8.

Spring/Summer 1958:

Taking Over the Asylum

Ron Kray was transferred from Wandsworth Prison to the asylum at Long Grove in February 1958. By the summer of that year there were over 1,000 patients there – some of these were Ron’s ex-fellow prisoners, some from other state institutions. Not everyone at Long Grove was a criminal, but all were prisoners of the system.

The doctors who were to treat Ron Kray had no previous information about him; no medical history not even a criminal record to go on. They were told nothing of his past, so they treated him like everyone else at the asylum. To them he was just a man who was paranoid and schizophrenic – to them, in a word, he was insane.

Reg and Charlie visited as much as possible, but there was a business to run and things to do. Ron was in the main left alone with his thoughts. He thought about his old pal Frank Mitchell and the problems he had. He was at that time being detained in Dartmoor Prison at Her Majesty’s pleasure – for an indefinite period. That word ‘indefinite’ was bad news to Ron Kray. Having a date for release was what he wanted. It made it easier, he could cross off the days on his calendar. There was something to look forward to, anything was better than nothing.

On one visit Ron was talking to Reg and an old friend, Johnny Hutton, when a fellow inmate walked up and spat in their faces. Ron was quietly eating an apple at the time, not bothering a soul. But that was the kind of place it was and Ron wanted out. He told his brother straight, ‘This place is full of nutters!’

Reg was also to learn that this was not the first time such an event had occurred. Previously someone had strolled casually up to Ron and hit him in the face. The man was restrained by the big guards stationed everywhere around the asylum, but it was all Ron could do to refrain from retaliation. He knew that sooner or later, there would be real trouble and his card would be marked forever.

However, Reg and Charlie were pleased with Ron’s progress at Long Grove. He had been a model patient, taken his medication and been subdued. But even they knew that this new situation would not last, they had to get him out.

One evening at The Double R Club, Reg and Charlie were taking a few drinks after hours. They were alone with the empty glasses, alone with their thoughts. They had to devise a plan, but what kind of plan – and how forceful could they be without being too drastic? There were guards everywhere, so guns were out. Also innocent people could get hurt and that wouldn’t do their public image any good – and Ron was all about image.

‘What was that about this six-week rule?’ said Reg suddenly. His brother caught on immediately. ‘If you get out for six weeks then they have to send you back to the prison you came to Long Grove from, to serve out your time – that is if you don’t commit a crime in the meantime,’ replied Charlie. But he was still a little puzzled. ‘But how is that gonna help us?’ he asked Reg. ‘We still have to get him out!’

Reg had a glint in his eye. ‘No trouble – no trouble at all,’ he said. ‘I’ll just walk in and Ron will walk out!’ It was as simple as that, after all they were identical twins and not many people could tell them apart. But would it work? Would the guards at the asylum recognise Reg from Ron? They laughed as the plan took shape. It made perfect sense. Combined with the six-week rule, they had it made. All they would have to do was to keep Ron out of trouble for six weeks . . .

For the plan to succeed they had to make sure Ron’s certificate of insanity lapsed, but keeping Ron away from trouble for six weeks was no easy task. He had improved of late, though, surely it would work. It had to work!

Reg and Charlie planned it meticulously. They chose the busiest day of the year for visitors. It was a Sunday. A lovely summer’s day, with crowds galore. Ron was told about the elaborate details of the plan on their routine visits. But the day of the escape was by no means routine, it was a conjurer’s delight – all performed to perfection by Reg Kray.

Charlie stayed back at The Double R Club, so as not to arouse too much suspicion. Only those actually involved in the plan were told about it, and they all knew exactly what to do. Some of the Firm were put on standby with cars at the ready, but they weren’t told too much. It kept everyone on their toes and the Krays liked it that way. They even arranged for a caravan to escape to to be put on a friend’s farm, way out in the Suffolk countryside, just in case of trouble.

The day arrived and the plan was put into action. The drive to Long Grove in Surrey took around an hour. There were two cars in the convoy. They were all dressed up and raring to go. The excitement reached fever pitch as they neared the huge gates of the asylum. One of the cars was a black Ford, packed with some of Ron’s oldest pals. Billy Nash was there, so too was Bernie King and Mick ‘The Hammer’. And they had carton-fulls of Ron’s favourite cigarettes with them.

The other car was a blue Lincoln, with Reg driving accompanied by an old family friend, Georgie Osborne. Reg was always ultra careful in his planning, so along the route a third car was hidden, just in case.

Visiting time was at three o’clock, so they arrived a few minutes early and parked the cars just outside the gates. There were people everywhere, since almost everyone had Sundays free and they took the opportunity to visit their troubled relatives and friends held at the asylum on this day. Reg and Georgie Osborne would go on the visit, since only two visitors were allowed at any one time. The others would stay in the Ford and wait.

The blue Lincoln parked in full view of the gate-house keeper. But the black Ford was positioned just around the corner, away from any prying eyes. The escape was all set.

Billy Nash, Bernie King and Mick ‘The Hammer’ chain smoked as they waited in the Ford. They had their excuses ready, just in case they were questioned by anyone. But they didn’t have to worry. No one came near.

Reg and Georgie Osborne stepped out and walked along the gravel path leading to Long Grove. Through the beautiful gardens and in through the entrance they went, men on a mission – to them it was the great escape. The adrenaline began to surge as Reg checked his equipment. The blue suit was clean and tidy, the grey overcoat was neat, his hair was cut and his face clean-shaven. Yes, he thought, everything was in place as they entered the building.

Back at The Double R Club Charlie just had to wait. But there was a job to do and Charlie knew his trade. The customers came and went and Charlie was the perfect host. No one noticed any difference in his behaviour, even though his heartbeat was quickening by the minute. Charlie was his natural, cool self.

It was a pleasant summer’s day. Rain had been forecast though so no one paid any attention to a well-dressed man wearing an overcoat. Reg Kray was just like any other visitor that day. They continued to walk through the maze of corridors, until they finally reached their goal, the section where Ron was housed. They didn’t talk as they entered the visiting room, through door after door, unlocked for them one at a time.

‘We’ve come to see Ron Kray,’ said Reg, matter-of-fact and as casual as usual. The guard showed them over to a table near the main doors, where they could wait. The room was packed. They had chosen the right day all right. Both men began to relax.

Reg had brought a photo album with him. He and Osborne looked at the photos and laughed out loud, waiting for the appearance of Ron Kray. They looked around them as they sat quietly in the wooden chairs. They could see the huge windows looking out onto the garden, making the room light and airy. It was comfortable – no problem waiting. Reg was still wearing his raincoat. But they didn’t have long to wait.

Ron entered the room, looking like the chairman of the board. He was wearing a blue suit, smart and clean. He was even wearing his spectacles. He soon saw Reg and strolled over to the table. Reg and Georgie Osborne got up and they shook hands. As Ron sat down, Reg got up and removed his coat. Reg was also wearing a blue suit. His hair was the same as Ron’s, and when he put on his glasses he looked the spitting image of his twin brother. But no one noticed. They sat down and got busy looking at the photo album.

The general noise in the room rose a notch or two as people talked and chatted about everything and anything. Soon it was tea-time and Ron saw his chance. He took it. Standing up and taking Reggie’s raincoat over his arm he pocketed his spectacles and walked towards the door. ‘Just going for the tea,’ he told the guard. Nothing strange here, it happened every day at Long Grove. Ron took a quick look back at his brother as the guard opened the door. Soon he was out in the corridor.

As Ron walked out of the asylum Reg chatted and laughed with Georgie Osborne. Reg kept burying his face in the photo album and kept hiding his features from the view of the guards, as if it would have mattered. But he knew instinctively that his plan had worked. Now it was all up to Ron.

Ron walked unchallenged all the way to the main doors of Long Grove – and beyond. He strolled down the gravel path, not too quick, not too slow. He thought about freedom and he thought about his twin brother back there in the visitors’ room. He smiled. (Many years afterwards I asked him how easy it was to find his way out of Long Grove, since the asylum was known for its maze of corridors. ‘Easy,’ he told me. ‘I just followed the exit signs!’)

Ron Kray soon made it to the black Ford and his waiting pals. Even the big iron gates of the asylum couldn’t stop him. He was free. As he got into the car he grabbed a pack of Players and lit up. It was party time all the way back to London. And they didn’t even need that extra car.

Meanwhile, back in the visitors’ room, one of the guards became suspicious. ‘You’ve pulled a flanker!’ he shouted at Reg as he raised the alarm. But it was all too late. Ron had flown the coop and nobody could catch him. The sound of the alarm scared everyone. Visitors and patients alike ran in all directions. It took a long time to sort them out and to get round to questioning Reg and Georgie Osborne. Reg was grinning like a Cheshire cat at the goings on. He had done it – he had managed to get his twin brother away from the clutches of the asylum and to safety. But just how long would it be safe, and just how long a six weeks would it be?

Reg told them that he didn’t know where his brother Ron had got to, and that he was actually beginning to get worried. He said he was even considering legal action, in the event that his brother came to harm. The authorities at Long Grove knew that it was all part of the act, but they couldn’t prove anything. So they had to let him go. Reg and Georgie walked back down that gravel path, laughing all the way, and drove nonchalantly back to London.

On the way he phoned Charlie at The Double R Club. ‘It’s done,’ he told his brother. Charlie poured himself a whisky. Now he too could relax. But Charlie knew that this was really only the beginning, not the end. Six weeks was a long time and nobody could predict the future.

A few days after the escape a doctor at the asylum phoned Reg asking to see him. Charlie and Reg drove down to Long Grove and talked with the doctor at length. The news was not good. ‘You must remember that your brother needs help. He is sick and must not be taken off his medication,’ the doctor told them. Reg and Charlie started to worry, their faces turned a whiter shade of pale. ‘But it was cleverly done, I’ll give you that!’ he added. ‘If you need my help, then you have my phone number,’ he told them in parting.

The following weeks saw Ron in Walthamstow and then in that caravan, deep in the Suffolk countryside. He always had company and at first he was all right. But his pills soon ran out and Reg started to lose control of him.

One night, just to keep Ron happy, they arranged for him to visit one of Reggie’s favourite watering holes and got him to pretend to be his twin brother. Ron walked in and sat in Reggie’s chair up at the bar. Everyone was asking, ‘How is Ron?’

Ron told them. ‘He’s fine, thank you!’

They did the same trick at The Double R Club, with Ron pretending to be Reg. It was proving to be very handy being twins. It had worked well in the past when they were really identical, but now that Ron was ill his appearance began to change. Most of the Firm could see it but others, outside their immediate circle of close friends, could still not tell the one from the other.

Those six weeks couldn’t go fast enough for Reg and Charlie Kray. They did what they could, but without proper medication no one could help their brother Ron, whose condition was rapidly deteriorating.

Charlie was concerned and so too was Reg and the members of the Firm. They could all see it – all, that is, except Ron himself. But they did manage to talk him into seeing a psychiatrist in Harley Street. Ron saw the man and they did some tests. The results were not good – as expected, Ron was diagnosed a paranoid schizophrenic. When Charlie asked about treatment, he was told to get his brother back to Long Grove as quickly as possible.

So Ron was rushed by taxi back to the asylum and instant treatment. Fortunately though those six weeks were up so he could soon be transported back to Wandsworth Prison to serve out his sentence there. The escape plan, then, had worked well – they got clean away with it.