My Review (5 stars out of 5)
Shortly after 3am on the 8th of August 1963 near Cheddington in Buckinghamshire, a gang of villains stole £2.6 million from the Glasgow to London mail train in a daring robbery. The names of some members of the gang have become synonymous with the legend that has grown up around the infamous raid including Ronnie Biggs, Bruce Reynolds and Buster Edwards. They have all given various accounts of what happened on that night in 1963, but which version is the truth?
Film and TV versions of the Great Train Robbery have depicted contrasting accounts of the events leading up to and following the robbery, but this is the first book that delves into all the different versions in a bid to tell the story of what really happened. The level of detail in the book is phenomenal, not only digging into the lives of the protagonists and their crimes but in setting the scene in a Britain where most people smoked, worked a 48-hour week and were forced to save what little money they earned for the things they wanted in life.
At times, the story goes off on a bit of a tangent detailing events and individuals who aren’t necessarily relevant to the story, but which all add a level of background that assists the reader in understanding the motivations behind the robbery. It does seem that the gang, who appeared to have carried out a meticulously planned crime, made a series of fatal errors, not least of which was their stupidity in leaving vehicles, mailbags, army uniforms and a fingerprint-spotted Monopoly board at their hideout at Leatherslade Farm. The substantial appendix at the end of the book provides additional detail relating to the gang members, the police investigation, the vehicles used in the raid and even a list of the food the gang left behind at farm.
A meticulous and absorbing account of what was at the time considered to be the crime of the century.
Colin Garrow 