Caroline Allen - The Krays London: A History and Guide

THE

KRAYS'

LONDON

For my Uncle, Paul King, who would

have loved to have read this book.

A HISTORY AND GUIDE

CAROLINEALLEN

First published in Great Britain in 2019 by

PEN AND SWORD HISTORY

an imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd Yorkshire Philadelphia

Copyright Caroline Allen, 2019

ISBN 978 1 52673 381 8

eISBN 978 1 52673 382 5

Mobi ISBN 978 1 52673 383 2

The right of Caroline Allen to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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A GUIDE TO THE

KRAYS LONDON

There are many conflicting stories about who Ronnie and Reggie Kray were. Films depicting their lives have made the public vilify, adore and even admire the East End gangsters.

The pair were standout perpetrators of organised crime in the 1950s and 60s, and most people who lived in the East End of London during that time have a story or two to share about them.

Before I delve into the frequented haunts of the Kray twins, its important to share a bit of information about what the East End was like during the years of their reign. I believe this to be quite an important part of their story.

This area of London was poor. This is a sentence that has been repeated time and time again during the interview process for this book. It was overcrowded and with overcrowding came a whole plethora of social problems. The poverty dates back to the beginning of the nineteenth century when the East Ends land operated on a system called copyhold, which in simple terms meant that the land was held on short leases, stopping people from developing on it.

The Second World War had a devastating impact on the East End of London. Born in 1933, the Kray twins were just children during the war, but the area in which they were born was badly battered.

When the war was over, the proximity to the docks, which attracted immigration and low-paid, manual workers, was perhaps the most prominent reason why this area was overcrowded in such a disproportionate way to the rest of London.

The East End was a prime location for industries producing noxious gases. The location of this part of London was key. Winds travelled from west to east in the city so by placing factories in the East End, the gases would travel away from the city and not into it. This meant there was always a lot of jobs for working-class people.

At the time, the people of Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney were no strangers to crime. Theft of goods at the quayside and prostitution were rife during the years before the Krays were born. The area also had a history of attracting notorious criminals, from Jack The Ripper to the London Burkers.

Throughout all of this, East Enders formed an alliance. They werent despondent about their lot in life, instead, they were largely a happy and friendly community. Ive spoken to a number of people who would refer to themselves as cockneys (to be a cockney you must have been born within earshot of the Bow bells), and their memories of the East End during the 1950s and 60s are overwhelmingly positive.

A building close by to the school the twins attended. Taken in 2018.

In those years, being poor didnt mean you didnt enjoy life. All of the people I interviewed said that East End people were very proud of their houses and theyd always be spotlessly clean, happy and largely content.

In a community as tight-knit as this, you can see why people defended the twins. Many of the people in roads around Vallance Road, where the pair grew up, knew their mother, Violet. This integrated community, coupled with the areas deep mistrust of the police, caused a wave of support for them.

Its important to remember that during this time, the Kray twins were very much a part of everyday activity for a typical cockney. They might pass them in the street and say hello. The population of the East End felt mostly safe from the Kray twins, because they were their own. Here was born a Robin Hood mentality; people believed they only stole from, and murdered, people who deserved it and that they were doing it in the best interest of the people of the East End.

It can be argued that the Krays used this community camaraderie to their advantage. The pair used to take protection money from local shops and businesses. For example, if somebody vandalised their shop, owed them money or stole from them, the perpetrator would have the Krays to answer to.

This isnt the first time in history that weve seen criminals adored by the public. Take drug lord and narco-terrorist Pablo Escobar as an example. The people in Medelln, Colombia, worshipped him throughout the 1970s. Again, Medellns poverty-stricken environment and mistrust of police led them to think Escobar was working on their behalf: the peoples criminal.

Bethnal Green Road, 2018.

A quiet road off Bethnal Green Road.

You can, as a result, forgive the many books and films which depict the Krays in a romantic way because it is, in fact, factually accurate of the way in which the people of the East End felt at the time.

This guidebook will take you, place by place, around where Ronnie and Reggie Kray lived and worked. Some of the places mentioned are still standing today and most of the roads are still there. The idea is not for me to either vilify or romanticise the duo; I think its important everybody makes up their own minds. Instead, this book will take an in-depth look at what happened in each place and how their story pieced together to create such an iconic path.

Chapter 1

178 Vallance Road

Where?

178 Vallance Road