Aug 03, 2019 one of the most enduring mysteries of the great train robbery has finally been unlocked after a former railway detective claimed to have established the true identity of the shadowy ulsterman. The great train robbery was the robbery of substantial sums of money from a royal mail train heading between glasgow and london in the early hours of thursday 8 august 1963 at bridego railway bridge, ledburn near mentmore in buckinghamshire, england after tampering with line signals, a 15strong gang of robbers led by bruce reynolds attacked the train. My interview with great train robber bruce reynolds who died in march 20. Aug 06, 2014 the ulsterman provided the train robbers with vital inside knowledge that made the great train robbery possible and without the ulsterman there would have been no great train robbery. Mastermind of the heist, gordon goody, has revealed that the man who provided vital information about the train the key piece in the puzzle was postal worker patrick mckenna. The ulsterman provided the train robbers with vital inside knowledge that made the great train robbery possible and without the ulsterman there would have been no great train robbery. He is the only one of three living gang members to know the ulstermans name. Invalid email the grandson of a postman wrongly implicated in the great train robbery has told of his relief that another person has.
It talks about how the men stole 7 million pounds 2. Early books the great train robbery 1964 by john gosling and dennis craig. Although the great train robbery was a real event, i had no idea what it was all about. Jan 29, 2016 gordon goody, who has died aged 85, was regarded as one of the masterminds behind the great train robbery of 1963, popularly reckoned the crime of the 20th century. The great train robbery of 1963 remains the most celebrated heist in modern british history, and this week, it has emerged that one of its masterminds was an irishman whose guilty conscience. W ho was the great train robbery insider known as the ulsterman a hairdresser who.
Sep 28, 2014 the identity of the great train robbers inside man, known as the ulsterman, has finally come to light after 50 years of mystery surrounding britains most famous heist. He first made contact with the ulsterman in a meeting set up by brian field in finsbury park. It is the story of the great gold robbery of 1855, a massive gold heist, which takes place. In fragile health, he has finally decided to write a book, joining several others. The first book about the robbery, it relied on the reallife experience of john gosling.
Historymaking heist, written by brenda haugen it talks about the train robbery in 1963. My grandad was great train robbery inside man previously known only as the ulsterman. The big mystery behind the great train robbery may finally. A twopart drama which portrays the great train robbery of 8 august 1963, firstly from the point of view of the robbers and then from the point of view of the police who set out to identify and catch the robbers. After tampering with the lineside signals in order to bring the train to a halt, a gang of. The big mystery behind the great train robbery may finally have. Fifteen men pulled off the great train robbery, netting todays equivalent of. The quiet great train robber reveals identity of the gangs mystery. According to piers paul read in his 1978 book the train robbers, he was a solitary thief, not known to work with either firm. Great train robber who got away will be named the guardian. Murder, she wrote the great twain robbery tv episode.
The great train robbery is still seen as one of the biggest heists in uk history, and with films and tv shows like buster and the great train robbery we are given a romanticised version of events that give the robbers themselves an almost antihero like mystique. The identity of the great train robbers inside man, known as the. The great train robbery a robbers tale tv episode 20. The great train robbery was the robbery of a royal mail train heading between glasgow and london in the early hours of thursday 8 august 1963 at bridego railway bridge, ledburn near mentmore in. The great train robbery is a 1903 american silent short western film written, produced, and directed by edwin s. The popular legend has it that a bent solicitors clerk brian field contacted a couple of.
Mar 26, 20 my interview with great train robber bruce reynolds who died in march 20. The great train robbery is a bestselling 1975 historical novel written by michael crichton. The quiet great train robber reveals identity of the gang. See more ideas about the great train robbery, train and crime of the century. The great train robbery explore the investigation into one of the most audacious crimes of the 20th century. One of the most enduring mysteries of the great train robbery has finally been unlocked after a former railway detective claimed to have established the true identity of the shadowy ulsterman. An audacious crime, the great train robbery, for good or ill, is as bound up with the. With angela lansbury, keith michell, diane baker, david birney. A new film is to reveal one of the biggest mysteries of the great train robbery. The ulsterman has gone down in british criminal history as the man who walked away and disappeared, netting today s equivalent of over.
The great taos bank robbery and other true stories of the southwest by. The great train robbery is a 1903 american western film written, produced, and directed by edwin s. Photograph courtesy of the mckenna familythe great british train robbery. The novel is a fictionalized telling of the true story of a famous train robbery in england in 1855. Following a vicious attack on a wages van at heathrow airport in november 1962 the gang concerned are disappointed that the haul is less than expected and their leader, bruce reynolds, despite his wifes request that he eschews crime, is greedy for a bigger heist. Its been the most enduring mystery about the crime of the century. Twins reggie and ronnie kray also met with glasgow gangsters during the same year of the notorious. Patrick mckenna has been named as the ulsterman the only man behind the great train robbery never to be identified until now.
The great train robberys irish mastermind half a century after the famous heist, one of the two survivors has spilled the beans on patrick mckenna, a belfastborn postmaster sat, oct 4, 2014, 01. The great train robbery is a great tale from beginning to end, enormously well researched to reflect the language and mores of victorian times, and produces great suspense up to a highly satisfactory ending, better yet it tells of a true event that crichton doesnt have to work very hard to embellish. John fordham, the curse of the great train robbery, arena books ltd 2016, 208 9. An audacious crime, the great train robbery, for good or ill, is as bound up with the popular conception of 1960s britain as carnaby street, the italian job and merseybeat. A tale of two thieves is a documentary featuring gordon goody, one of the. Has the great train robberys leader finally been unmasked. Gordon goody names the great train robbers ulsterman as. Feb 18, 2017 what happened during the great train robbery.
This singular gentleman was edward pierce, and for a man destined to become so notorious that queen victoria herself expressed a desire to meet him or, barring that, to attend his hanging he remains an oddly mysterious figure. The quiet great train robber reveals identity of the gangs. Then a 43yearold belfastborn postal worker in north london, he was introduced to goody through a third party. Gordon goody, great train robber obituary telegraph. This is the third in a series of short pieces about a quarter book length looking at the great train robbery, and it. The big mystery behind the great train robbery may finally have been solved chris long s a tale of two thieves examines the largest cash theft of its time the train after the initial police. Reynolds recruited biggs on to the great train robbery and he and son nick joined the sun team who flew biggs back to britain on a private jet from his rio bolthole in 2001. Bell the great brain robbery hardcover, the train to impossible places. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. At the end of the film, goody confirms this identity but he does. The great train robbery by michael crichton, paperback. Lattaque du train postal glasgowlondres egalement connu comme cheddington mail van.
The robbery plan was hatched after a postal worker nicknamed the ulsterman leaked details of a train journey carrying vast amounts of cash. Train to impossible places series 2 books collection set by p. Aug 03, 20 the identity of the mysterious fixer behind the great train robbery, the 50th anniversary of which occurs this week, is to be revealed by a member of the gang responsible for the infamous raid. A tale of two thieves will finally unmask the identity of the elusive ulsterman, who provided important information to the train robbers back in 1963. The quiet great train robber reveals identity of the gangs mystery insider. This incredible film features gordon goody, one of the main instigators behind the crime, for the first time ever, revealing the identity of the missing mastermind behind britains most famous heist the. Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the great train robbery it has gone down as the greatest british heist in history. My grandad was great train robbery inside man previously. The true origins of the plot for the great train robbery will never be know for sure, there are too many twists and turns that its difficult to see what is fact and what is legend. An alleged twain manuscript begets greed, deception, arson, and murder. The observer can reveal that patrick mckenna was the ulsterman. Was some of the story or legend of the ulsterman created to spice up an old story when the robbers came out of prison. May 12, 1975 although the great train robbery was a real event, i had no idea what it was all about. In 1981, detective inspector satchwell was the officer in charge of the case against train robber tom wisbey and twenty others.
Discover the fiercely guarded secrets behind britains most infamous heist. Click here to sign up to the irish times book club. Now, previously unseen documents suggest that criminals linked to the great train robbery planned a second raid on another royal mail rail service only months later. To find out that the great train robbery is a true story, even though the book is historical fiction, makes it even more interesting. Edward pierce is an apparent gentleman with a mysterious past who brings together a group of unlikely criminals in order to pull off the biggest lay of their time.
It is produced by simon howley of kowalski media and directed by. Half a century after the famous heist, one of the two survivors has spilled the beans on patrick mckenna, a belfastborn postmaster. Knopf then, a division of random house, it is currently published by avon, an imprint of harpercollins publishers. It is generally believed that at least 15 men took part in the robbery. They met four times in early 1963 and mckenna told them how a post train operated, allowing the gang to successfully stop the glasgowtolondon royal mail train in the early hours of 8 august 1963. Identity of the great british train robbery the ulsterman is revealed and discussed in new film september 29, 2014 bat news 0 today, signature entertainment announced the highly anticipated reveal of the ulsterman s identity the real. Oct 06, 2019 the kray twins were the enforcers behind the great train robbery in 1963, a new book has claimed. Sep 18, 2019 the grandson of a postman wrongly implicated in the great train robbery has told of his relief that another person has now been identified as the shadowy figure known as the ulsterman. The identity of the great train robbers inside man, known as the ulsterman, has finally come to light after 50 years of mystery surrounding britains most famous heist. My grandad was great train robbery inside man previously known only as the ulsterman according to gordon goody, patrick mckenna, a quiet post office employee who died with just. Greatest robbery the great train documentary youtube.
The mastermind, known as the ulsterman, would never be identified. The great train robberys irish mastermind the irish times. With luke evans, martin compston, jack roth, paul anderson. Sep 29, 2014 my grandad was great train robbery inside man previously known only as the ulsterman according to gordon goody, patrick mckenna, a quiet post office employee who died with just.
The film will be released at selected cinemas in october, followed by a dvd and ondemand release on october 6. True identity of the great train robber known as the. Douglas gordon goody, 85, who masterminded the great. This is the third in a series of short pieces about a quarter book length looking at the great train robbery, and it examines the role of the ulsterman. Fifteen men pull off the great train robbery, netting todays equivalent of. The identity of the mysterious fixer behind the great train robbery, the 50th anniversary of which occurs this week, is to be revealed by a member of the gang responsible for the infamous raid. Other the great train robbery was the robbery of a royal mail train heading between glasgow and london in the early hours of thursday 8 august 1963 at bridego railway bridge, ledburn near mentmore in buckinghamshire, england. Identity of the great british train robbery the ulsterman. Jul 16, 2014 the big mystery behind the great train robbery may finally have been solved chris longs a tale of two thieves examines the largest cash theft of its time the train after the initial police. A tale of two thieves will be in cinemas on friday, and on dvd, bluray and online from 6 october. Underworld figures gordon goody and buster edwards. The great train robbery was the robbery of a royal mail train heading between glasgow and london in the early hours of thursday 8 august 1963 at bridego railway bridge, ledburn near mentmore in buckinghamshire, england. The great train robbery is a novel by bestselling author michael crichton. With robert glenister, jack roth, paul anderson, luke evans.