The River Ouse passes through Bedford Town Centre and has several Victorian gardens and memorials along its beautiful embankment. Entry to the business and shopping centre of Bedford is over two bridges that cross the river virtually cutting Bedford in half, the same as the river Thames does in London. Another dividing factor in Bedford is the Midland main line from London St Pancras to the East Midlands and then on to Scotland. There is a smaller station in Bedford which is the Marston Vale line from Bletchley through to Bedford St Johns. The Midland main line is crossed by several road bridges but the main one is the A4280 which connects the town with the west.
My plan was to control the flow of traffic leaving the town over these three key bridges which would bring a traffic in the town to a near halt. Each set of traffic lights would let vehicles enter the town for three minutes at a time but only let traffic leave for two minutes. As vehicles entering the town would hit a traffic jam as soon as they crossed the bridge, they would start to block traffic trying to leave the town. Any police attempting to reach any of our six heist venues would have to do so on foot.
The traditional nickname for people from Bedfordshire is "Clangers", deriving from a local dish comprising a suet crust pastry filled with meat in one end and jam in the other. Bedford has during the centuries been home to some incredibly famous clangers such as John Bunyan who was born a few miles away from Bedford at Elstow. He wrote his famous book, The Pilgrim's Progress, while imprisoned in Bedford jail for refusing to recognise the established Church; to this day, nonconformist chapels, some dating back to Bunyan's time, are much in evidence in towns and villages all over the area.
John Howard was born in Hackney, in east London in 1726, the son of a partner in an upholstery business. On his father's death in 1742, he inherited considerable wealth and settled on an estate in Bedfordshire. In 1773, he was appointed High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and supervision of the county jail became one of his responsibilities. He was shocked by the conditions he found and visited others in England, where the situation was no better. Jailers were not salaried but lived off fees paid by prisoners for food, bedding and other facilities. This system meant that poorer prisoners lived in terrible conditions. Howard's concerns led to two 1774 parliamentary acts - one abolished jailers' fees, the other enforced improvements in the system leading to better prisoner health. John Howard visited many countries around the world to see how they dealt with prisoners and during a visit to the Ukraine he contracted typhus and died there on 20 January 1790. In 1866, the Howard League for Penal Reform was founded in his honour.
The Bedford reformist tradition was continued by Trevor Huddleston, born in Bedford in 1913 and a statue placed in his honour can be seen at the top of Silver Street. As a tribute to this remarkable man the statue was unveiled in 2000 by Nelson Mandela.
Sir William Harpur was a Bedford man remembered with gratitude. Born at the turn of the 16th century, he became Lord Mayor of London and founded a school in Bedford, to be maintained by a rich endowment of London land. The Harpur Schools still flourish in Bedford today and are home to four public schools named Pilgrims School, Bedford School, Bedford Girls’ School and Bedford Modern School are all run by the Harpur Trust charity which has seen famous celebrities and politicians such as Al Murray, Alastair Cook, Christopher Fry, Paddy Ashdown, Monty Panesar and Jean Muir.
Ronnie Barker was born in Garfield Street, Bedford on 25th September 1929. Star of Porridge, The Two Ronnies and countless other comedy shows and has been heralded by his fellow performers as one of the top 20 comedy acts of all time. One of the most popular tv programs watched inside the prison was the very funny show called Porridge which was a comedy based on the prison life of Fletcher, a criminal serving a five-year sentence, as he strives to bide his time, keep his record clean, and refuses to be ground down by the prison system.
John Le Mesurier was born in Chaucer Road, Bedford and is most famously noted for his role in Dad’s Army as Sergeant Arthur Wilson and had a prolific acting career starring in over 100 movies.
Another ‘clanger’ that should be mentioned is Frank Branston, who was Bedford’s first directly elected mayor until his sad death in August 2009 after he suffered an aortic aneurysm. Most Clangers will remember Frank for his journalistic work and being editor of the award-winning Beds on Sunday newspaper. One story that he was indirectly involved with was the headline that made the nationals in 2001 where it was reported that deceased patients were inappropriately kept in a chapel of rest at Bedford hospital instead of the usual refrigerated mortuary. This raised question in Parliament and the then Secretary of State for Health (Mr. Alan Milburn) had to apologise to the house and assured the house that a full investigation would take place. This was just one of Franks highlights and I was glad to see that a new section of the A428 trunk road bypassing the west of Bedford was named The Branston Way in his memory.
Bedford Corn Exchange built in 1872 became home to the BBC Symphony Orchestra and in 1944 hosted the BBC proms, in fact the BBC relocated to Bedford during this period and broadcasted from its Bedford studios. During this period, many celebrities were drawn to Bedford and performed live, including notable artists such as Vera Lynn, Humphrey Bogart, Gracie Fields and Glen Miller. Glenn Miller used Studio No 1 in the Corn Exchange to broadcast live to the nation during the war years and a bust has been erected in his honour outside the Corn Exchange.
A note from the writer regarding Frank Branston:
Whilst I was the Sales Director at Goodhead Press plc Frank was a customer of mine as we printed the Beds on Sunday newspaper. We met up for a business lunch for 4 people every few months but each time the bill kept increasing and it was a little game that we both enjoyed. I had never won a round but thought I stood a chance when we went to a new restaurant and we all ordered what to me was a reasonably priced meal. Frank let me choose the white wine (as he knew I preferred white rather than red) and Frank chose the red. I thought that I had finally won a round until I saw the bill. Frank had gone for a bottle of Château Lafite-Rothschild 1971 which cost nearly £200. Frank beat me yet again. Frank was not only a good client but over the years had become a good friend and it’s only right that his name will always live on. Rest-in-peace my dear friend.
Chapter 22. Douglas Boswell a life-time criminal
I had got to know Douglas Boswell quiet well during the two times he had ended up in prison. Doug was a life-time criminal who started his sorry life on a gypsy site in Northamptonshire, England. His family were Romani (also called Romany, or Roma), who were a traditionally nomadic ethnic group, living mostly in Europe and originating from the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, from the Indian states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Sindh.
Doug didn’t look at all like someone from the Indian continent but rather like an Italian don. He had jet black hair, stunning green eyes and a mouth made for kissing the girls. Doug was around 6ft 4 inches tall and weighed about 230 pounds. He told me that he had had a few serious relationships but nothing materialised. His parents had set him up to marry a gipsy girl from another Romany family from Bulgaria but after a few meetings he said that although she was very beautiful she wasn’t for him and told his father that he would not be forced into an arranged marriage. As he had denied his father, he was left with no other choice but to leave the camp and he found it difficult to get a job and somewhere to sleep.
After only a few weeks he got spotted by one of the gangs that worked in Peterborough, who dealt in all kinds of drugs, people trafficking and prostitution. After a few months with them he was caught selling drugs and was sent to a young offenders’ institute in Cambridgeshire where he apparently learnt all the tricks of his trade from fellow offenders. Whilst inside he was well looked after and respected by other inmates as he came from the Flash gang who were well known to everyone inside. After 15 months he was released and went straight back to the Flash gang who made him a full member as he hadn’t grassed on them when he was arrested. The gang leader Michael
Flash welcomed him back but was taken off selling drugs and moved over to the territory protection group which as the name implied did a wide range of things to protect the gang’s territory. Whilst in this division he learnt how to deal with explosives as this was often used to send a serious message to rival gangs thinking of stepping on another gang’s toes.
I asked Doug what went wrong the second time he was caught. He said that he was free for less than 8 months after being caught for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, when one of the drug drop points got raided, just after a large consignment had been delivered. I had no defence apart from saying that I was just visiting a friend and the judge put me away this time for 4 years. This was a short sentence compared to the other gang members and the judge stated after passing sentence that it was only because the police confirmed that I had not been involved with drugs since being released last time.
What I didn’t know at the time was that the gang boss thought that the lower sentence was a reward for information I had supplied. I knew my gang days were over and had to keep a close eye on other inmates as I no longer had the protection of the Flash gang and if the boss was 100% sure that I had sold the gang out then I wouldn’t live long anywhere. I later found out that it was another gang member who had grassed us up and he was dealt with very quickly and deposited in the river Nene. Doug went on to state that he had served his time as a model inmate and made friends easily. He was a fit young man and knew a lot of people in all walks of the criminal world. Being from a Gypsy background he was used to wheeling and dealing and his expertise would be unbelievably valuable to me.
Doug had been released a few days after I had returned to duty and I told him in one of our private chats that I was angry with the world and that I might need his services very soon. He gave me a strange look and I told him that I was angry with the government not helping his wife live longer and with the new governor at the prison and he knew that he wouldn’t be staying until retirement. I told Doug that after 20 years plus I was sick and tired of seeing the countries problems ending up in front of me time and time again. Neither the Labour nor Conservative governments were all mouth but no action, so nothing changes.
I told Doug that I had had enough and to keep his head down, keep away from drugs and his old gang and stay at the lodgings that had been found for him and to keep a clean sheet with his probation officer. If he were short of money to just hang on for a couple of weeks and I would supply him with the money he needed. Douglas Boswell will be my number two as well as being the leader of team A and I couldn’t wish for a better person to carry out my heist.
Chapter 23. Pre-heist meeting.
I had by now contacted my 18 guest and they all have their personal pay-as-you-go untraceable mobile phones and I had spoken to all of them personally. Many were shocked at what I was offering and I’m sure that many thought that I was setting them up but once I had explained the three main reasons why I wanted to get back at the establishment for, they all said they were in. I told them that I wanted to have six sets of three bank robbers on the day to hit the six largest banks, but I didn’t tell them the target town. I told them that we would have a pre-meeting and I checked which of the guest had a car as I would then get the team leader to pick the other two up and they could all get to know each other better. Once I had set up the meeting, I would contact them again within a few weeks and arrange to meet them all for a chat.
Pre-meeting venue.
It took me several weeks to find the right venue as most places had a room to hire but only had access via the pub. Privacy was the main point as I would hold a make believe further meeting at the same time as the heist was taking place in Bedford and I didn’t want the pub landlord or a nosy waitress noticing the my guest hadn’t arrived on the special day.
I had chosen each team based on where they lived and whether they had access to a car and as a test to see if the three members could work together and the logistics worked, they were summoned to our planning meeting. I planed the meeting to be held at the White Swan public house in Bromham as they have a room they rent out for small meetings and provide coffee/tea and sandwiches. The entrance to the room is round the back of the pub which sits next to a public car park. The good thing was that there were not any CCTV cameras covering the small village or the pub, so secrecy was guaranteed.
I made up an excuse when I booked it over the phone that the meeting was for a group of ex-alcoholics and privacy was what they wanted. Everything should be set up and ready to go by 11 am and we would leave quietly after our meeting at around 2 pm. The meeting room should have at least 20 chairs and the pub would supply sandwiches and biscuits along with tea and coffee in thermos flask ready to use. The pub would also supply crockery and cutlery. I said to the landlord that I would pay for everything in cash before the meeting and it would be delivered by a courier and needed signing for. I also told the pub owner that if we like the service and the privacy offered, we will use the room again. I asked him if he had the room available for April the 28th and again on May the 29th and he came back to say that it was. I asked him to pencil us in and I would give a firm order for future dates if we were happy with the privacy on offer.
The pre-meeting went well, and I managed to explain along with the help of my number 2 how the day would pan out. I told them that there would be six teams aimed at the top six banks. I said that I had chosen each team based on where they lived and whether they had access to a car. The car owner would be called the team leader in name only as he would be an equal partner, so I didn’t want any team arguing amongst themselves. The job in-hand is simply to slip in and out of Bedford as quickly as possible after taking money from each bank. I explained that the CCTV system in the town would be out of action but camera’s in the banks would still be live so they must wear disguises and a pull-down balaclava for use in the bank. Also at the meeting in Bromham I explained how the day would pan out and I made it clear that every car owner should test the pick-up run for the other two guest, several times so that on the day they would arrive at the correct time.
All cars should approach the Bedford area from the M1 using the A421. It’s important that your car is seen by the ANPR camera just before you reach Kempston. You should ping the camera at around 9.45 am before following the route given to the Kempston Hardwick railway station where you would meet up with Doug. If you are running ahead of schedule, then there are several lay-bys along the A421 to pull in to. Every car should be insured, taxed and have a valid MOT as I didn’t want anyone being stopped on the day for a motoring offence. It’s important to stick to the times given as they should come in handy if the police ask you any questions after the raid. On the day I will be collecting a parking ticket for each of the cars for attending a meeting here. I will hopefully be able to pass these on to the team leaders when we meet up at the railway station after the heist. Your alibi will be that you were attending a meeting for ex-cons which had been planned by myself. The meeting was a talk on what you felt needed to be done to get you back into work and to try and stop the re-offending pattern that many inmates follow. You can easily tell the police that you have twenty witnesses that you attended the meeting which started at 11 am on the day in question. You can be honest and tell the police who you travelled to the meeting with but don’t mention Bedford if you can help it.
Chapter 24. My chosen 18 gang members
To make everything run like clockwork on the day I needed to find 18 men who would find it hard to make a legal living on the outside and would be keen to earn some extra tax-free cash. Each man had his own set of problems and before I could even plan such a party I knew I had to get the best men who would simply follow orders, so that there would be truly little chance of ever being caught. I needed a good number two who would set up the road system on the day of the heist plus 17 former inmates to make up six teams of three bank robbers.
Over my years acting as a prison counsellor and an unpaid number 2 to the governor, I ha
d kept records of hundreds of prisoners and their special trades. Obviously, I wanted to use the best men for the job but I needed to use those that had been recently released and were finding it hard to find a job. I also tried to steer away from ex-cons that had a serious drink or drug problem which made my job difficult as around half of the prison population had one or both addictions. I strongly believe that an inmate shouldn’t be released on parole unless they had been free of their addiction for the previous six months. Without this change in the law we will never cut the number of reoffenders that account for between 28% and 64% of prison spaces depending on certain age groups.
I have not used any of the inmates I met over the years in our Young Offender Institution (or HMYOI) as I find them exceedingly difficult to deal with and IMO the system is failing them BIG TIME. I don’t know how we as a country, have got it so wrong. Young inmates’ lives are such a mess and whether this is down to many of them spending far too much time on their Xbox or Nintendo games instead of getting a better sleep and education or whether it’s down to lack of control, discipline and leadership from parents.
The Bedford Heist Page 11
