Our Story Book

The Kray twins were convicted of murder in 1969 and sentenced to a "minimum" of 30 years. Ron Kray is in Broadmoor and fears he will never be released and Reg, recently transferred from Parkhurst to Gartree feels that he has been punished enough. In this autobiography the twins, by turns, take over the narrative and set out exactly what happened, when and why and try to explode some of the myths that surround them. As two of the most notorious criminals in British history - once gangland leaders who terrorized the London underworld, they tell of their childhood in the East End of London which was fashioned by a father constantly on the run, a climate of street crime and war-time black-marketeering and the devotion of their mother. Early brushes with the law and their skills as young boxers led to eventual domination of Protection in East London. In the 1960s they achieved a sort of celebrity with their move west when they opened a nightclub in Mayfair and their much-publicised fund raising work for youthclubs. At that time film stars, socialites and politicians were pleased to be photographed by them. However, south of the river was the Richardson family and it was warfare when one side trespassed into the other gang's territory. Also described are the events leading up to their Old Bailey trial and imprisonment. They write of the easy springing of Frank Mitchell from Dartmoor and hint at his whereabouts today and Ron writes of the murder of George Cornell and Reg of his killing of Jack "the Hat" McVitie.Read More