Son of Great Train Robbery mastermind Bruce Reynolds – the inspiration for Michael Caine’s ‘Harry Palmer’ – tells of his life of luxury on the run and reveals letters sent from his father in jail
- Nick Reynolds was just 18 months old when his father took part in the robbery
The son of the mastermind of Britain’s Great Train Robbery has told of how he lived a life of luxury while on the run with his fugitive father – as he today shared details of the letters his jailed parent sent him from behind bars.
Nick Reynold was just 18 months old when his father Bruce Reynolds became one of Britain’s most wanted men, after taking part in the crime of the century on August 8, 1963.
Bruce planned the robbery which resulted in his gang making off with £2.6million in cash – worth about £50million in today’s money.
The crooks forced the Glasgow to London mail train to stop in the early hours at Ledburn, Buckinghamshire. They then overpowered the driver, Jack Mills, hitting his skull with an iron bar before shifting bags of cash to a lorry and fleeing.
Police launched a huge manhunt for the 15 fugitives behind the heist, with most captured and jailed by the end of 1964. But Bruce managed to evade the law with his family for five years, living with his wife Frances and son Nick in Mexico, where they rented a penthouse apartment and lived a life of luxury.
Bruce was jailed after five years on the run but Nick said his father made a ‘superhuman’ effort to write to him from jail, praising him for his school work and writing ‘I’m proud of you’.
Nick Reynold (left) was just 18 months old when his father Bruce Reynolds (right) became one of Britain’s most wanted men, after taking part in the crime of the century on August 8, 1963
The crooks forced the Glasgow to London mail train to stop in the early hours at Ledburn, Buckinghamshire in a heist branded the ‘crime of the century’
Bruce planned the robbery which resulted in his gang making off with £2.6million in cash from a mail train 60 years ago (pictured are police with some of the recovered money)
Police launched a huge manhunt for the 15 fugitives behind the heist, with most captured and jailed by the end of 1964 (pictured are three members of the gang after being caught)
Speaking out to mark the 60th anniversary of the Great Train Robbery today, artist and musician Nick told the Mirror: ‘He’d send me these amazing letters which was a way of keeping this amazing bond that we had.
‘We were so close because I had seen more of him in those years on the run than most kids get to spend with their dad up to their teens.’
Bruce Reynolds (pictured) lived a life of luxury while on the run with his wife Frances and son Nick
He added that growing up he had no idea his father was a fugitive and that for the five years they spent on the run, it felt like a ‘long holiday’.
‘To make sense of it, I think I thought my dad was a spy. I had loads of different identities and my dad had loads of different passports,’ he added.
‘I had different names, there were five I can remember. I’ve got images of him diving in scuba gear through glass-bottomed boats – it was all very James Bond.’
Nick added his life in Mexico was good and that he was ‘extremely privileged’ growing up with his law-breaking father.
Speaking of his lavish upbringing, he said it ‘wasn’t rare’ for the family to jet to Las Vegas for a sumptuous steak dinner or to watch legendary crooner Frank Sinatra perform live from ‘the front row’.
‘Sinatra dedicated a song to my mum, calling her the Green Hornet because she was wearing a green silk dress,’ he added. ‘Imagine going from a girl from a poor background on a council estate to being addressed by her favourite singer. It must have blown her mind.’
Nicknamed Napoleon, Bruce had always loved the high life. He bought his shoes at Lobb, his shirts from Jermyn Street and his suits in Savile Row and was considered the inspiration for Michael Caine’s 1965 depiction of fictional spy Harry Palmer in the film The Ipcress File.
The Great Train Robbery took place on August 8, 1963 – exactly 60 years ago (pictured are police searching for clues after the heist)
Bruce Reynold was the mastermind behind the robbery. He was caught after five years on the run by the Flying Squad’s ‘Grey Fox’, Det Chief Supt Tommy Butler
The Great Train Robbers Roy James, Buster Edwards, Roger Cordery, Jimmy White, Gordon Goody and Jimmy Hussey, who attended a Cambridge Union debate at Cambridge
After leaving Mexico, the family moved to Canada and France before returning to the UK, moving to their bolt hole in Torquay, Devon.
READ MORE: Mystery third man who escaped justice after 1963 Great Train Robbery is suspected to be East End gangster who died in 2009 – after identikit image shows near-PERFECT match
It was here that Bruce’s luck finally ran out in 1968 when, after five years on the run, he was caught by the Flying Squad’s ‘Grey Fox’, Det Chief Supt Tommy Butler.
Recounting the dramatic capture, Nick said 30 police officers came ‘crashing in’ after he opened the door.
His father then came in with Det Chief Supt Butler to tell him he had been a ‘naughty boy’ and that he had to ‘go away for a very long time’.
‘When Tommy Butler arrested my dad he went into my dad’s bedroom and said, “Hello, Bruce, it’s been a long time”. My dad replied, “C’est la vie, Tom”,’ Nick said.
Bruce even cheekily asked the top cop if he could ‘cut a deal’ – a plea which was flatly refused, Nick added.
Bruce was later jailed for 25 years in 1969 – although he only served 10 years behind bars. Nick said his father was treated like a ‘superstar’ in prison, having steaks delivered to him from adoring fans.
Nick added he never ‘resented’ his father for being locked away for a decade, and said Bruce had made a ‘superhuman effort’ to maintain a relationship, regularly writing letters to him.
Police are pictured on August 16, 1963, investigating the scene of the Great Train Robbery
Jack Mills, 57, driver of the mail train hi-jacked by the Great Train Robbers, at his home in Newdigate, Crewe, after telling the Press the train robbery was like a military operation
Although Bruce had been the brains behind the ‘crime of the century’, it was fellow gang member Ronnie Biggs, who would become the face of it (Ronnie Biggs is pictured)
Although Bruce had been the brains behind the ‘crime of the century’, it was fellow gang member Ronnie Biggs, who would become the face of it.
Biggs, a former petty thief, was the youngest of the gang. He was jailed in 1964 but infamously escaped from Wandsworth Prison 15 months later, spending 36 years on the run around the world.
The famous fugitive spent most of his time evading the law by living a lifestyle of luxury in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
He finally surrendered to the British police in 2001 after returning to the UK due to ill-health. He died in 2013, aged 84.
Before his death, Biggs attended the funeral of his old pal, Bruce, in a rare public appearance where he paid tribute to his fellow ex-con.
In a tribute read out on his behalf, Biggs told a 200-strong congregation: ‘It was Bruce who set me off on an adventure that was to change my life, and it was typical of Bruce that he was there at the end to help me back from Brazil to Britain. I am proud to have had Bruce Richard Reynolds as a friend. He was a good man.’
Source: Read Full Article
