This is my town. The pride of Essex. Twinned with Shitville, Luxembourg. Essex Heist 2017 starring Georgia Annable & Richard Carter & Adam Collins & Helen Crevel & Steven Dolton & Dean Leon Finlan & Evadne Fisher & Ryan Flamson & Marc Hamill & Marcus Langford et al, director Steve Lawson
What can I say? My mum was a cunt, God rest her soul. ibid.
We’re going to see some wrestling. Some say I’m crazy. Freedom to Die 1961 starring Paul Maxwell & Felicity Young & Bruce Seton & Kay Callard & T P McKenna & Laurie Leigh & James Neylin & Dermon Tuohy & Charlie Byrne & James Fitzgerald & Desmond Perry et al, director Francis Searle, him to her
Get rid of him, Mike, and make it neat. ibid. gangstas
£50,000 in cash. The police are going to be a little unhappy. Naked Fury 1959 starring Reed de Rowen & Kenneth Cope & Ligh Madison & Arthur Lovegrove & Alexander Field & Tommy Eytle & Ann Lynn & Marianne Brauns & Arthur Gross et al, director Charles Saunders, gang leader with American accent
You must marry again after a decent interval of mourning … oh a fortnight would be long enough to indicate your grief – you must keep abreast of the times. Loot 1970 starring Richard Attenborough & Lee Remick & Hywel Bennett & Milo O’Shea & Roy Holder & Dick Emery & Joe Lynch & John Cater & Aubrey Woods & Harold Innocent et al, director Silvio Narizzano
At the station the gold was loaded into the luggage van of the Folkstone train for shipment to the coast and there to the Crimea. The First Great Train Robbery 1978 starring Sean Connery & Donald Sutherland & Lesley-Anne Down & Alan Webb & Malcolm Terris & Robert Lang & Michael Elphick & Wayne Sleep et al, director Michael Crichton, commentary
George Davis, a man unjustly jailed for bank robbery. The wrong place the wrong time … On April 4th 1974 four armed men burst into the offices of the London Electricity Board in Ilford, making away with over the equivalent of £77,585 in payroll. Two passing policemen gave chase but couldn’t outrun the robbers who opened fire and eventually made good their escape. And so began a trial that made headlines around the world. And a campaign for justice unlike any other. The Guilty Innocent with Christopher Eccleston I: George Davis, Sky History 2024
‘Peter Chappell said, This is not right. He was with me that morning.’ ibid. George
1975: ‘I said, I’m being fitted up here … identified by five policeman.’ ibid.
Leaving George alone in the dock to face the verdict. ibid.
‘He gave me 20 years in total.’ ibid. George
Peter Chappell and Rose would have to go to greater lengths to get justice done. ibid.
‘George Davis Is Innocent OK was plastered everywhere. ‘ ibid. journalist
It must have been strange for George imprisoned and yet somehow at the absolute centre of this incredible moment of social change. ibid.
‘The most spectacular miscarriage of justice protest ever.’ ibid. journalist
‘And there was no explanation why … [he was] released with immediate effect … to absolute pandemonium, rock star reception.’ ibid. legal lady
The Brink’s-Mat job, the Security Express depot, and the Bank of America robbery; they are names etched in criminal history … I meet a few of them. British Gangsters: Faces of the Underworld s1e5: Your Money or Your Life
After a string of armed robberies across Essex and the south-east, Vic Dark and his accomplice set out to rob the Penthouse nightclub in September 1988. It was supposed to be an easy job. ibid.
What do you suggest? Lock them in the safe? Strongroom 1962 starring Colin Gordon & John Chappell & Ann Lynn & Derren Nesbitt & Keith Faulkner et al, director Vernon Sewell [arrival of cleaners interrupts the robbery; bank manager and secretary bound, gagged, and locked in vault ]
Robber #1: How much d’you reckon there is?
Robber #2: Thirty thousand quid. ibid.
BELFAST & NORTHERN IRELAND: Richard English - Britain’s Biggest Heists TV - Heist: The Northern Bank Robbery - Odd Man Out 1947 -
Too many things point it having been the IRA. One is the manner of taking people hostage ... Second is the scale of the thing. Professor Richard English, author The History of the IRA
It was a brutal and audacious bank robbery using the maximum threat of violence and death. It sent shock waves around the world just days before Christmas in 2004 the theft of £26.5 took place from the headquarters of the Northern Bank in Belfast Northern Ireland. Britain’s Biggest Heists: The Northern Bank Robbery, 2011
Two employees and their families were abducted and held hostage by a criminal gang who threatened them with violence and death. ibid.
Following the raid the Northern Bank announced that it would take the drastic step to withdraw all its bank notes. ibid.
‘I’ve just actually went through an order of, of an abduction. I actually work in the Northern Bank cash centre. They used me to rob it. Thirty million.’ Heist: The Northern Bank Robbery, 911 call, BBC 2021
2004: It was the biggest bank robbery in British history. Two families held hostage. A crime that shook politics in Northern Ireland to its core. ibid. caption
Who robbed them? Did the IRA carry it out? If the IRA did carry it out, did Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams know about it? And they are at the heart of the Peace Process at this moment. ibid.
The Northern bank raid is among the biggest robberies of modern times, and yet so much of what happened is a mystery. ibid.
Internal bank CCTV captures the entire robbery unfolding. ibid.
6:28 p.m.: Chris returns to the bank for the real robbery to begin. ibid.
‘7 people have been arrested and more than two million pounds seized: a possible connection with the Northern Bank Robbery just before Christmas … ‘A major [IRA] laundering operation.’ ibid.
Two members of the IRA are arrested in Cork. ibid.
March 2008: Three years after the robbery Ted Cunningham faced ten charges of money laundering. ibid.
January 2007: Two years after the robbery cases against two suspects collapse. ibid.
They couldn’t get any convictions: which is extraordinary when you think about this: the scale of it, the political significance of it, and the resources that the police put into this, and the huge vested interest they had in getting a conviction. ibid.
This violence isn’t getting us anywhere. Odd Man Out 1947 starring James Mason & Robert Newton & Cyril Cusack & William Hartnell & Kathleen Ryan & F J McCormick & Fay Compton & Denis O'Dea et al, director Carol Reed, Johnny
As long as he lives he belongs to the organisation. ibid. geezer
BRISTOL: Inside Men TV -
They tell you not to panic. They tell you to stay calm. Not resist. Not put up a fight. Don’t engage them in conversation. Don’t speak unless spoken to. Be compliant and you will live to see another day. Inside Men I starring Steven MacIntosh (as John) & Ashley Walters (as Chris) & Warren Brown (as Marcus) & Kierston Wareing (as Gina) & Paul Popplewell (as Tom) & Nicola Walker (as Kirsty) et al, director James Kent, BBC 2012
Not even criminals want cash nowadays – online that’s where it’s at. ibid. John
No-one nicks that much cash any more. ibid. Marcus
What we want to do is make small regular withdrawals. ibid. Marcus
If you’re going to cross that line it has to be worth it. ibid. John
What if we took the lot? ibid. John
How much do you remember? How much do you retain? This is when the real work begins. This is when you have to be strong. This is when they think they know you. But they don’t. They can’t. Inside Men II
It’s thought an extremely large sum of money was taken. ibid. radio news
So far we have three men on the inside and no-one on the outside. ibid. John
Whatever scheme you’re running is doomed to fail, so no thank you. ibid. friend of Marcus
On a good night up to a hundred and fifty million. ibid. Marcus
How much did we get? ibid. Chris in hospital bed
The spending part – keeps me awake at night. Inside Men III, Marcus
I want out. ibid. Chris
The £172 million still missing. ibid. television news
I want to report a crime. This one hasn’t happened yet. ibid. Chris
Everything you’re standing on we split down the middle. Inside Men IV
Give me the code. ibid. gangsta
Why don’t you [child] show me all round your house? ibid. Gina
Your fellow’s got enough to explain. ibid.
Rescue me just one more time. ibid. him to her
My husband’s not a hero. ibid. wife of depot boss
Go ahead. Get it done. ibid. depot boss to black bloke
I just knew I couldn’t go back to being him. ibid.
Nothing in this world is ever going to frighten me again. ibid.
GLASGOW: Britain’s Underworld TV -
For two years Blink and Ferris went on a robbery rampage. And in 1982 the partnership came to an abrupt end thanks to Arthur Thompson’s son young Arthur. Britain’s Underworld: Glasgow, National Geographic 2010