On August 8, 1963, the so-called “Great Train Robbery” was committed in Great Britain. £2.6 million was stolen from a mail train on the Glasgow-London line. The main organizer, Bruce Richard Reynolds, received the idea for the robbery from a cellmate in prison.
After being released from prison, he discussed the plan with his accomplices, known as the South West Gang. As his right-hand man, Reynolds chose the sophisticated Douglas Gordon Goody - a well-dressed London hairdresser and thief, who was known in criminal circles for his courage and coolness.
But Reynolds' gang did not have enough people to carry out a hit of such magnitude. That is why they also attract the former boxer Ronald Buster Edwards, then the leader of the Southeastern gang and the owner of a boxing club. He is a close friend of Reynolds and Goody. The bookmaker Charles Frederick Wilson also becomes a key figure in the implementation of the plan. He is a trusted partner of Reynolds. The fourth participant, Ronald Biggs, did not participate in the planning of the robbery and in fact had a very small role in it. Biggs has been a petty criminal since his youth. Biggs joins the conspiracy after Reynolds mentions to him that if he participates in a planned hit, his share will be 40,000 pounds. It is Biggs who finds Peter, who can drive diesel locomotives.
The Glasgow-London mail train consists of 12 carriages. The first two after the diesel locomotive carry money from various banks in Scotland. Thanks to connections with the underworld, the schedule of the mail train by date and time, as well as the number of employees on the train, were established. Reynolds received this information from his insider, an Irishman who was never revealed. It was found that the most money was transported after the weekend. Thus, the date of Tuesday, August 6, was chosen.
The task of stopping the train in a convenient place to unload the bags without arousing suspicion was taken by Roger John Corddry, a member of Buster Edwards' gang. He was a capable electrician and train expert.
The best place to stop was chosen in an area known as Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, where there were two convenient semaphores far from the stations. The train was to pass there at night at 3:30 a.m. Cordry decided to cover the green light at both traffic lights with black paper, and with batteries and lights to make the first traffic light turn yellow and the second light red. This would force the driver to cover the distance between them at low speed and stop at the second traffic light.
The plan called for finding a safe haven. It was to be an isolated property near the railway tracks, where the men could gather before and after the robbery, and from where they could disperse without fear of being noticed. They chose the dilapidated Leatherslade Farm, located in the middle of a small farming village, about 45 km from the planned location for the robbery.
They hired a law firm and a fictitious buyer to negotiate with the owners of the farm. But fatally, it later turns out that they are not covering their tracks as imposters.
On August 6, all 13 people gather at the farm. While waiting for the call for the train to depart, they drink beer, play cards and Monopoly. Shortly before midnight, Goody arrives at the farm with bad news - the money will not be sent that night. They have to wait.
The next night, a message comes that the money is more than ever. They put on military uniforms and pretend to be part of a military unit on training.
The team splits up and takes up their predetermined positions, donning railroad overalls. They cut the telephone wires to the nearby emergency call box, as well as the cables that serve the entire area.
Reynolds announces that the train is arriving and the fake semaphore lights are activated. Three minutes later, the Glasgow-London mail train slows down and stops right where the men are waiting in the darkness. The driver, Dave Whitby, is the first person to emerge from the cab. As per the rules, he heads to the emergency call box to get instructions. He barely notices that the phone is not working when he is grabbed by the bandits and handcuffed.
The bandits drive the train. Arriving at the designated location, the machine is stopped. The gang breaks into the mail cars and ties up the employees. Seven of the bags of money are not taken because their cars are filling up. The whole operation takes 40 minutes.
Before dawn, the robbers enter the farm and unload the cars. There, they hear an announcement of the robbery on the radio.
Reynolds orders Corddry and Wilson to count and divide the money. It turns out that they robbed 2,631,784 liras. Everyone got their share.
The police arrived at the farm a week after the investigation began. Just the day after, signalman Roger Corddry was arrested. Suspicion fell on him because of his criminal record and knowledge of trains. Charlie Wilson was arrested in London, and the police announced that they were looking for Bruce Reynolds, Jimmy White, Roy James, and Buster Edwards for questioning.
Two days later, she picked Biggs up and took him to Scotland Yard for questioning. At Bedford Prison, he found Charlie Wilson, Tommy Wisby, Jim Hussey, and Bob Welch. After comparing their stories, they assumed that they had been named as Reynolds' accomplices by an unknown traitor. However, it turned out that their fingerprints were found on a ketchup bottle, beer bottles and several Monopoly figures at the farm.
The trial began on 20 January 1964 at Aylesbury Crown Court. On 23 March the court adjourned and two days later found all the defendants guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery, while Tom Wisby, Roy James, Charlie Wilson, Jim Hussey and Gordon Goody were found guilty of robbery committed with violence.