The Great Train Robbery
ROBBERY
Crime of the 20th Century
When: August 1963
Where: a village called Cheddington in Buckinghamshire
What happened? The mail train carrying vast sums of bank notes travelling from London to Glasgow was held up.
Who did this? A famous criminal masterminded the crime. His gang consisted of 15 hardened criminals and other ‘helpers’ who were not directly involved.
How did they do it? The gang put up a fake signal on the line. The train stopped. The criminals gagged and tied up the train driver. They drove the train down the line a mile. They unloaded a hoard of money - £2,631,684 in bank notes, which is worth more than 40 million today! They handcuffed staff and made their get away.
What did they do next? They loaded a waiting lorry and travelled to Leatherslade Farm - which had been purchased for them as a hideout, by a dodgy solicitor. There they waited, playing monopoly using real money. When they heard the police had cordoned off the roads and were closing in on them, they tried to run, but was it too late?
How did they get caught? The police were tipped off by a herdsman who worked on a field near the gang’s hideout. The police entered the farm and found many post office sacks, registered mail packages and bank note wrappers. They found fingerprints on a bottle of ketchup and on a monopoly board.
What sentence did they get? A number of arrests were made and 12 men were jailed. Two of the train robbers escaped from prison. One was re-caught. However, Ronnie Biggs (the most famous robber) escaped from Wandsworth Prison, only 15 months into his sentence. A furniture van was parked alongside the prison walls and a ladder dropped over the 30 foot wall into the prison during outside exercise time. The stolen money was never recovered.
Excerpts from a play script:
A Den Of Robbers
Your task is to write the missing scenes for the play script.
SCENE 1: (the cellar of a house.)
Bruce: Our plan is to hold up the night post train. See this map - the train will be travelling from London to Glasgow and at about 10pm it will pass Cheddington. That’s where we’ll take it.
All: Yes Boss!
Bruce: Joe - you and Bob will set up a fake railway signal. It will turn red as the train approaches. The train will stop. The driver may get out. Over power him.
Joe: What… kill him…?
Bruce: Whatever you like. Gag him - tie him up - leave him in the bushes, but don’t let him talk to anyone. Hand cuff the workers at the station - in case they see there is a problem and alert the police. You’ll then drive the train Joe, because you’ve worked on the railway. Drive it back down the line a few miles. Ronnie will be ready to start unloading the cash. It will be in bags. Dennis will be in the get away lorry. So the plan is - we load the bags into the lorry and make a quick getaway. Dan has acquired Leatherslade Farm. You’ll drive there - it’s quite remote - with a tree-lined drive. We’ll unload the cash at dusk. That’s all there is to it. We’ll be rich!
(The robbery takes place according to plan. The men lay low at their remote hide out.)
Bruce: I’ve just heard on the radio - the police are searching the area.
Dennis: I wouldn’t worry. This farm is so remote. They’ll never find us here.
Ronnie: Dan - the solicitor has just phoned - he says the village is swarming with police. They’ve blocked off the main road.
Bruce: We’re going to have to make a run for it. It’s only a matter of time before they search the farm.
Dennis: Here put the monopoly board away.
Bruce: No, there’s no time to tidy up. Lets just get out quick.
SCENE 2: (At the police station, two police men are going through the witness statement from the robbery. They are determined to catch the robbers.)
Detective 1: What did they say?
(He reads the witness statement.)
Detective 2: The criminal told the witness that he was going to gag him to make sure that he didn’t speak to anyone for thirty minutes. He told him if he talked he would be...
Detective 1: Only, thirty minutes - that means the crooks must still be in a radius of no more than thirty miles. Get all the premises searched in a thirty miles radius of London. Get in touch with every police station and block off all main roads.
Detective 2: We must act swiftly so the robbers don’t get away. Search warehouses, cellars and farms… any remote places they could hide out
(later…)
Detective 1: Sarge, we’ve got quite a few fingerprints at the station. These match up with master criminal Bruce. We’ve got an address for him.
Detective 2: Get round to his house now.
Now write the scene for the arrest.
Now, fill in the missing dialogue
SCENE 4: (Judge sits in his chair and jury sit on the benches. Court proceedings begin.)
The Court: I hereby charge you with the offence of robbing the London to Glasgow post train on Wednesday August 16th 1963.
(Defendant to speak)
The Court: Do you have anything to say in your defence?
Joe: I was at home, watching T.V. on that day.
(Witness comes forward)
Witness: It was definitely that man who grabbed me and put the gag round my mouth. He said he’d kill me if I struggled. Then, he got into my cab and drove the train back up the line. I passed out after this and I don’t remember anything else....
Defence lawyer: Your honour, I have proof that this man was at home on...
Prosecuting lawyer: I would argue to the contrary, your honour. This man matches the description of the man who wilfully grabbed the train driver, beat him black and blue, put handcuffs on him and left him tied up...
(A long time later - after a lot of evidence and witnesses have been heard, the jury go out to consider the verdict.)
Judge: After having considered the evidence, I find you guilty. I hereby sentence you to 25 years in prison.
(Joe is led away in handcuffs.)
Joe: ...
Prison Officer: ...
Write the final scene: Ronnie plans his escape from prison.