The Great Train Robbery - Ronnie Biggs (1929-2013) & Brian Stone - Giles - an original Giles cartoon from a Giles Annual based on the Great Train Robbery. Signed by Stone and Biggs in black ink, adding an arrow to a part of the cartoon. Irregularly cut, approx 8x10". Brian Stone was one of Biggs' fellow inmates who aided his escape from prison by holding back some prison officers so Biggs could climb the wall.
The Great Train Robbery was the robbery of £2.6 million from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London on the West Coast Main Line in the early hours of 8 August 1963, at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn, near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England. After tampering with the lineside signals in order to bring the train to a halt, a gang of fifteen, led by Bruce Reynolds, attacked the train. Other gang members included Gordon Goody, Buster Edwards, Charlie Wilson, Roy James, John Daly, Danny Pembroke, Jimmy White, Ronnie Biggs, Tommy Wisbey, Jim Hussey, Bob Welch and Roger Cordrey, as well as three men known only as numbers "1", "2" and "3". A 16th man, an unnamed retired train driver, was also present. With careful planning based on inside information from an individual known as "The Ulsterman" (erroneously named as Patrick McKenna in 2014), the robbers escaped with over £2.6 million (equivalent to £53.5 million today). The bulk of the stolen money was never recovered. Though the gang did not use any firearms, Jack Mills, the train driver, was beaten over the head with a metal bar. Mills' injuries were severe enough to end his career. After the robbery, the gang hid at Leatherslade Farm and famously used the money in a game of Monopoly - unwittingly incriminating themselves whilst doing so as the Monopoly set was used to garner finger prints of the suspects and was instrumental in the Police arresting most of the gang. The ringleaders were sentenced to 30 years in jail.
The Great Train Robbery was the robbery of £2.6 million from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London on the West Coast Main Line in the early hours of 8 August 1963, at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn, near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England. After tampering with the lineside signals in order to bring the train to a halt, a gang of fifteen, led by Bruce Reynolds, attacked the train. Other gang members included Gordon Goody, Buster Edwards, Charlie Wilson, Roy James, John Daly, Danny Pembroke, Jimmy White, Ronnie Biggs, Tommy Wisbey, Jim Hussey, Bob Welch and Roger Cordrey, as well as three men known only as numbers "1", "2" and "3". A 16th man, an unnamed retired train driver, was also present. With careful planning based on inside information from an individual known as "The Ulsterman" (erroneously named as Patrick McKenna in 2014), the robbers escaped with over £2.6 million (equivalent to £53.5 million today). The bulk of the stolen money was never recovered. Though the gang did not use any firearms, Jack Mills, the train driver, was beaten over the head with a metal bar. Mills' injuries were severe enough to end his career. After the robbery, the gang hid at Leatherslade Farm and famously used the money in a game of Monopoly - unwittingly incriminating themselves whilst doing so as the Monopoly set was used to garner finger prints of the suspects and was instrumental in the Police arresting most of the gang. The ringleaders were sentenced to 30 years in jail.
