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. Comments have been closed on this article. Fraser served a total of 42 years in over 20 different prisons in the UK for numerous violent offences. The notorious English gangster turned to a life of a crime and before he knew it, he was behind bars. His funeral took place on December 18, 2014. 'They didn't see anything wrong in it because these things were too expensive for most people to afford and shops had insurance. She lived an unashamedly lavish lifestyle and splashed her money around. Photos of Frankie "Mad" Fraser - Find a Grave Memorial 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. The raids seem often to have been left to chance, and he was particularly unfortunate with cars. But who were the gang's most brazen members? He also claimed to have been the first bandit to wear a stocking mask. Frankie Fraser's Last Stand: Directed by Matt Blyth. Fraser, who was jailed for 10 years in the so-called "torture trial" in 1967, is now frail and in poor health. People shook his hand in the street, others kissed him or asked for his autograph and taxi drivers honked their horns. [14] According to Fraser, it was they who helped him avoid arrest for the Great Train Robbery by bribing a policeman. Over the last decade or so he was on the cabaret circuit and ran gangland tours of the East End, taking in such sights as the Blind Beggar pub, where Ronnie Kray shot dead George Cornell, one of the Richardson gang, in 1966. 'Any girl worth her salt in South London in those days was a. The criminal, who has spent almost half his life in prison, passed away earlier at King's. Even the gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser, whose sister Eva was a leading light in the gang in the thirties and forties, spoke with great reverence about Alice Diamond. From the time of Frankie Fraser's sister Eva and the gang of hoisters The Forty Thieves, comes a book which will have you gripped this summer. Fraser was one of the ringleaders of the major Parkhurst Prison riot in 1969, spending the following six weeks in the prison hospital because of his injuries. When police visited she showed them ledgers to demonstrate her honest buying. A constant troublemaker in prison, attacking governors and warders over perceived injustices which inevitably resulted in floggings, bread and water and the loss of remission, Fraser had by this time been certified insane on three occasions. Mad Frank (1994), which went on to sell around 100,000 copies, was the first in a successful series. Mad' Frankie Fraser and London's Most Notorious Gangsters Eva Fraser - the sister of notorious gangster Mad Frankie Fraser - was reputedly one of the last members of the Queens of the Forty Thieves shoplifting gang, which sold stolen goods from. MAD FRANK and SONS - Home - Facebook For other inquiries, Contact Us. She was one of the top thieves during the war. His parents never knew about his illegal activities, and if they ever suspected him apparently turned a blind eye, a habit . Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription you will not receive any updates until your subscription is confirmed. . The Frasers were both contemporaries of the Hatton Garden heist gang members many of whom also came from south London and who operated on the same bank robbing scene and shared jail cells with the Fraser boys at some point. Fraser was the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty. 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'. End-right girl on the back row is Eva.. Every old-school south Londoner knows the folklore of cockney criminal Frankie Fraser, whose violent tendencies were infamous on the streets of Walworth. Frankie Fraser was tried at the Old Bailey for Harts murder, while six others, including Eddie Richardson, faced lesser charges. 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. Frank's mother, Margaret, was a huge influence on him but his "best pal" and early partner in crime was his sister, Eva. 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. He shot, slashed, stabbed and axed. Tue 11 Jun 2013 11.55 EDT He may be in his 90th year but "Mad" Frankie Fraser is still causing mayhem. There were further language difficulties. After the war, Fraser was involved in a smash-and-grab raid on a jeweller, for which he received a two-year prison sentence, mostly served atHMP Pentonville. You understand the choices that lay ahead of you if you were a working-class girl. Jack 'Spot' Comer showing the scar on his face left by Frankie Fraser and Alf Warren (GETTY), By 1956, Fraser had racked up 15 convictions and had twice been certified insane. His mother was of Irish and Norwegian descent, while his father was half Native-American. [22], Fraser gave gangland tours around London, where he highlighted infamous criminal locations such as The Blind Beggar pub. Reporters claimed she was 6ft tall - despite police records from 1919 putting her at 5ft9in. Join Facebook to connect with Frankie Fraser and others you may know. Last seen in public in October at the funeral of his former boss, Charlie Richardson, Fraser is one of the few remaining members of a generation of "celebrity criminals". Frankie Fraser obituary | Crime | The Guardian "From there he goes on to burgle, and she goes onto shop lifting with a famous female gang called The 40 Thieves. Mad Frank and Sons: Tougher than the Krays, Frank and his boys on If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to The thieves' earnings allowed them to live like upper-class debutantes. At signing sessions of his books he was always willing to be photographed pretending to extract a tooth with pliers brought by the fan. 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. 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. Some became pals with young actresses as they partied in Soho nightclubs and stole dresses to order for them to wear on the red carpet. [9] He was a resident at a sheltered accommodation home in Peckham. A feature film production is currently[when?] '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. [8] Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, to whom he was close. Eva (Fraser) Brindle (1920s-2000s) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree They didnt go to jail, they did bird or got a lagging. Frankie Fraser was known anotorious torturer and hitman, who worked as an enforcer for some of London's most feared gang leaders. Born inLambeth, south London, Frankie committed his first crime at the age of 13, when he stole a packet of cigarettes and was sent to an approved school. Mad Frankie Fraser - Everything2.com He spent 42 years almost half his life in prison for 26 offences. His major stretch in prison came at the end of the Swinging Sixties, shortly before his rivals, the Krays, were jailed, but he was so badly behaved behind bars that he lost every day of remission and even had five years added to his sentence for one of the worst riots in prison history at Parkhurst in the Isle of Wight. 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'. 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. She and her friends looked like film stars when they went out down the pub. 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). It will only make me a worse villain! To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. [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. 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. A witness changed his testimony and the charges were eventually dropped, though Fraser still received a five-year sentence for affray. "Maybe he was bored with going to prison," Ronnie Richardson, Charlie's widow, tells the programme. Family ways of 'Mad' Frankie | The Northern Echo Frankie Fraser was a south London gangster who knew no language but violence and spent half his life behind bars. She operated out of Walworth, South East London and her home was called an 'Aladdin's cave of loot'. 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! With Frankie Fraser, Chris Keenan, Steve Box, Michael Boyd. 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. A witness later changed histestimony,and the charges were eventually dropped, though Fraser still received a five-year sentence for affray. His gangster boss Charles Richardson remembered him as one of the most polite, mild-mannered men Ive met but he has a bad temper on him sometimes. In 1941, Fraser was given his first taste of punishment when he was sent to borstal for breaking into a Waterloo hosiery store. '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. It wasnt that we chose to be thieves, said Patrick. Police reveal more details, as man remains at large after brutal attack outside school, Interview with MP Neil Coyle after Commons suspension: Why the drinking has stopped having started in childhood, but the swearing wont, plus deliberately avoiding Labour leader Keir Starmer, Read our print products (Digital Editions). These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. [11] In 1942, while serving a prison sentence in HM Prison Chelmsford, he came to the attention of the British Army. He then worked for legendary Soho crime boss Billy Hill in the 1950s, earning the nickname razor Fraser for his attacks on those who crossed him, before becoming embroiled in protection rackets in the 1960s, rising to the position of the Boss of Soho. Eva was a leading light in the gang in the thirties and forties, having risen through the ranks of the gang after joining in the 1930s. The big question everyone has about Frank is Was he really mad? He was certified insane three times once by the Army, twice in prison and he was diagnosed as a psychopath but his family argue, and I tend to agree, that he played the system to suit himself. Fraser received seven years. The violent thugs, the Kray twins, 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 Ms 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. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. Here are some pictures of Eva Fraser - MAD FRANK and SONS | Facebook 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. 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. 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. HP10 9TY. 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. According to Eddie Richardson, Fraser had Alzheimer's disease for the last three years of his life. The Guardian, October 12 1980 Frank Fraser is a thorn in the Prison Department's side - a thorn so big that he is possibly the only British criminal who has become a legend simply by serving time. When he was 10, the pair stole a cigarette machine from a local pub, hauled it to some waste ground and jemmied it open. He appeared on pop records and in television documentaries, toured his one-man show of criminal reminiscences (flexing a pair of gilded pliers), and found himself invited into bookshops to sign copies of his memoirs. Sometimes the hoisters' lives became entangled with those of underworld bosses through affairs, family ties or marriage. The following year, the British mobster Jack Spot and wife Rita were attacked, on Hill's say-so, by Fraser, Bobby Warren and at least half a dozen other men. [16], Fraser's 42 years served in over 20 different prisons in the UK were often coloured by violence. His mother was of Irish and Norwegian descent, while his father was halfNative-American. She helped him sell on his loot. The Old Bailey jury heard, in grisly detail that still resonates 50 years on, how Frankie Fraser tried to pull Coulstons teeth out one by one with a pair of pliers. Furs were rolled on the hanger and tucked into the women's undergarments when the store assistant was distracted, while jewellery and watches were swapped for fake versions and hidden under hats or in their hair. To evade discovery they posted the stolen items back to London or depositing a suitcase of loot at the railway station's left luggage office, to be collected later. In the summer of 2013 it emerged that, at the age of 89, Fraser had been served with an Antisocial Behaviour Order (Asbo) after another incident, this time at his care home in Peckham, south London.