The Great Train Robbery - Buckinghamshire County Council

Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies
The Great Train Robbery
At 3.03am on Thursday 8th August 1963 a gang of men held up the “Travelling Post
Office” train, on its way from Glasgow to London Euston, at Sears Crossing near
Ledburn in Buckinghamshire. At the time, this was the biggest robbery ever
committed in Britain, with the total amount stolen amounting to £2,631,784 (which is
the equivalent of over £45 million today).
Not only did the robbery happen in Buckinghamshire, but the gang then transported
the sacks of money from the scene of the crime across the county to Leatherslade
Farm, Oakley, where they intended to wait until it was safe to leave. However, they
only stayed at the farm for a couple of days and tip-offs and the correct assertions of
the police investigation meant that the criminals evacuated the scene far sooner
than planned, leaving a range of evidence behind them. The first arrests were
made within days and, although it took time to track some of the perpetrators, the
gang were brought to justice (although some people speculate about other criminals
who may have been involved who have never been found).
This was one of only eighteen robberies reported in Buckinghamshire in 1963, but
involved the Buckinghamshire Constabulary in a long investigation and then a long
trial. Indeed, the local force sought early assistance from Scotland Yard in their
investigations and the Flying Squad were also heavily involved. The Post Office
Investigation Department also took a significant role in the investigations.
Committal proceedings were held at Linslade Magistrates Court between August
and December 1963, but the courtroom in Linslade was nowhere near large enough
to cope with the demands of such a trial and the accompanying press attention, and
neither was Aylesbury Crown Court. The new Aylesbury Rural District Council
chamber was altered to accommodate the event. The trial started in January 1964
at the Buckinghamshire Assizes, presided over by Mr Justice Edmund Davies, and
ran until April. The sentencing was held in the Crown Court building – a far more
traditional court than the adapted Council Chamber.
Committal proceedings of defendants apprehended after the main trial were held by
Linslade Magistrates Court at various dates between 1964 and 1968. The Linslade
Court also received and adjudicated upon applications for the return of property
after 1964, under the Police Property Act.
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Guide to sources held at the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies
Constabulary records
Within the records of the Buckinghamshire Constabulary, the annual inspection
report, dated August 1964, covers aspects of the police investigation (ref: BC 8/10).
There are details about the police investigation, the photography used, and a note in
the conclusion of the report (see below). In the section entitled ’Robberies’, it is
obvious that the crime dominated the force: “The offence now commonly referred to
as the ’Great Train Robbery’ overshadowed all other Police enquiries from August
1963 until the trials finished in April this year.”
It also includes a photograph of the Incident Room set up following the robbery (see
page 1).
Prison records
Aylesbury Prison held a number of the accused after they were remanded and until
they were sentenced in April 1964. The Nominal Register of Convicts, 1939-1964,
includes these details (ref: HMP-A/7/4).
Please note this volume is closed until 2065 under the Data Protection Act.
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Court records
The records of the trial itself are included
within the Special Buckinghamshire
Assizes, 1964, at The National Archives
(see page 8).
However, the records of the committal
hearings, which were heard at the
Linslade Petty Sessions are held at the
Centre (ref: PS/L/X/1/1-28). These
records include witness lists, witness
depositions, arrest warrants for the
perpetrators, as well as correspondence
and papers covering the trial and
applications for the return of stolen
money.
Most of the records in this collection,
particularly official records relating to the
legal process, are copies or drafts of
originals. Some of the these records are
closed until 2065 under the Freedom of
Information and Data Protection Acts –
please contact the Centre for more
information should you require access to
this material.
In addition, the Register of Linslade Petty Sessions, Oct. 1963-Dec. 1968 (ref: PS/L/
R/25, above) gives details of the passage through the courts of the majority of the
accused from their first remand hearings (7th October 1963), through various other
remand hearings, to the committal hearings (2nd December 1963). This volume
appears to have been reserved for matters relating to this case and several of the
accused who were apprehended later are added in after the main body of
defendants in 1963.
The volume not only covers those charged with “Conspiracy together and with
others in stopping a train with intent to rob the mail” and “Armed with offensive
weapons robbed Frank Dewhurst of 120 mail bags”, but also those people charged
with “Receiving” differing amounts of money”.
In 1966 and 1968, it also covers applications for the disposal of money in
connection with the case by the banks from whom the money had been stolen.
This volume is open to public consultation.
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Council records
As the committal proceedings and the trial were held in the Council Chamber at
Aylesbury Rural District Council at 84 Walton Street, Aylesbury, there are obviously
mentions of the arrangements within the Council records.
In particular, the Minute book of Aylesbury Rural District Council, Jun 1963-May
1964 (ref: DC 2/1/43) includes numerous mentions within the ‘Establishment and
Legal Committee’ minutes of the requests for use and the decisions taken to allow
the hearing and the Assize trial. There is also mention of the need for the Council to
find alternative accommodation for the duration of the trial and the need for repairs
and redecoration following the conclusion of the case.
The Centre also holds some photographs of the Council Chamber as converted for
use as a court room (ref: PHX 43/1-2 and PHX 148/1-10, see page 2 and below).
Within the records of Buckinghamshire County Council, there are also records that
pertain to the arrangements for the trial. The Clerk of the Council’s files, in
particular, have information about the plans for the court, the payments made after
the trial and correspondence with the press, 1963-1965 (ref: AR 111/1991/2). Also
included are newspaper cuttings and correspondence about the costs of the trial to
the people of Buckinghamshire (which, in 1964, were stated to be over £37,000).
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The Centre also holds a comment book from the Judges’ Lodgings (used by those
presiding over cases at Aylesbury; ref: AR 60/1991). Included within the book, is a
comment written by Mr Justice Davies:
“The trials of twelve men on charges arising out of what has become known as ‘The
Great Mail Train Robbery’ of £2 ½ m. at Cheddington on Aug 8/63, and of six
receivers, have lasted from Jan. 20 until today [Apr. 17] – apart from a 10-day break
at Easter. The main trial lasted 51 days and the sentencing another day. It has been
a unique experience – but once is enough for me.
To quote from the indorsement on the brief of Arthur James, Q.C., who led the
presenting team –
‘During that time

the Judge’s first grandson was born and one Crown counsel (Sabin)
became a grandfather,
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two defence counsel became fathers,
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two Jurymen were bereaved,
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there was attempted embracery of one Juryman

and no-one went sick.’
Throughout my long stay I have been the recipient of great kindness from two High
Sheriffs - firstly, David Roberts, Esq., and then Elliott Viney, Esq., and the lovely
flowers supplied by their ladies have brought colour and comfort with a drab and
arduous sojourn.
The Under-Sheriff (Col. Owen Jones) could not have been more helpful. And Mrs.
Fordyce and her staff have been most attentive in these very comfortable Lodgings.
Edmund Davies
April 17/64”
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Local newspaper reports
Obviously, local newspapers covered the robbery and trials extensively. At the
Centre, we hold the Bucks Herald and the Bucks Advertiser for the period of the
robbery, investigation and trial.
Other local newspapers are held at different local studies libraries across the
county. For details of different newspapers and where they are held, please visit
our website: www.buckscc.gov.uk/archives.
Cuttings files
We also hold a series of cuttings files on the robbery, which includes national
newspaper reports and other material produced locally, both at the time of the event
and since. These include a significant number of the reports of the robbery and the
investigation, but cannot be said to be comprehensive.
There is also a large scrapbook consisting of cuttings from national newspapers with
reports of the event. These can be viewed in the Local Studies Library of the
Centre.
Printed books
The Centre holds a number of printed works about the robbery, available for
reference consultation in the Local Studies Library.
These are:
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The Train Robbers, by Malcolm Fewtrell (1964)
The Great Train Robbery, by John Gosling and Dennis Craig (1964)
The Robbers’ Tale, by Peta Fordham (1965)
The Train Robbers, by Piers Paul Read (1975)
The Most Wanted Man: Ronald Biggs, by Colin Mackenzie (1976)
The Great Train Robbery: Crime of the Century, The Definitive Account, by
Nick Russell-Pavier and Stewart Richards (2012)
The Great Train Robbery: A New History, by Jim Morris (2013)
The Great Train Robbery: The Untold Story from the Closed Investigation
Files, by Andrew Cook (2013)
Other material
There were always going to be people who were extremely interested in the case,
and the Centre holds the notes from one such individual: a scrapbook of newspaper
cuttings and notes on the Great Train Robbery compiled by G. Osterfield, 1960s
(ref: D 105/207), including personal thoughts and assertions about the case.
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Sources held elsewhere
The National Archives
Records of the trials at the Assizes are held at The National Archives at Kew.
Those relating to the main trial, held at a Special Buckinghamshire Assizes in 1964,
are to be found under document references ASSI 13/642-659. In addition, The
National Archives holds records under the classes for the Director of Public
Prosecutions (DPP), the Home Office (HO), the Metropolitan Police (MEPO) and the
Court of Criminal Appeal and Supreme Court of Judicature (J). The catalogue
entries for these records can be viewed on The National Archives’ website.
Some of the records held by The National Archives are subject to differing closure
periods, and they should be contacted for further details:
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
British Postal Museum and Archive
The Post Office Investigation Department had a significant role in the investigation
and their records are now held by the British Postal Museum and Archive (please
see their catalogue for further details, ref: POST 120/95-141). There are also a
number of oral history interviews listed on the catalogue that make mention of the
Robbery, but that were not necessarily involved with the investigation.
As with The National Archives, some of the records held by the British Postal
Museum and Archives are subject to differing closure periods, and they should be
contacted for further details: www.postalheritage.org.uk.
Thames Valley Police Museum
Thames Valley Police (the successor body to the Buckinghamshire Constabulary)
have a small museum at the White House, Sulhamstead near Reading. The
museum has some artefacts from the robbery on display, including items from the
scene of the robbery and from Leatherslade Farm, and has a section on their
website dedicated to the Robbery: www.thamesvalley.police.uk/aboutus/aboutusmuseum.htm.
For further information, please contact them.
This is not an exhaustive list, and other repositories may hold other material, but the
summaries given above represent the main places of interest.
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