The Great Train Robbery (23 page)

The search continued. Wheater was in no way obstructive. We took possession of certain documentary exhibits, including a Telephone Directory dated February 1963, which was on a shelf in the dining room near the telephone. Written on the back of the Directory were some telephone numbers. They were STA 7857 (Stamford Hill), CAN 3593 (Canonbury) and BAY 3921 (Bayswater). Later, the four of us went to Wheater's office at 3 New Quebec Street W1, and searched it in his presence and that of his staff. He was requested to indicate files of recent cases in which he was concerned and these were put aside. We took possession of only documentary exhibits. Included was a sheet of paper from a file of two men Wheater defended in May 1963, which bore handwritten notes, including the telephone number STA 7857 (Stamford Hill). There is also a notebook in which is written this telephone number and the name was ‘Lenny'.

Stamford Hill 7857 is the telephone number allocated to 262 Green Lanes N4, which Field gave as his address, and at which he was seen on two occasions by Detective Inspector Tappin. Canonbury 3593 is the telephone number allocated to 2 Liverpool Road, Islington, N1, a florists shop owned by the Field family. Bayswater 3921 is the telephone number allocated to 26 Colville Road, Notting Hill W11; the subscriber being Alexander Henry Field, who is the brother of Leonard Dennis Field.

Wheater was taken to Aylesbury Police Station, where he was charged and formally cautioned and said, ‘I am absolutely innocent of both charges'. A list was prepared by Detective Sergeant Pritchard of all the items taken possession of, both at Wheater's house and at his office. Wheater inspected the List and signed it as correct.
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While the investigation so far had made reasonable progress in terms of identifying those who had robbed the train on 8 August, very little of the stolen money had thus far been recovered. In a renewed effort to recover cash, the Flying Squad began searching the homes of certain known associates of those thought to have been involved.

Two weeks before Wheater's arrest, 28-year-old driver Martin Harvey was arrested by Flying Squad officers and charged with receiving money from the mail train robbery. Harvey was the brother of Bob Welch's associate Ronald Harvey. The arrest team was led by DS Louis Van Dyck:

On the 1 October, with Detective Constable Thorburn, I went to 17 Michaelson House, Bowen Drive, London SE21. It is a flat. Mrs Harvey admitted us to the flat. In the dining room I saw Martin Harvey. I told him we were police officers and that we had a warrant to search his flat. ‘We are looking for bank notes stolen in the mail train robbery in Buckinghamshire.' He said, ‘You're joking, we haven't got any of that here.' I said, ‘Have you any money at all here?' He said, ‘No nothing except that up there.' He indicated a small wad of notes on the mantel shelf and said, ‘There is no more'. I took the notes from the mantel shelf and found 18 £1 notes. ‘That's my wages. No, I mean my holiday pay. This is my last week of the holiday.' I then searched the room. Detective Constable Thorburn found a brown paper bag in a corner recess of the room and the bag contained a wad of £1 notes. There was £500 in £1 notes. Detective Constable Thorburn said to Harvey, ‘What about this. Where did this come from?' He replied, ‘What can I say. I'm bang to rights.' DC Thorburn said, ‘I believe this money is from the mail train robbery or have you some other explanation?' He said, ‘No, how can I? You are dead right. It's from the job. Someone brought it here for me to look after. There is a monkey there. I'm getting £200 to mind it.' I said, ‘What about this?' and showed him the £18. He said, ‘Yes that as well. It is a bit of spending money for now'. I said to him, ‘Who brought it here and what were you told about the money?' He replied, ‘I can't tell you that. How can I? I'll have to swallow it because I haven't got any choice. I guessed where it came from and I'll have the receiving but I wasn't in on the job and that's Gospel.' I told him that he would be arrested for receiving. I cautioned him and told him he would be taken to New Scotland Yard and later to Aylesbury Police Station. He said, ‘I'm not arguing. It's fair enough.' He later asked to examine the search warrant [which] was [dated] 27 September. He pointed to the date and said, ‘27 September. I wish you had come then. I never had it then. I've only had it two days.' He was taken to New Scotland Yard. He there made a statement under caution. Taken down in writing by DC Thorburn and signed by the accused Harvey. He was later taken to Cannon Row Police Station and detained there.
30

On the morning of Thursday 10 October, as a result of further information received, Flying Squad officers led by DS Nevill and DS Slipper went to 14 Linel House, Murray Grove, Shoreditch, N1. During the search of the flat, which was occupied by bookmaker's marker Walter Albert Smith and his wife Patricia, DS Slipper became suspicious of Mrs Smith's stocky appearance, which he was not convinced was the result of her weight. When he challenged her on this, she became abusive and he informed her that he would have to summon a WPC to search her.

At this point Mrs Smith pulled up her skirt to reveal that her knickers were stuffed with money. When the WPC arrived it was discovered that the money concealed in her knickers totalled £470 in rolled-up £1 notes. When Mrs Smith was asked why the pound notes had been individually rolled up it was revealed that the couple had received a sack of £2,000 in £1 notes and had hidden it on the roof. However, it had rained and the money had been soaked. Mrs Smith had subsequently been rolling up the notes (to try and get rid of the crinkles caused by the rain) and drying them in her airing cupboard. In the airing cupboard a further £363 was found. Elsewhere in the flat, £325 was found in £5 postal orders. They were both arrested and charged with receiving £2,000 in stolen money.

According to an IB report:

The two Smiths had, in fact, embarked on a plan of exchanging the stolen money by purchasing £5 postal orders and then en-cashing them. As a result of this, and at the request of Detective Chief Superintendent Butler, a special notice was issued on 17 October 1963 to all counter officers in the LPR area drawing attention to persons purchasing or en-cashing an abnormal number of £5 postal orders. There was a good response to this circular but although some apparent irregular practices on the part of bookmakers were brought to light it did not result in any further person being apprehended in this mail case. The circular has been withdrawn.
31

While there was no certain evidence, the police suspected that the Smiths had received the money from Patricia Smith's brother, Daniel Regan, and had been gradually laundering it by the purchase and cashing of postal orders. It was equally believed that Regan was minding some or all of Harry Smith's share of the robbery money.

While making enquiries to trace Smith, DS Slipper learnt that his father Henry had recently left the East End and moved to 41 Rochford Way, Croydon, a house owned by his sister-in-law. On 18 October, a warrant was obtained to search the property and this was carried out by DS Nevill, DS Van Dyck and DS Slipper. While the search proved negative, they spoke to Henry Smith Snr who made a statement to Slipper:

I am a married man and live with my wife. I have six sons Henry Thomas, Patrick Joseph, Leonard James, Heydon Francis, Charles Gordon and Kevin Barry who is the only one who lives at home. I also have two daughters Beryl Florence who is married to Walter Probyn and Rosemary who is married to Richard Aldridge. Henry Thomas who is my eldest son married Shirley Young about 1950 and they had two daughters. When Henry who is nicknamed ‘Harry Boy' got into trouble last time his wife who had threatened to leave him in fact did so taking the two children with her.

Harry then went to live with a woman named Margaret Wade. She already had two children of her own. This was about four years ago. Since then she has given birth to a son Harry being the father. Up until 12 August 1963 I lived at 263 Chatham Avenue N1. I only left that address as a sister-in-law offered me better accommodation in Croydon. On 18 May this year Harry bought a school of driving business from Mr John Muskett of 1 Chatham Avenue N1 and Mr Charles Poulton. Harry paid them £400 for the business and agreed to take over the Hire Purchase outstanding on the cars. Harry asked me if I would run the business for him and I agreed to do so.

I remember going round to his home on the Sunday previously to the big train robbery in Buckinghamshire. Why I am so certain of this is because I saw Margaret Wade and told her I wanted to see Harry. She said, ‘He's gone away for a few days. He's on a big job that's coming off'. I then left. This was not unusual for her to tell me when Harry was going out to do a job in fact she tells everybody and seems to want to brag about it. When I read in the newspaper a few days later about the big train robbery I realised that's what she was talking about. Since then I've heard conversations in Shoreditch and Hoxten [sic] that both Harry and his mate were involved in the train robbery. I haven't seen Harry or Margaret since the job or heard from them. I have heard that Harry has changed his address three times since the robbery and nobody seems to know where he is. Harry has always brought his children to see me on a Sunday but since the train job I haven't even seen them. What I have said is perfectly true and although my son is involved I am willing if need be to give this evidence in Court.
32

Of those believed by the police to have taken part in the robbery, Roger Cordrey, Bill Boal,
33
Charlie Wilson, Ronald Biggs, Thomas Wisbey, James Hussey, Brian Field and Lenny Field were now in custody. John Wheater was also under arrest as an accessory. Six more - Bruce Reynolds, Buster Edwards, Jimmy White, John Daly, Bob Welch and Roy James - were either on the run or in hiding. Daniel Pembroke and Daniel Regan had been taken in for questioning but had been released without charge, and Harry Smith was still being sought for questioning.

In the absence of fingerprint evidence, Gordon Goody also remained at liberty while the police thought out their next move in marshalling a case against him. Commander Hatherill and other senior officers were also more than aware from their informants that three, possibly four others who had been at Bridego Bridge on 8 August, were unaccounted for, but in the absence of hard evidence there was little if anything that they could do at this point.

Not only were half the gang still at large, so too was most of the money. Somehow, £2,300,000 or thereabouts, weighing around one and a half tons, had disappeared without trace. How could it have been got rid of without attracting attention? Britons travelling to the Continent during the autumn and winter of 1963 brought back stories of delays at banks and currency exchanges while English £5 notes they handed over were checked by tellers against lists of serial numbers.
The Guardian
declared in an editorial that the numbers of more than half of the stolen banknotes were known to the police, who had circulated lists throughout Britain, Europe and the United States. The story, more than likely sourced from someone at Scotland Yard, was totally inaccurate, as the banks had the serial numbers for only 15,000 £5 notes. The
Daily Mirror
, the
Daily Mail
, the
Daily Herald
and the
Daily Sketch
all ran stories that the police were confident the money was still hidden in London and were concentrating their search in the capital. But what had really happened to the money and how did those still at large plan to make good their new-found fortunes?

Notes

  
1
.  Atkins is referred to as ‘Ivy' by Bruce Reynolds in his book
Crossing the Line
(p. 130
ff
) and as ‘Rose' by Ronald Biggs in his book
Ronnie Biggs: His Own Story
(p. 41
ff
). According to the Electoral Register, Biggs lived with Atkins at 138 Malmstone Avenue, Merstham, during 1957-58.

  
2
.  DPP 2/3718, 1 of 6, part 2 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version opened 25/6/10).

  
3
.  
Ibid
.

  
4
.  
Daily Mirror
, 12 August 1963, p. 1.

  
5
.  Alf is referred to by Piers Paul Read as ‘Old Stan' in his book
The Train Robbers
(W.H. Allen, 1978). Ronald Biggs refers to him as ‘Old Peter' in
Ronnie Biggs: His Own Story
, as does Bruce Reynolds in
Crossing the Line
.

  
6
.  POST 120/95 (originally closed until 2001; opened 2002). While ‘Old Alf' was never definitively identified, the principal police suspect was one Alfred Stevens, who ultimately was neither arrested nor charged.

  
7
.  MEPO 2/10571 (still closed at time of writing); DPP 2/3718 2 of 6 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version opened 25/6/10).

  
8
.  DPP 2/3717, Report 3 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version released 25/6/10).

  
9
.  DPP 2/3718, 1 of 2, part 2 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version released 25/6/10).

10
.  POST 120/130 (opened 2011).

11
.  The address in the statement was misspelt: it was in fact 1 Redcross Way. The betting shop was owned by three partners: Frederick Foreman, William Gorbell and Thomas Wisbey (Frederick Foreman alludes to this and other business interests in his book
Freddie Foreman: The Godfather of British Crime
(John Blake, 2008), p. 151
ff
.

12
.  DPP 2/3718, 1 of 6, part 2 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version opened 25/6/10).

13
.  
Ibid
.

14
.  DPP 2/3717, Report 5 (originally closed until 2045; redacted version released 25/6/10). According to DCI Frank Williams, he had told Copeland that he stood to lose his licence if it turned out that he had given a false alibi. See Frank Williams,
No Fixed Address: Life On The Run for the Great Train Robbers
(W H Allen,1973), p. 41 ff.