Ronnie Kray (1933-1995) gangster

he and his twin brother Reggie controlled organized crime in the East End of London in the sixties both were jailed for life in 1969 after being convicted of murder Ronnie Kray was let out of Broadmoor in the early 80s to attend his mother's funeral it's thought he could now be buried in the same Cemetery a funeral likely to bring much of London's East End to a standstill the notorious gangster had collapsed in his room at Broadmoor Hospital on Wednesday he died this morning after being transferred to another hospital in slough born in 1933 in the heart of the East End Ronnie and his twin brother Reggie started out as boxers they became the most feared of London's gang leaders Ronnie the eldest by 45 minutes was the violent dominant partner their extensive protection racket known as the firm existed to extort money from shopkeepers enabling the twins to visibly enjoy the high life desperate for fame they cultivated the world of show business and the media but the law was aware of them in the mid 60s the pair were charged with demanding money with menaces only to be acquitted how much does this cost you roughly and how do you feel about that does it leave you Ronnie held court in his front room in Bethnal Green controlling West End protection masterminding swindles ordering killings over cups of tea it was at the blind beggar pub in Whitechapel that Ronnie himself shot dead a rival George Cornell for that and another murder by Reggie the pair were jailed in 1969 today at the blind beggar one of their closest friends was Mourning Ronnie's death hey well good guys gangsters if you want to use such a word I would armed women or children over untouchable if people will talk about the victims that check McVerry or George corner limit there were hardened criminals as high as him they would have done to Ronnie and Reggie what they'd done to them and that must always be remembered others though no illusions for the policeman who finally caught the Krays they were far from glamorous heroes there's no question about what prevented witnesses giving evidence to suggest that the craze involved and that was terror just absolute fear and terror I'm every extraordinary murderous effective pair of gangsters I think that's being covered up I say with a lot of schmaltz a lot of silly sentimental twaddle but they were very very good at their job if they hadn't started killing people they probably would be in the House of Lords but no but they ronnie kray died in hospital two days after collapsing in Broadmoor prison where he'd been since 1969 I Tian's Paul Davis looks back on an extraordinary life of crime gang leader killer and schizophrenic Ronnie Kray in the glasses here filmed attending his mother's funeral 13 years ago before returning to Broadmoor and a life sentence that ended with his death this morning known as the firm Ronnie and twin Reggie ruled London's East End in the early sixties arraigned that somehow horrified and fascinated the British public both had trained as boxers and used violence to impose their protection rackets Ronnie on the left of his mother here was a paranoid schizophrenic the most volatile and unpredictable of the two very mad I mean he would see messages from television he would thought that people were out to kill him he would see threat everywhere and this is what made him so ferocious and so dangerous because from a quite innocuous sort of remark or glance the crazed nightclubs attracted celebrities like Christine Keeler Judy Garland was another visitor the twins themselves enjoyed celebrity status until the crackdown on London's gangs ended with both being driven away from the old bailey jailed for life for the murders of George Canal and Jack the Hat McVitie around the East End and the pub where George Canal was shot dead there are those who remember Ronnie Kray with affection Ronnie Kray shooting offices if you do arm to be able to arm to you nothing we all did by that we were we were at the East End and I said we saw a life I'm not saying it's right but at least we didn't know how many innocent member of the public he had very good principles principles that will agree with some people but certainly principals agree with me and women and children in after but perhaps the last chapter of the gangsters life was most accurately illustrated by these pictures inside Broadmoor the small cell where Ronnie Kray spent the years of incarceration and the man himself prematurely aged by the drugs he was being treated with and according to a journalist he befriended regretting the wasted years he never apologized for it rightly or wrongly but he never ever tried to make excuses for it and when he looked back on it he always said he regarded it as a wasted life the actress Barbara Windsor an old friend of the Krays said today she was saddened by the circumstances of his death and because twenty eight years to be in Broadmoor is a very long time and I know they were looking forward to coming out and spending their last years in the country ronnie kray is expected to be buried alongside his mother in London's East End but the horse-drawn hearse and the long cortege were there for one of the East End's most notorious criminals the convicted murderer Ronnie Kray his twin brother Reggie was allowed out of Maidstone prison to pay his last respects Paul Davis reports it was the eastern send-off that Ronnie Kray planned in his prison cell and requested before his death from early this morning security men hired by the Kray family guarded the funeral parlor in Bethnal Green where the procession would begin among the floral tributes to the former gangster and convicted killer this from his twin Reggie who'd been given permission to leave prison for the day to attend the funeral Reggie Kray appeared handcuffed to a prison officer as the cortege prepared to move off the funeral route took the procession along streets the Kray twins used to rule with their own brand of terror and protection rackets back in the early sixties there were large crowds although most were curious onlookers it's debatable whether Ronnie Kray would recognize the east end of today the coffin was carried along Vallance Road where the craze used to live although the terraced family home was demolished many years ago at st. Matthews church the principal mourner Reggie Kray was greeted by old friends many of whom are now campaigning for his release the Kray family defending today's spectacular funeral say people should not forget that Ronnie Kray was mentally ill when he committed his crimes I've always said not making excuses it's known doctors will tell you but the one thing I love people remember them who don't who say bad things didn't I remember he had an illness if it wasn't for that it had been a different person after the church service Ronnie Kray's body will be carried to thousands of people lined the streets to watch the funeral procession Ronnie Kray had wanted a traditional East End funeral his family and friends made sure his wishes were respected down to the last detail the extravagance of the occasion only adding to the praise mythology for all the evidence of their violent past there are still those who maintain the twins prayed only on their own extorting money from other villains and conducting vicious gangland vendetta's questions about his murderous past Ronnie Kray would simply say we never killed any members of the public whatever the reality EastEnders turned out in their thousands to see his coffin passed by many cheering and applauding a procession stretched right across Bethnal Green as limousines followed the hearse to the church among a mass of flowers a tribute from his twin brother Reggie to the other half of me having been allowed out of prison to attend the funeral Reggie's arrival at the church was loudly cheered many in the East End think his sentence to serve not less than 30 years is too long and they now want him released the twins older brother Charlie helped carry the coffin into Church along with pallbearers from the London manors once engaged in bitter rivalry with the Krays during the service held behind closed doors the mourners sang the hymn fight the good fight and listen to a recording of one of Ronnie's favorite songs I did it my way in life Ronnie Kray reveled in his dubious status as of gangland celebrity the style of his departure would have been very much to his liking Peter Gould BBC news Bethnal Green

Channel: George Pollen

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Keywords: Ronnie Kray

Id: gBuzdWHIi7g

Length: 8min 51sec (531 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 14 2017