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10 Famous 1960s British Gangsters

During the 1960s, the British underworld witnessed the rise of formidable criminal figures who commanded notoriety and fear. These gangsters, often associated with organized crime families, were known for their illicit activities and exerted influence over various criminal enterprises.

The era saw the emergence of suave and sophisticated gangsters who were adept at navigating the complex web of criminal networks. These individuals possessed an astute understanding of the criminal landscape and leveraged their cunning and street smarts to amass power and wealth. They were known for their shrewdness in conducting illegal activities, including smuggling, extortion, armed robbery, and drug trafficking, often displaying a remarkable level of resourcefulness in circumventing law enforcement.

Many of these gangsters were known for their violent and ruthless nature, resorting to brutality and intimidation to maintain their dominance. They wielded their reputation as fearsome enforcers, using force and coercion to eliminate rivals and secure their criminal interests. Their audaciousness and tenacity in pursuing their criminal ventures earned them a notorious reputation among both law enforcement and the criminal fraternity.

In addition to their criminal endeavours, these gangsters often cultivated ties with influential individuals and institutions, including corrupt politicians, law enforcement officials, and other criminal organizations. They skillfully navigated the intersection of crime and politics, often using their connections to further their criminal enterprises and protect their interests.

Despite their criminal activities, some of these gangsters were also known for their charisma and charm, using their personality and charm to cultivate a public persona and gain social acceptance. They often mingled with the upper echelons of society, frequented exclusive clubs, and maintained lavish lifestyles, exuding an air of sophistication and opulence.

However, the rise of these British gangsters in the 1960s was not without consequences. Many of them faced frequent run-ins with law enforcement, resulting in arrests, convictions, and imprisonment. Some met violent ends, falling victim to rivalries, vendettas, or law enforcement operations.

In summary, the British gangsters of the 1960s were formidable and complex figures who operated within the shadows of society, engaging in illicit activities and wielding power through a combination of cunning, violence, and political connections. Their legacy, marked by both infamy and intrigue, continues to captivate the public imagination to this day.

1. Freddie Foreman

Freddie Foreman is a British former gangster who was active during the 1960s and beyond. He was associated with the London criminal underworld and was known for his involvement in various criminal activities, including organized crime, robbery, and violence.

Foreman was born on March 23, 1932, in London, England. He grew up in the East End of London and became involved in crime at a young age. He was associated with the notorious Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie Kray, and was considered a member of their criminal gang, known as “The Firm.” He was involved in various criminal activities, including armed robberies, fraud, and extortion. 

In 1967, Foreman was arrested and later convicted for his involvement in the murder of Jack “The Hat” McVitie, a rival of the Kray twins. He served 9 years in prison for his role in the murder and was released in 1976. After his release from prison, Foreman maintained a low profile and stayed out of the criminal underworld.

He later became involved in the entertainment industry, working as a consultant on various films and TV shows related to crime and gangsters. Foreman has also written several books, including his autobiography “Brown Bread: My Life in the Mafia,” in which he shares his experiences and insights into the criminal underworld of London during the 1960s and beyond.

2. Charlie Richardson

Charlie Richardson was a prominent British criminal figure who operated in London during the 1960s. He was known for his involvement in organized crime and was considered a formidable and influential figure within London’s criminal underworld. He was renowned for his machinations in various illicit activities, including extortion, racketeering, and violence.

He was known to use force and intimidation to further his criminal endeavours, often employing a brutal approach in his dealings. Richardson’s modus operandi was characterized by his strategic and cunning nature, employing intricate and shrewd tactics to achieve his criminal objectives.

As a criminal mastermind, Richardson was known for his astute and calculated decision-making, often making strategic moves that were designed to maximize his criminal profits and expand his criminal empire. He was adept at manipulating his criminal network and leveraging his influence to control and manipulate others, utilizing a combination of charm, charisma, and coercion to achieve his aims.

Richardson’s criminal activities were multifaceted and spanned various illicit operations, including illegal gambling, protection rackets, and other organized crime enterprises. He was known for his tenacity and resourcefulness, consistently adapting and evolving his criminal operations to evade law enforcement and maintain his criminal dominance.

Despite his criminal activities, Richardson was also known for his philanthropic endeavours, using his criminal proceeds to fund charitable causes and garner support from the local community. This complex and multifaceted persona made Richardson a formidable figure in the criminal underworld during the 1960s, with a reputation for being both feared and respected.

3. Billy Hill

Billy Hill 1933.jpg , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Billy Hill was a notorious British criminal who gained notoriety as a gangster and racketeer in London’s East End during the mid-20th century. He was born on 13 December 1911 as William Hill, and he grew up in the tough neighbourhoods of London. Hill was involved in various criminal activities, including illegal gambling, protection rackets, and smuggling.

Hill was known for his connections with the criminal underworld and his involvement in organized crime. He was a prominent figure in the Soho district of London and was associated with various criminal gangs, including the notorious Richardson Gang and the Kray twins. He was known for his flamboyant personality, sharp wit, and cunning intelligence.

He was considered a mastermind behind many criminal operations and was known for his involvement in illegal gambling dens, where he made a significant fortune. He was also known for his involvement in fixing horse races and other forms of gambling.

Hill’s criminal career eventually caught up with him, and he spent several years in prison during the 1960s and 1970s. He retired from criminal activities in the 1980s and lived a more low-key life until his death on 1 January 1984 at the age of 72. His life and criminal activities have been the subject of books, films, and other media, and he is often remembered as one of the most infamous figures in British criminal history. 

4. Tommy Comerford

Thomas Anthony Comerford, also known as “Tacker” and “Top Cat”, was a prominent figure in Liverpool’s criminal underworld, known for his involvement in armed robbery and later, international drug trafficking. Comerford, born in Liverpool in 1932, grew up in the city’s Vauxhall district during the post-war era.

He worked as a truck driver on the Liverpool docks and engaged in petty criminal activities before transitioning to armed robbery. Comerford gained notoriety in August 1969 as part of a gang that tunnelled into a bank in Liverpool, stealing a substantial sum of money.

Comerford’s criminal career was marked by multiple convictions and prison sentences. After his release from prison, he shifted his focus to the drug trade and formed the “Liverpool Mafia,” a group of former armed robbers who smuggled drugs through the Liverpool docks with the help of corrupt officials and police.

The “Liverpool Mafia” became one of the wealthiest crime groups in the UK by establishing strategic alliances with young black gangs after the 1981 Toxteth riots. Comerford was known for his extravagant lifestyle, wearing expensive suits and watches, attending high-profile events, and living in luxury accommodations.

Comerford’s involvement in international drug trafficking made him a prominent figure in Liverpool’s crime scene in the 1980s. He was known as a “larger-than-life Scotland Road character” and was involved in various drug conspiracies. He was arrested multiple times and received lengthy prison sentences, including a fourteen-year sentence in 1984 for supplying drugs to US military personnel in West Germany.

In the mid-1990s, Comerford was arrested again in connection with a ten-kilogram cocaine shipment from Ecuador. He was given a ten-year prison sentence in 1996. In March 2003, Comerford was charged with possession with intent to supply after police found heroin in a car he was travelling in. However, he passed away from liver cancer in October 2003 at the age of 70, before standing trial for the charge.

Comerford’s death was followed by legal battles over seized assets, including £25,000 found at his home during his arrest in March 2003. Despite his criminal activities and multiple convictions, Comerford’s funeral was low-key, attended by only a few friends and family members.

5. Jack Comer

Jack “Spot” Comer, a Polish-born English gangster, was a prominent figure in London’s criminal underworld during the mid-20th century. Comer’s early life was marked by his family’s efforts to assimilate into English society, changing their name from Comacho to Colmore and later to Comer. Growing up in a Jewish ghetto street in Whitechapel, Comer joined gangs at a young age and gained a reputation as a street fighter. 

Comer’s rise to power was marked by his ability to bring together criminals of different skills for various criminal activities, including muscle, burglary, forgery, and theft. He expanded his influence from the East End to the West End of London, making significant profits from running drinking clubs and gaming rooms, as well as extorting “protection” money from businesses across the capital.

At the height of his power, Comer had MPs and police on his payroll, and up to a thousand men at his disposal to deal with any threats to his empire. Comer’s leadership paved the way for other notorious criminals such as Billy Hill, the Kray twins, and Freddie Forman to rise in London’s criminal underworld.

However, Comer’s reign at the top was challenged in the mid-1950s by rivals such as Billy Hill, who eventually turned against him. Comer faced legal troubles, including being fined for attacking a crime journalist and being accused of possession of a knuckle-duster and grievous bodily harm. He was also involved in a knife fight with another criminal over protection money.

In 1956, Comer and his wife were ambushed and brutally attacked by a group of men armed with clubs and knives, including “Mad” Frankie Fraser and “Mad” Teddy Smith, further signalling his decline. Despite his past successes, Comer’s influence and power waned, and he was ultimately squeezed out of London’s criminal underworld by his rivals.

6. George Cornell

George Cornell, a member of The Richardsons, a notorious criminal gang from South London, was a prominent figure in the criminal underworld of East End London in the mid-20th century. Born George Myers in 1927, he grew up in a challenging environment and had a history of criminal convictions, ranging from theft to assault and malicious damage.

Cornell was known for his involvement with various gangs, including The Watney Streeters and later, the Kray twins. However, he switched allegiances and allied himself with The Richardsons in the mid-1960s, becoming an enforcer for them and often acting as a mediator in talks with the Krays.

Cornell’s life came to a violent end on 10 March 1966 when he was shot and killed by Ronnie Kray at The Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel. Kray walked up to Cornell and shot him in the forehead with a 9mm Luger, resulting in Cornell’s death later that night. Despite eyewitnesses identifying Kray as the perpetrator, no one was willing to testify against him, and he was released from custody.

Years later, in 1969, Ronnie Kray was found guilty of Cornell’s murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. He died in 1995 from a heart attack while Reggie Kray, his twin brother and also a convicted murderer, died in 2000 from terminal cancer shortly after being released from prison on compassionate grounds. George Cornell is remembered as the first victim of Ronnie Kray and a notorious figure in the criminal history of East End London.

7. Frankie Fraser

Frank Davidson Fraser, better known as “Mad” Frankie Fraser, was an English gangster who gained notoriety for his involvement in serious crimes and spent a total of 42 years in prison for numerous violent offences. Born into poverty in London, Fraser turned to a life of crime at a young age and became a deserter during World War II.

He took advantage of the blackout and rationing during the war to engage in criminal activities such as burglary. Fraser’s criminal activities continued after the war, and he was involved in various crimes including bank robberies, for which he was imprisoned multiple times and certified insane on one occasion.

In the 1960s, Fraser became associated with the Richardson Gang, a rival group to the infamous Kray twins, and was involved in setting up a fruit-machine enterprise that served as a front for their criminal activities. He was charged with murder and other offences, including accusations of torture, and received lengthy prison sentences.

Fraser’s time in prison was marked by frequent violence, including riots and fights with prison officers and inmates. He was known for his involvement in the major Parkhurst Prison riot in 1969, and his sentences were often extended due to his participation in such activities.

Despite his criminal history, Fraser gained some level of celebrity status, appearing on television shows and in films, and writing an autobiography. He toured the UK with a one-man show and played a character in a feature film. A documentary was also made about his life, and a feature film production was in development at the time of his death.

8. Freddie Foreman

Freddie Foreman, also known as Brown Bread Fred, is an English publican, gangster, and convicted criminal who was a prominent figure in London gangland from the 1950s through to the 1980s. He was born in 1932 in Battersea and gained notoriety for his involvement with the Kray twins’ gang, The Firm, in the 1960s. He was known for his ability to dispose of bodies, earning him his nickname “Brown Bread Fred,” which is Cockney rhyming slang for ‘Dead.’

Foreman was implicated in various criminal activities, including the disposal of a murder victim’s body and handling proceeds from a major cash robbery. He has admitted to the murders of two individuals in his autobiography, Respect, claiming they were acts of revenge for his brother’s shooting. Despite being acquitted of these murders in the 1960s, Foreman has spent a total of 16 years in prison, serving multiple sentences for his criminal activities.

9. Mickey Green

Mickey Green, also known as Greene, was an English gangster and drug lord with alleged Irish nationality, born in 1942 in Holloway, London. Notorious for his involvement in armed robbery as the leader of the “Wembley Mob” in the 1970s, Green was widely regarded as one of Britain’s foremost drug dealers, reportedly amassing a fortune of at least £75 million. 

Despite several arrests, including by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States, Green managed to evade trial and continued his criminal activities. However, in 2020, he was reported to have passed away from skin cancer while residing on the Costa Del Sol. Throughout his criminal career, Green was often referred to as the “pimpernel” due to his ability to evade capture and maintain a fugitive lifestyle.

10. Desmond Noonan

Desmond Patrick “Dessy” Noonan, an English organized crime figure hailing from Manchester, was a prominent and influential political fixer for the Noonan crime family. Along with his younger brother Dominic Noonan, Desmond was suspected by law enforcement of orchestrating at least 25 murders during their two-decade reign over Manchester’s underworld. 

Desmond Noonan’s criminal career began as a doorman in the early 1980s, leveraging his reputation as a fearsome fighter and his imposing demeanour to establish credibility on the club doors of Manchester. He gradually expanded his influence by placing his men on the doors, and by the late 1980s, it was rumoured that the Noonan family controlled 80% of the city’s nightlife security.

During his brother, Dominic’s imprisonment for armed robbery, Desmond and Damian Noonan forged connections with other prominent gangs in Manchester, including the Cheetham Hill and Salford gangs. Desmond was also involved in supplying guns and weapons to gangs in Moss Side and other areas of Manchester.

Desmond Noonan’s sphere of influence extended beyond Manchester as he began associating with criminal and political circles in other cities such as London, Newcastle, and Liverpool. He was alleged to have connections with powerful criminal figures in Leamington, Coventry, and Birmingham, based on the illegal trafficking of guns and drugs between the West Midlands and the North West. However, these associations turned sour, leading to a violent feud resulting in several murders in Manchester and Birmingham, including the slaying of Ashley Foley and Josh King.

The rise of the Noonan family to prominence in the organized crime scene of Manchester was cemented after the 1991 murder of rival gang leader Anthony “White Tony” Johnson, for which Desmond Noonan was charged but later acquitted. Subsequently, he faced multiple convictions related to witness intimidation and jury tampering, leading to key witnesses refusing to testify against him and his family members. 

In addition to his criminal activities, Desmond Noonan was also known for his political affiliations. He was a lifelong Irish Republican and anti-fascist, and actively participated in anti-National Front activities in the early 1980s and later with Anti-Fascist Action (AFA), which was formed in 1985. He was involved with AFA throughout the 1990s and engaged in canvassing against the British National Party (BNP) in Newton Heath in 2002.

Desmond Noonan was last seen on the night of 18 March 2005, drinking in a pub in Northern Moor, Wythenshawe, and his death remains unresolved.