The reader is also introduced to the girls brother Jim, who became a sergeant in the army and fought in North Africa. Fraser himself was charged with pulling out people's teeth with pliers and sentenced to 10 years in prison. [16], Fraser's 42 years served in over 20 different prisons in the UK were often coloured by violence. Frankie Fraser Wiki & Bio - everipedia.org With Frankie Fraser, Chris Keenan, Steve Box, Michael Boyd. Despite this, or possibly because of it, newspapers of the day were tipping him as Spots natural successor. It will only make me a worse villain!'. They didnt go to jail, they did bird or got a lagging. Fraser was the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty. His greatest moment of national notoriety came during what was known as the 'torture trial' of the Richardson gang in 1967, which became . Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. 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. MAD FRANK and SONS - Home - Facebook Pictured: The female cast of the hit BBC show Peaky Blinders. 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. Then they were turned over to Fraser. Beezy said: "Frank's sister Eva was the one who led him into crime as a small boy. Queen of Thieves: The gangland women who made Peaky Blinders look like During World War 2 he was a deserter - escaping from his barracks on several occasions. But she was once caught stealing stockings and was sent to prison.. What saved him I think was the branch; it was supple and it bent. Although Lawton survived, the dog died. After three years in jail she tookpart in the Lambeth riot at Christmas 1925. Richardson Gang - Wikipedia At the same time Fraser was concerned to protect his West End business interests, chiefly the installation and operation (on an exclusive basis) in the clubs of Soho of one-armed bandits, or fruit machines, then growing in popularity. [25] In June 2013, the 89-year-old Fraser was served with an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) by police after a row with another resident. 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. During the 1950s, Fraser's main criminal occupation was as bodyguard to well-known gangsterBilly Hill. [5][6][7][8] His mother was of Irish and Norwegian descent, while his father was half Native-American. Frankie Fraser was tried at the Old Bailey for Harts murder, while six others, including Eddie Richardson, faced lesser charges. Former Northern Echo journalist Beezy Marsh has written a book about London gangster Mad Frankie Fraser. As a solicitor, I defended him in the trial following the Parkhurst riot and as a result wrote a number of books with him. 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. 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. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road inWaterloo,London on December 13, 1923. Both Fraser and Warren were given seven years for their acts of violence. 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. Underneath glamorous ensembles the women wore specially-adapted petticoats with hidden pockets or baggy bloomers with elastic at the knee. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. He emerged from jail in 1989 and has not been back since. 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. She also passed on her 'wisdom' to a future queen, Shirley Pitts. 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. Each incident added more time to his sentence. Mad Frank. 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. Fraser had no problem dealing with rival operators whose business was dented as a result. When caught by police she replied: 'I don't know anything about it.'. There were car chases and bank raids which would not have looked out of place in The Sweeney. During the 1950s, Fraser's main occupation was as bodyguard to well-known gangster Billy Hill. Part of his mouth was shot away in the incident. She helped him sell on his loot. MAD FRANK and SONS - Home - Facebook With Warren at his heels, Fraser ambushed Spot in a Paddington street, knocking him to the ground with a shillelagh. But Hill was already an admirer: a picture taken at a party to launch Hills ghosted autobiography in 1955 shows Fraser draped artistically over a piano. Physically slight at only 5ft 4in, and invariably wearing a smile and in retirement a sharp Savile Row suit, Frankie Fraser was nevertheless a ferocious and brutal hatchet man. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Alex Murdaugh unanimously found GUILTY of murder of wife and son, Isabel Oakeshott clashes with Nick Robinson over Hancock texts, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Do not sell or share my personal information. 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. Daughter. Sister of Frankie Davidson Fraser. Editors' Code of Practice. This is Eva Fraser, sister of gangster " Mad" Frankie who was one of the leading lights in The Forty Thieves. Fraser also appeared as East End crime boss Pops Den in the feature film Hard Men, a forerunner of British gangster movies such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and had a documentary made of his life, Mad Frank. 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. 'I felt it was time for their story to be told and it inspired my novel, which is the first in a planned trilogy for Orion about the gang, stretching from the 1920s to the 1950s.'. Frankie Fraser was born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London. Notorious gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser died in hospital today aged 90, relatives have revealed. He had been shot in the face. [9] He was a deserter during the Second World War, escaping from his barracks on several occasions. [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. Their alleged specialities included pulling teeth out using pliers, cutting off toes using bolt cutters and nailing victims to floors using 6-inch nails. Their loot would be stuffed into these 'hoister's drawers', allowing the women to leave the stores undetected. Fraser was released in 1988 and almost immediately served a two-year sentence for receiving. By the time of the Swinging Sixties, she was drinking champagne with the Krays. His first conviction was for stealing cigarettes, and with the second he was sent to an approved school. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. [26] On 21 November 2014, he fell critically ill during leg surgery at King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill[27] and was placed into an induced coma. Although he was acquitted, a further five years were added to his sentence. As he languished in jail, his sons David and Patrick and their older brother, Frank Jnr currently living quietly on the Costa del Sol carved their own careers as bank robbers and jewellery thieves in 1970s London. Ms Marsh said: 'These women fought harder than the men and were feared by men and women in their communities. 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 17 he was sent to Borstal for breaking and entering a hosiery shop in Waterloo and was then given a 15-month prison sentence for shopbreaking. '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. While the award-winning TV show Peaky Blinders was inspired by the all-male Brummagem Boys gang from the same period, the Forty Thieves make some of even their escapades seem tame by comparison. Author returns with book about the fascinating lives of notorious They also spoke, as Frank did, using the prison slang of a bygone era, which they had to translate for me. He was working all the hours he got sent, but he couldnt make ends meet. It has emerged that the former gangland enforcer, who has spent 42 years in prison for 26. On 21 November 2014, Fraser fell critically ill whilst undergoing leg surgery atKing's College Hospital,Denmark Hill. She and her friends looked like film stars when they went out down the pub. Had it all gone to plan, she could have inhabited a very different side of the West End to her little sister Eva. The years just after World War II were a boom time for the gang, as clothing was rationed until 1949. Alice herself was famous for clouting three furs in one go: one down each leg and one under her gusset. His mother was of Irish and Norwegian descent, while his father was half Native-American. It was almost as if the biggest thrill of all was the act of stealing itself. The grim terraces of Waterloo and the tenements of Elephant and Castle provided plenty of girls desperate enough to join The Forty Thieves. Questioned by police, Fraser reportedly gave his name as Tutankhamen (gangland slang for shtum) and asked What incident?. I don't think they felt bad about it. His enduring nickname Mad Frank derived from his violent temperament which caused him to attempt to hang the governor of Wandsworth prison (and the governors dog) from a tree, and to be certified insane on three separate occasions. 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. 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 imprisonment. [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. After trying his hand at crime as a child, Fraser then continued into his later life. Fraser was the. She helped him sell on his loot. Frankie Fraser Profiles | Facebook 'Mad' Frankie Fraser: Sweet dapper. Updated November 28, 2014 2.43pmfirst published at 2.41pm Save Share "From there he goes on to burgle, and she goes onto shop lifting with a famous female gang called The 40 Thieves. Sometimes the hoisters' lives became entangled with those of underworld bosses through affairs, family ties or marriage. According to Fraser, it was they who helped him avoid arrest for theGreat Train Robberyby bribing a policeman. She was chauffeured in a Bentley and always wore a sable coat. Fraser, tried separately, was jailed for 10. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. Fraser was jailed along with other members of the Richardson gang for violently punishing people whom the Richardsons believed owed them money. Frankie Frasers wife Doreen, with whom he had four sons, died in 1999. A Gannett Company. [10], In 1941, Fraser was sent to borstal for breaking into a Waterloo hosiery store, then given a 15-month prison sentence at HM Prison Wandsworth for shop-breaking. 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. The publisher also decided to include a glossary for the reader. After one snatch, he and his companion were arrested when their car would not start. It sounds like the worst days of Prohibition in Chicago rather than London in 1956, complained Mr Justice Donovan, but words were wasted on Fraser. Dubbed 'The Most Dangerous Man in Britain' by two Home Secretaries, Francis Davidson Fraser was born on the 13th of December 1923, and grew up in Waterloo, London.He and his sister, Eva started their life of crime at a young age, stealing from handbags and pickpocketing. An early nickname Razor Fraser reflected his penchant for shivving his enemies faces with a cut-throat blade. Here are some pictures of Eva Fraser - MAD FRANK and SONS | Facebook As a reward, he was shown his examination answers, and thats how I come top, he later boasted. The singer, 29, bared his chest and showed off his . contact IPSO here, 2001-2023. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. Frank's mother, Margaret, was a huge influence on him but his "best pal" and early partner in crime was his sister, Eva. She was still hoisting well into her 70s.'. 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. The middle sister was Kathleen, who constantly aspired to make it as an actress, and make use of her striking good looks. [11] In 1942, while serving a prison sentence in HM Prison Chelmsford, he came to the attention of the British Army. The book upset some of those mentioned in it, and Morton was dismayed to arrive home one evening to find a message from Fraser on his answering machine, demanding to speak to him urgently. They set up a fruit machine enterprise, which they would sell to pub landlords, to cover up their crimes. 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. Born 1920s. He then became involved in serious crime - and the war provided a perfect backdrop with the blackout, rationing and a shortage of police officers. Facebook gives people the power. '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. Aged seven, Ms Pitts was stealing milk and bread to provide food for her five siblings. A machine costing 400 could quickly recoup its cost if well-sited, and Frasers company offered club owners 40 per cent of the take rather than the standard 35 per cent as an inducement to install their machines. A witness changed his testimony and the charges were eventually dropped, though Fraser still received a five-year sentence for affray. Two people were left dead. Whatever you nicked you could sell, they'd be queuing up to buy it off you.". The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. It was just what we knew and to be honest, we loved it.. Together they set up the Atlantic Machines fruit-machine enterprise, which acted as a front for the criminal activities of the gang. He refused to discuss the shooting with the police. Eva got six months for stealing stockings from Bentalls in Kingston upon Thames. 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. Keeping My Sisters Secrets was published on July 27 by Pan Macmillan. '", 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. 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.