The Kray Twins: London’s Most Notorious Gangsters

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The East End of London is not a place that has always had a positive reputation; quite the opposite, in fact. For centuries, it was regarded as one of the city’s poorest and most crime-ridden areas. This image was reinforced by writers such as George Gissing, who referred to it as the “city of the dead,” and American author Jack London, who lived there for a few weeks and gave a first-hand account of the conditions he witnessed in “The People of the Abyss.” The area was filled with working-class people, many of them immigrants, who were crammed into overcrowded and dilapidated buildings and often resorted to vices such as drinking and prostitution to escape the pain of their existence.

Wherever there weren’t tenement buildings, there were glue factories, rendering plants, tanning yards, coal works, soap boilers, and slaughterhouses—all the dirty trades were confined to the East End to avoid tarnishing the richer, more fashionable West End of London. Consequently, the East End was also rife with crime. The Ratcliffe Highway is located there, a road historically infamous for many seedy businesses, but also where the notorious Ratcliffe murders took place. Whitechapel is also in the East End, the area once prowled by Jack the Ripper.

During the mid-20th century, the area became more associated with organized crime, and two brothers soon emerged as the undisputed kings of the East End: the Kray twins. Alongside their gang, which they dubbed “the Firm,” they were responsible for most criminal rackets in the area during the 1950s. But this was just the beginning for Ronnie and Reggie, as they used their influence and money to open nightclubs in the West End. These were popular and fashionable, and all of a sudden, the Kray twins were celebrities in their own right, mingling with stars and socialites from both London and across the pond. The Krays became an integral part of the pop culture of the swinging ’60s in the UK, just as much as miniskirts, mods, and music.

Ronald and Reginald Kray were born on October 24, 1933, in Hoxton, East London, to Charles Senior and Violet Annie Kray. They were twins, although Reggie was 10 minutes older than Ronnie. They also had another brother, Charles James, who was six years older than both of them. Their father was a traveling trader who roamed the country buying and selling various items, particularly clothing and jewelry. His presence in the twins’ lives was sporadic, not only due to his job but also because he had to go on the run in 1942 after refusing to be conscripted into World War II. The boys’ upbringing was mainly handled by the many women in their lives: their mother, aunts, and grandmothers.

Ronnie and Reggie left school when they were both 15 years old, looking for employment. They worked various odd jobs, including six months in the Billingsgate fish market, which would end up being the longest legitimate job they would ever have. The twins also started developing a reputation as neighborhood tough guys, always getting into fights and other scrapes. Their maternal grandfather, Jimmy “Cannonball” Lee, used to be a boxer, so he introduced them to the sport. Both siblings were quite proficient, although Reggie was the standout. In 1948, he became the London schoolboy champion and made it to the finals of the Great Britain schoolboy event.

Their other brother Charlie recalled that boxing was one of the first things to showcase the different personalities of the twins. Reggie was cool and calculated, showing skill and a willingness to learn from advice. Ronnie, on the other hand, was more of a raging bull who charged headfirst and usually won by overpowering his opponent. One personality trait they did share, however, was that neither brother responded well to authority, as exemplified in 1952 when they were called up for national service in the British Army. Back then, all young healthy males between 17 and 21 years of age were required to serve two years in the armed forces. Ronnie and Reggie were assigned to an infantry regiment called the Royal Fusiliers at the Tower of London but immediately got into trouble when they arrived. They got into an argument with one of the training sergeants, beat him up, and left the barracks to go back home. The twins were arrested the following day and sent to military prison. Most of their time doing national service was spent either in military prison or going on the run. They often got into fights, left their barracks without permission, and unsurprisingly, they both got court-martialed and received dishonorable discharges, after which they were transferred to a civilian prison to serve time for several offenses they committed off-base.

The court-martials pretty much ended both of their boxing careers, so after they got out, the Krays needed to find something new to do. They started small, getting a loan from their older brother and leasing a pool hall in Bethnal Green. During their time spent in jail, Ronnie and Reggie had already befriended plenty of other shady characters, and the pool hall soon turned into a regular haunt for many of their army buddies and other local hoodlums. The twins and their entourage would often gather at the club, then go out at night to the pubs, where two things were always guaranteed: drinking and rolling as a means of making money. The twins took advantage of the fact that their billiard hall wasn’t yet on the police’s radar, so they allowed a few local fences to store their stolen goods there and even conduct business, with a cut of the profits going to the Krays, of course.

Inevitably, this got them unwanted attention from some of the other neighborhood gangsters who did not appreciate the twins doing business on their turf. Specifically, the Krays received a message from three brothers, all dock workers, who invited the twins to stop by their pub on a Sunday morning for a drink and a talk. Of course, Ronnie and Reggie understood that this was a trap, but they went anyway. As soon as they entered, the door was locked, and the pub landlord made himself scarce as the three dockers lunged at the twins to teach them a lesson. But it didn’t go as they planned. When the landlord returned, he found two of the dock workers unconscious, while the third one was still being pummeled senseless by Ronnie Kray.

Although young, the Krays made it pretty evident that they were legitimate tough guys who could not be intimidated, and their gang grew quickly. By the time they turned 21 years old, the Krays had their fingers in a lot of pies, including extortion, theft, gambling, robbery, and cons. This was all still local, though, and the Krays were ready to move up in the world. In 1956, they became embroiled in a gang war as the two top kingpins of the East End, Billy Hill and Jack Spot, fought for power. Spot used the Krays for muscle, but ultimately, they were on the losing side. One night, Spot and his wife were attacked by Hill’s enforcer, Mad Frankie Fraser, and his men. Spot had his face slashed very badly and eventually decided to call it quits while he was still alive.

Despite coming out on top, Billy Hill didn’t remain involved in the underworld of London’s East End for long. The departures of him and Spot created a power void, and several new gangs rose to fill it. Unsurprisingly, one of them belonged to the Krays, who called their burgeoning crime outfit “the Firm.” Ronnie and Reggie were, of course, at the head of the table. Their older brother Charlie Kray was also a member, although he later claimed not to have been involved in the violent stuff and mainly acted as the legitimate front man for many of their operations. A cousin named Ronnie Hart was also part of the Firm, as were dozens of other men. We’re not going to name them all, but just a few other key members were John Dixon, Albert Donahue, Ian Barry, and Connie Whitehead. In just a few years, the Firm emerged as one of London’s most dangerous gangs, as the Krays controlled a large area of the East End where every business, be it legitimate or illegal, paid its dues to the twins.

Of course, with this ascendancy within London’s criminal underworld also came more attention from the police. The Krays first got into hot water in late 1956 when Ronnie shot someone for the first time. The target was a man who threatened to beat up a car dealer under the protection of the Firm. During the struggle, Ronnie shot the guy once in the leg. The man later went to the police, but the Krays got off using a bit of twin trickery. The authorities picked up one of the Krays, formally charged him, and the victim identified him. Only after this was done did the accused reveal himself to be Reggie Kray, not Ronnie, and presented an airtight alibi for the time of the shooting. Embarrassed, the police had no choice but to release him, and the whole matter was dropped after the victim received some unofficial compensation from the Firm for his suffering.

Not all altercations went this smoothly. Later that same year, the Krays became partners in a West End club called The Stragglers, located in Soho. It was the first of many such ventures, but in this particular case, the role of the Krays was to keep out the troublemakers looking to start fights so the club could attract a higher class of clientele. Unsurprisingly, this led to conflict. Bobby Ramsey, the guy who brought in the Krays on the deal, got on the wrong side of a gang called the Watney Streeters, who ambushed him one night and gave him a serious beating. The Krays had no choice but to respond to this attack, so a few weeks later, the Firm raided a pub called The Britannia, which was a hangout of the Watneys. However, the latter got wind of the attack, so everyone managed to escape out of the back door except for a guy named Terry Martin, who was stabbed and beaten.

Later that night, as cars with Firm members prowled the East End looking for more Watneys, one of them was stopped by a police patrol. It contained Ramsey and Ronnie Kray, who were both arrested for the assault on Terry Martin. Reggie was also brought in but was later released. Ronnie, on the other hand, received three years in jail. In November 1956, he went to Wandsworth Prison, leaving Reggie Kray as the sole boss of the Firm. At first, Ronnie took to prison life reasonably well, thanks to his connections and entourage that provided him with comforts. However, things got worse after he was transferred away from London. He began showing signs of paranoia, which only worsened after he heard that his aunt Rose had passed away. Nowadays, he would have been deemed a paranoid schizophrenic with homicidal tendencies, but in the 1950s, he was simply diagnosed with prison psychosis and certified insane.

On the outside, Reggie Kray was doing significantly better. Although he was a very violent man, he was more cool and collected than his brother and was more interested in becoming a successful businessman than a tough gangster. Reggie also thought it was time to move out of the old pool hall into new headquarters, so he opened the Double R Club on Bell Road. It became quite a trendy London hangout and gave the Krays their first taste of mingling with the stars. Charlie Kray, who was brought in to handle the day-to-day running of the club, even had a six-month fling with actress and future Dame Barbara Windsor, most famous for her roles in the Carry On films.

In 1959, Ronnie Kray was released from prison. The following year, the Betting and Gaming Act of 1960 was passed, which legalized additional forms of gambling in the UK. The Krays were among the first to take advantage of this new law when they opened a gambling club called Esmeralda’s Barn. It became a giant gold mine for the twins, but trouble struck again when Reggie was given an 18-month prison sentence for attempted extortion.

Finally, in 1961, both Krays were out and free of legal troubles. The Firm was established as one of London’s biggest and baddest criminal outfits, collecting tributes each month from a long list of businesses that extended beyond the East End. Furthermore, the Krays’ developing reputation as successful club owners meant that they kept receiving new offers from other clubs wanting to take them on as partners. Business was booming; the Krays were making a lot of money while living out their fantasy lifestyles and rubbing elbows with the rich and powerful.

Strangely enough, when the twins did find themselves embroiled in scandal, it had nothing to do with their criminal empire but rather their sexual exploits. For most of his life, Ronnie Kray was openly gay and had many relationships with young men who worked in his nightclubs and gambling halls. Later on, he married two women while incarcerated, Elaine Mildener and Kate Howard, but he divorced them both after a few years. Reggie preferred to keep it more private. He was also married twice and maintained that he was straight, although rumors that he was bisexual had always persisted. It was mainly after Reggie’s death that some people close to him mentioned that he had had several relationships with men.

The reason this became relevant was that in 1964, a British tabloid ran a story about a prominent politician, a member of the House of Lords, who was having an affair with a notorious gangster. They even had a photograph of the two together, but due to British libel laws, they could not publish it or even mention the name of the politician. The foreign press, however, had no such concern for these laws, so a German publication named “Boser” ran the story. Ronnie Kray and Lord Boothby, obviously the member of parliament, denied this allegation, claiming that he only met Ronnie Kray for a business meeting. He sued the tabloid and won a large settlement plus a public apology, which discouraged other newspapers from covering the story. However, decades later, declassified files showed that the Home Office took the matter very seriously and had Boothby secretly investigated by MI5. The report described Lord Boothby as a “kinky fellow” but mentioned that the tabloids got the story wrong. He and Ronnie Kray were not having an affair, but they did attend a few gay parties together as they both preferred younger men. Ultimately, MI5 concluded that the matter was of no national concern, so the Boothby affair was largely forgotten.

Once again, the Krays were back to business as usual, but it would not be long before that business was disrupted permanently. The Firm seemed pretty protected from the law, but the same could not be said when it came to other gangs. There were still plenty of dangerous criminals in London’s underworld who had no love for the Kray twins, chief among them being the Richardson gang. They were rivals of the Firm throughout the 1960s and often butted heads over the same rackets. They had a vicious reputation for torture and included members such as the leaders, Charles and Eddie Richardson, the aforementioned Mad Frankie Fraser, and a giant man named George Cornell, a former member of the Watney Street gang.

The conflict between the two groups reached its peak on March 8, 1966, when a large-scale fight erupted at a club named Mr. Smith. Three men were seriously injured during the brawl, and an associate of the Krays named Dickie Hart was shot and killed. Ronnie and Reggie were not present during the fight, nor was Cornell on the side of the Richardsons. Two days later, however, George Cornell went to the hospital to visit one of the gang members who got injured in the fight. After he left, he stopped for a drink at a pub in Whitechapel called The Blind Beggar. Unbeknownst to him, the Krays and a few other members of the Firm were drinking in another pub just a few hundred yards away. Somebody called to inform them of Cornell’s whereabouts, at which point Ronnie Kray got into a car with John Dixon and Ian Barry and drove to The Blind Beggar. As soon as they entered the pub, George Cornell turned around and said something along the lines of, “Well, just look who’s here.” Those were his last words as Ronnie Kray walked up to him, pulled out a nine-millimeter pistol, and shot him in the head. Barry shot a few times in the ceiling for intimidation, and the couple calmly walked out of The Blind Beggar and drove away.

Despite the obvious nature of the crime, Ronnie was safe from the law for the time being. The police were finding it hard to build a case against him, as nobody wanted to testify, either that or they were waiting for the right moment to send both twins to prison at once. They didn’t have to wait too long. Although Reggie was usually the more level-headed sibling, in 1967, he too fell into a deep depression with violent mood swings after his wife, Frances Shea, died of an apparent suicide. This led him to commit his first and, as far as we know, only murder, something which he did at the insistence of his brother, who had been annoyed by the fact that Reggie never took that fatal final step. The target was a criminal named Jack “the Hat” McVitie. He wasn’t a member of the Firm but was an associate used for the occasional job. At the time, he was on bad terms with the twins, chiefly for bungling