the men inside the monsters. In 1995, both brothers were serving a life sentence for the murder of fellow gangster, Jack 'The Hat' McVitie. Reggie was in Maidstone Prison while Ronnie, who for years had struggled with mental health issues, was in Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital. Always protective of his more volatile brother, Reggie recorded a message on tape for him to listen to, hoping that the sound of his voice would reassure him in his darkest moments. 'Hello, Ron,' it began. 'Reg speaking. Now, I'm very concerned for you of late but I wish to help you. You are making yourself suffer by thinking bad thoughts. You must only think of good thoughts. 'Life gets shorter and shorter as each day goes by. Try to realise what I'm telling you because here's the truth and any time you get down just play this tape again.' In another message to Ronnie, Reggie attempted to calm his increasing paranoia with the words: 'You are inflicted with an illness. You should realise that no one is talking about you. That you are paranoid. As soon as you realise you are paranoid, you should give other people the benefit of the doubt because they are not talking about you.' The close bond they shared throughout their life was stretched when they were imprisoned away from each other but Reggie attempted to ease Ronnie's anxiety with a philosophical approach: 'Life is very complex, as you know, but according to the universal laws, each one of us has a role in life. This is the path that we've all been pushed on, you know? All our paths take different ways.' Just weeks after Reggie recorded the tape to his brother, Ronnie passed away at the age of 61. Their reliance on each other was evident as babies as family friend, Maureen Flanagan, reveals. Maureen was a hairdresser for the twin's beloved mother, Violet, who she used to visit at her home in Vallance Road in Bethnal Green, East London. 'The first brother that I met was the eldest one, Charlie,' she says. 'He remarked about what gorgeous hair I had. It was all hanging down, long and blonde and looking quite glamorous, I suppose. And I said 'I'm a hairdresser' and he said, 'You wouldn't go to our home and do my mother's hair?' 'I pulled up in my white Mini and knocked at the door and this little lady came out and said, 'Hello darling. You must be Maureen. Would you like a tea, coffee? I've made a beautiful cake.' Tight upbringing 'As I was having tea and cake I noticed some photographs along the mantelpiece and I got up to have a look and one was of two boys in their boxing shorts and boxing gloves and they were absolutely identical. 'Then she started telling me about the time when they were three and they both caught diphtheria. People always talk to hairdressers! 'They were put into the London Hospital where Reggie got better and Violet was told she could take him home but Ronnie continued to get worse and she was told that he might not survive. 18 18 18 "So, she marched down to the hospital and said, 'I'm taking him home.' They said, 'You can't move him. This is a really dangerous situation. He might not make it through the night.' She said, 'I'm taking him home.' 'She wrapped him in a blanket, walked home and put him next to Reggie in bed and wrapped the two babies in the same blanket so they were as close as they could be. And in two days he was better. All he needed was his twin. "I think that was probably the start of their togetherness. They couldn't get away from each other and didn't want to. 'They were called 'The two ones.' Their aunties used to say, 'Where's the two ones, Violet?' It was like two people in one.' Professor Ruth Penfold-Mounce, a criminologist at the University of York, says that the boys would have attracted an instant celebrity status when they were born in the 1930s. The problem with twin that they are not encouraged to develop separately as individuals Vivienne Lewin 'At the time when they were born, it was really unusual to have identical twins who survived infancy,' she says. 'When Violet was walking down the street with her twin sons, people would have noticed. People would have stopped and stared. There was like a minor celebrity status that surrounded these boys.' Vivienne Lewin, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist explains how they would have been conditioned to have been influenced by each other. 'There are some misconceptions about twins,' she says. 'The most damaging one, I think, is that they are two halves of one. But the fact is, no two twins are two halves of one. Each is an absolute separate individual with an individual personality. 'The problem with twin development, where the twins themselves and twin-ship is idealised, is that they are not encouraged to develop separately as individuals. Sometimes, to the extent that they are really very entangled with each other and have difficulty leading separate lives.' This was undoubtedly the case with Reggie and Ronnie, who were born on 24 October 1933. Their father, Charlie Snr., a street-seller on the run from the police for refusing to be conscripted into the army, was largely absent during their childhood, but Violet showered them with love. 18 18 18 Broadcaster and TV presenter Fred Dineage, who wrote the Krays official biography, says: 'Violet always said that her twins were special and she treated them like that. She treated them like pieces of rare bone china, really. They could do no wrong in her eyes.' 'Violet was often called to their school because of their fighting,' says Maureen. 'All little boys fought but they fought back to back. In other words, if Ronnie had hit a boy and the boy had hit back and got his mate to join in, Reggie would go and stand with his back to Ronnie.' Rising stars At the end of the war they took up boxing which became a big part of their teens. Both were very adept at it, particularly Ronnie, and that, along with glowing reports in the local newspaper of their success, gave them extra status in the area. It also fuelled their arrogance. In 1952, they were conscripted into National Service for two years. They turned up but Ronnie lost his temper with the CO's attitude so he punched him on the nose and they walked out and went home. Effectively, they were dishonourably discharged and ended up serving their two years in prison instead and were released when they were 20. A life of crime now lay ahead. They bought a run-down billiard hall which they built up and started a protection racket business on the side. This led to several clubs and casinos in London during the late 50s and 1960s which attracted the celebrities of the day, including Barbara Windsor Diana Dors, Shirley Bassey, Terence Stamp, David Bailey, Christine Keeler and even Judy Garland and World Heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston, when they were in town. 18 18 18 The twins loved the glamour, impeccably dressed in made to measure suits, crisp white shirts and silk ties. Ronnie, in particular, idolised gangsters from Hollywood films played by the likes of Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney. Such was their fame that they were even interviewed on the BBC, in which they talked about being club owners and that a little bit of violence was sometimes justified. 'You will get the occasional drunk and sometimes they have to be slung out and that's why there are doormen,' said Reggie. 'I suppose it's like club land all over the world. I don't suppose it can be all that bad or else people wouldn't go to them, would they?' Ronnie chipped in: 'Most clubs are very respectable and I don't think there's any trouble at all in them…. except occasionally.' He took him in the toilet and slashed his face and the back of his head with a machete that he had in his overcoat Maureen With a thriving club business, they could have turned away from violence and the criminal world, but they didn't. 'They threw it all away,' says Dinenage. 'Reggie would be quite content to get dressed every evening, go to his clubs, take his money, pay his people and live a good life,' says Maureen. 'But he was a twin. He was half of another half and that other half was Ronnie Kray.' Violent spirals Ron's mental issues had him on heavy medication but when he didn't take it he became volatile and dangerous and had paranoid thoughts. 18 18 'As he was put on stronger medication, Ronnie became puffy in the face and put on a stone, which he hated,' says Maureen. 'I heard one day in the pub there was a man who said, 'Hello, Ron. How are you? You've put on a bit of timber.' Ronnie looked down at himself and said, 'Yeah, I have.' 'He walked out and got in a car, drove half a mile down the road, turned round, came back to the pub and said to the man, 'I want to talk to you for a minute.' He took him in the toilet and slashed his face and the back of his head with a machete that he had in his overcoat. 'People asked him why he did it. He was happily talking to the man. And he just replied, 'That will teach him to talk about my weight.' That's how he could change in an instant.' Reggie recorded his memories of life with Ronnie in his tapes made in 1995, relishing their violent episodes. 'A memory I've got is when Ron and myself was in a dance hall in Tottenham,' he said. 'We saw about five fellas who came from the Stamford Hill area. Ron and I waited for them to come across and as they did so, right in front of the band, we hit them on the chin and also hit them on the heads with chairs. It was just like the cowboy days. We finished up having knocked them all out, and they lay in front of the band and the band was still playing the music.' Another memory was: 'We were sitting on bar stools. There's Ron and I, and we were drinking gin and tonics, when three fellas came into the pub and they stood behind Ron and started making detrimental remarks against Ron, and I watched him as he stepped down from the bar stool and hit one with a right hand punch. Knocked him spark out. Turned the other way and hit another one with a left hook.' Feeling invincible, they took things too far and the murder of rival gangster, George Cornell in The Blind Beggar Pub, was the beginning of their downfall. Ronnie walked in and shot him between the eyes in front of a handful of drinkers and a traumatised barmaid. But they were all too scared to say anything to police. Reg's new wife Frances – who Ronnie jealously resented for coming between him and his brother – had recently taken her own life by taking an overdose. He was not thinking straight and was increasingly being led along by Ronnie into his crazy and dangerous exploits. 18 18 The pair bizarrely tried to get a friend of Ronnie's, Frank 'The Mad Axeman' Mitchell, a release date from prison. They helped him escape and hid him away, telling him to write to the Home Secretary saying 'If you give me a date for my release I will give myself up.' Roy Jenkins, Home Secretary of the time, flatly refused and with Mitchell now a liability on their hands, they arranged for him to be murdered and his body disposed of. Jack 'The Hat' McVitie was next to be brutally stabbed to death by Reggie after he was paid but failed to carry out the task of killing their business manager, Leslie Payne, for talking to police after being concerned by the twins increasing violence. With the police now committed to putting the Krays behind bars, they offered protection for those willing to come forward, including the barmaid at the Blind Beggar who gave evidence against them in court about the murder of George Cornell. Ronnie and Reggie were firmly behind bars in 1969, having been given life sentences with a minimum of 30 years to be served. Reggie was allowed out, on compassionate grounds, to attend Ronnie's funeral in March 1995, where crowds lined the streets. Amongst the floral tributes was one from Reggie – flowers that spelt out 'To the other half of me' – and a wreath from Barbara Windsor. Five years after Ronnie's death, Reggie died of cancer at the age of 66. He was buried next to his twin. Whether it was irony or that he had finally discovered the decent, sensible and happy way to live, is unclear. But Reggie commented on his 1995 tape: 'What you give out in life is returned to you. If you give out love, love will be returned to you. If you give out hatred, hatred will be returned to you.'
The Sun
18-06-2025
- The Sun
Kray twins' plush mansion BACK on market with marked-down price – as chilling secrets unearthed
THE country hideaway of notorious East End gangsters the Kray twins has gone back on the market - at a dramatically marked-down price. 7 7 7 7 The pair purchased the seven-bed county mansion at the height of their reign of terror as crime lords in the East End of London – as a peaceful home for their mum and a weekend bolt-hole. It was listed in July 2022 for an asking price of £2.25 million, later reduced to £2 million in December of the same year. However, the property failed to sell and was eventually taken off the market. While prices across the county have since rocketed, the Krays' former property is now back on the market for a cut-price £1.5 million - £750,000 cheaper than the original July 2022 asking price. The criminal pair bought the secluded seven-bedroom property in 1967. The brothers claimed to have first fallen in love with the house in the posh village of Bildeston when they were sent to live in the nearby market town of Hadleigh as child evacuees from London's East End during World War II. Selling agents Savills describe the £1.5 million house as 'a substantial and flexible period property with separate accommodation and versatile outbuildings tucked away in the village and comes with six-acre of grounds.' However, villagers say they remember that police searched the property and even dug up part of the garden in a search for bodies and arrested the brothers in May 1968, after the brutal murder of gang member Jack 'The Hat' McVitie - for which Reggie Kray was later convicted. The crime bosses stayed regularly at the house, which is just off the High Street in Bildeston and they were there on the weekend before they and 15 members of their gang were arrested in May 1968. The brothers were handed life sentences in 1969 after cops swooped on the gang just days after they had taken a break at their Suffolk home. Ronnie was convicted of the murder of fellow gangster George Cornell who was shot dead in the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel in 1966 and Reggie convicted of the murder of Jack "The Hat" McVitie in 1967. Inside notorious gangster Reggie Kray's turbulent prison sentence in HMP Long Lartin where he set his own BED on fire In a 1989 interview with author Robin McGibbon, Ronnie recalled how he and Reggie had enjoyed carefree childhood days as evacuees in Suffolk. He told how they had gone tobogganing, scrumping for apples and played cowboys and Indians while living at East House Lodge, Hadleigh, with a woman called Mrs Styles. Ronnie said in a taped interview: "It was the first time we ever went to the county and we got to like the country." He added: "The quietness, the peacefulness of it, the fresh air, nice scenery, nice countryside - different from London." After spending two years in the countryside, the twins returned to their family home in Bethnal Green because their mum, Violet, wanted them to be close to their grandmother and other relatives. But the brothers pledged to return and buy a house in Suffolk when they had made enough money. They were true to their word and splashed out on The Brooks when their crime empire was at its height. Speaking about the purchase, Ronnie said: "Later on we was able to buy the mansion and the cottage for 11 grand." When asked for the date of the purchase, he replied: "Just before we was arrested... It would be worth a million pound today. We had to have it all decorated and redone up." The house was last on the market three years ago when the initial asking price was reduced from £2.25 million to £2 million. The Brooks is described as 'an exceptional unlisted period house of elegant proportions and versatile accommodation and believed to date back to the 16th-century but extended and 'gentrified' in the early 18th-century with later Victorian alterations. The three-storey accommodation extends to 4,000 sq ft and boasts a large reception hall with attractive staircase to the first floor, ornate stained-glass interior windows and large cloakroom. The drawing room has a door to the gardens while the dining room has a large bay window and wood-burning stove. There is an Aga cooker in the Shaker-style kitchen as well as a study/hobbies room with an arched window overlooking the walled courtyard and a utility and laundry room. Upstairs there are five bedrooms and two bathrooms and on the second floor are two more double bedrooms. The agents say the property is in the middle of the village but provides 'a mature, rural environment to enjoy the copious levels of wildlife and tranquillity.' Outside there is a large range of red-brick-and-flint outbuildings – suitable for a workshop or studio or conversion to holiday lets. There is also a detached staff cottage that needs renovation as well as garage, with neighbouring workshop and store, with covered store/stable adjoining. Older villagers remember the notorious brothers but say they were always friendly and hospitable and generous in buying drinks in the village's three pubs. Ronnie Kray died in 1995 aged 61 and his twin Reggie died five years later aged 66. 7 7 7
The Sun
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Boyband icon looks worlds away from 90s heyday as he's baptised by Krays' henchman
A BOYBAND icon looks worlds away from his 90s heyday. Getting baptised by the Kray twins ' henchman, an East 17 star looked very different. 7 7 7 East 17 star Terry Coldwell had his head dunked under water by former henchman to the Kray twins Chris Lambrianou. Terry, 50, became one of seven born-again Christians in new snaps. As a public declaration of faith, Terry was dunked under the water in a baptism pool at the River Church in London's East End. 85-year-old Chris Lambrianou, who was once a member of gang 'The Firm' led by Ronnie and Reggie Kray, performed the baptisms with the church's pastor Dave Gill. Speaking about the experience, Terry said: "I've just been baptised and I feel absolutely amazing. "The service has been phenomenal today," he said to MailOnline. He affirmed how "great" he felt and added how it "was a long time coming". He added: "I'm really glad I did it." Chris, who carried out the baptism, spoke about the "spiritual high" he gets from performing them. "Baptising so many people gives me a spiritual high," he told the outlet. Nepo baby boyband made up of four brothers go viral on Instagram - but can you guess who their famous dad is He added: "It's like you cannot buy the feeling I have. That can only come from Jesus Christ. "Trust in him and he will never fail you." East 17's Terry shot alongside Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey and John Hendy in the 90s. The band are perhaps best known for their 1994 Christmas number one Stay Another Day. We don't talk. But I don't hold any grudges. East 17's Terry Coldwell With many lineup changes over the years, Terry has remained as one of the only members to have stuck with the band. Last year, Terry revealed he didn't think a reunion of the original line up would ever be on the horizon. "I've tried to get us together over the years but it all fell through. I've kind of had enough really," he told MailOnline last November. He then said in a recent documentary: "We don't talk. But I don't hold any grudges. "There were good times and there were bad times but that's like in any job. "We lived together basically, we worked for three years without a day off so of course we argued about things. "But I'm grateful for the times I shared with them." 7 7
South Wales Argus
23-04-2025
- South Wales Argus
Community search for beloved family dog missing from Bedwas
Travis, a brown Sprocker Spaniel, disappeared earlier this week, sparking a tireless search led by owner Tayne Evans and the wider community. At the time of his disappearance on Wednesday, April 16, he was being walked by a trusted dog walker in the Bedwas Pitt Area. Desperate to be reunited with Travis, Mr Evans has been driving from Cardiff after work, joining others in combing through the area in hopes of spotting any sign of the dog. 'We've had him since he was a puppy, so about three or four years now. Travis is a big part of our family, especially to his sister Mila. We call them the Kray Twins; they go everywhere together,' Mr Evans said. He first realised Travis was missing about 12 hours after his disappearance, when he saw a Facebook post shared by his mum who is currently away in America. Travis was last seen on April 16 (Image: Tayne Evans) Since then, his commitment to finding Travis has been unwavering. 'It's hard when I work 9–5, but every opportunity I've had to go out, I have,' he said. Not only did the social media post appealing for information about missing Travis gain a significant amount of traction, but individuals have also come out of their homes to form search parties in aid. Neighbours, friends, and even strangers have rallied together, offering their time and support in a united effort to bring Travis home. 'I live in Cardiff, so I've driven up every night so far, searching for hours on end up Bedwas Pitts, and still no sign,' Mr Evans said. 'I know he's out there somewhere; I just wish I knew an exact location.' The Sprocker spaniel was last seen in Bedwas Pitts (Image: Tayne Evans) With the mystery surrounding Travis's disappearance, Mr Evans can't help but worry, saying: "Someone may have found him and taken him in, either to keep as a pet or possibly to use as a working dog. But we just don't know, and without evidence, the police can't get involved.' In a move to expand the search, drones are being deployed in the hope of covering more ground and finally spotting Travis. Mr Evans urged anyone who thinks they've seen Travis to take photo evidence rather than calling out to him. 'He'll only respond to familiar voices,' he explained. While the community continues to show support, the ordeal remains heart-wrenching for the family, particularly Mr Evans' parents who are away and unable to join the search. 'It's so heart-breaking. I can only imagine how my parents feel,' he said. As the search enters a critical phase, Mr Evans remains grateful for the outpouring of help and hopeful for a happy reunion. Anyone with information or potential sightings is encouraged to come forward. Anything may help to bring Travis home.
