Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Pop Culture»People
    People 3 Mins Read

    Richardsons, The

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Charlie Richardson was born in Camberwell, south-east London in 1934. His brother Eddie was born in 1936, the youngest sibling Alan in 1940.

    Charlie and Eddie were brought up in a traditional south London working-class family, and like their east London counterparts, the Kray twins, they endured a wartime childhood, enjoyed the vibrant street life of working-class London and developed as talented young boxers and prominent street fighters.

    Charlie (pictured below left) was a canny businessman – he owned six scrap yards by the age of 22. He and Eddie (pictured below right) had a penchant for hard work and made good money from the post-war scrap metal trade, plundering the remnants of abandoned wartime airfields.

    Charlie Richardson had first encountered the Kray twins in Shepton Mallet military prison, where all were awaiting a dishonourable discharge from National Service.

    The honeypot of the West End brought them back into contact, and although the east London firm claimed to be preparing for warfare, there is little to suggest the Richardson firm took them seriously.

    By the end of the 1950s, the Richardson’s had an empire in South London, and an unrivalled team of hard men, including Jimmy Moody (one of the “Chainsaw Robbers”), George Cornell (an East Ender who had clashed with the youthful Krays), Charlie Marston and ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser (pictured below left with actor Stanley Baker and Eddie Richardson).

    But Charlie’s ambition was to be a multi-millionaire, not the number one gangster. He utilised Jack Duvall, one of the most respected con-men but soon discovered Duvall had dipped his fingers in the till and fled overseas.

    By the 1960s The Richardson’s were London’s most powerful gang. Far more violent than the Kray’s, the Richardson’s had a reputation as very vicious people.

    In 1966, in a shooting at Mr Smiths Club in Catford, an associate of the Krays was killed and five men were wounded. Eddie Richardson and Frank Fraser were arrested, Fraser for murder. The following night Ronnie Kray murdered George Cornell.

    At dawn on 30 July 1966 (the memorable day that England beat Germany in the World Cup) 70 police officers raided homes across London’s south-east. They seized the gang leader, Charlie Richardson, in bed. That day, 11 of the gang were charged and the power of the Richardson’s was broken.

    At the trial in 1967 (which became known as ‘The Torture Trial’), the jury heard evidence of sadistic brutality rarely heard in an English court. In the dock sat gang leader Charlie Richardson, his younger brother Eddie and their notoriously violent “enforcer”, Frank Fraser – already known as “Mad Frankie”.

    Petty fraudster, Benny Coulston, claimed he was tortured in Charlie Richardson’s office and that Frankie Fraser tore his teeth out with pliers. He was accused of stealing £600 from some of Richardson’s gang.

    Alleged victims of the Richardsons were granted immunity from prosecution if they “turned Queen’s Evidence” and a distinct lack of physical evidence did not deter the judge, Mr Justice Lawton.

    Eddie was sentenced to 10 years with another five for the Mr Smith incident, and Fraser received five years for affray and 10 years for some deviant dental practices at the Richardsons’ Peckham scrapyard. Charlie received 25 years.

    Charlie Richardson escaped from an open prison in 1980 and remained free for just under a year. In 1984 he was finally released after serving 17 years. He died from blood poisoning in 2012. He was 78.

    Related Posts

    • Malcolm McLaren
      Malcolm McLaren
      Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was born on 22 January 1946 in North London. His father left when he was two…
    • Yuppies
      Yuppies
      What rich 1980s white-collar workers were called in the decade when the western world revelled in unapologetic materialism. Yuppies (an…
    • John Peel
      John Peel
      John Peel (born John Ravenscroft in 1939) cut his teeth as a DJ in the USA, working on stations in…
    • Lee Gordon
      Lee Gordon
      American born promoter Lee Gordon arrived in Sydney in 1953, after a chance meeting with an Australian used car salesman,…
    • Jack Good
      Jack Good
      Born in London on 7 August 1931, Jack Good was one of the first people in Britain to realise that…
    • Baader-Meinhof (Red Army Faction)
      Baader-Meinhof (Red Army Faction)
      "Baader-Meinhof" became the popular name for the West German left-wing guerrilla group the Rote Armee Fraktion (Red Army Faction), who were active…
    • Vivienne Westwood
      Vivienne Westwood
      Original and outrageous, British designer Vivienne Westwood is one of the most recognised and influential designers of the late twentieth…
    • Yoko Ono
      Yoko Ono
      Born in Japan on 13 February 1933, Yoko Ono finished her education in the USA and became a well-known figure…

    Crime
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleRobert Askin
    Next Article Ronald Reagan

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Barnaby Jones
      1 9 7 3 – 1 9 8 0 (USA) 178 x 60 minute episodes After a […]
    • Space Patrol
      1 9 6 3 –  1 9 6 4 (UK) 39 x 25 minute episodes […]
    • Balloonfest ’86
      27 September 1986 Balloonfest ’86 was intended to be a […]
    • Girls, The (Young and Gay)
      1 9 5 0 (USA) 13 x 30 minute episodes Emily Kimbrough and […]
    • Thumb Tripping (1972)
      Young Chay (Meg Foster) and Gary (Michael Burns) – two […]
    • Acapulco
      1 9 6 1 (USA) 8 x 30 minute episodes Patrick Malone (Ralph […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.