Why a Booktrail?
1963: The book which inspired the film
Signal Red
Why a Booktrail?
1963: The book which inspired the film
What you need to know before your trail
1963: an unarmed gang led by the dapper Bruce Reynolds holds up a Royal Mail train at a remote bridge in Buckinghamshire, escaping with millions. The group lay low in a nearby farm but, panicked by the police closing in they clear out, leaving behind numerous fingerprints.
Outraged by the gang’s audacity and under political pressure for quick arrests, the police move into top gear. As huge quantities of money start to turn up in forests and phone boxes, dumped by nervous middlemen, Scotland Yard begin to track down the robbers, one by one
Travel Guide
Buckinghamshire – the train from Glasgow to London
The Great Train Robbery was the crime of the century given that the sum of £2.6 million was taken from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London .
The crime, which had been meticulously planned for months by a gang of 15 was carried out in the early morning of 8 August 1963. The gang stopped the train at a signal box, moved the train a little up the track to the Bridego Railway Bridge, (now Mentmore bridge) Ledburn, near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire.
They stole £2.6 million, a lot more than they had expected to be on the train, and would be equivalent to £50 million today. The bulk of the stolen money was never recovered. The train driver was severely beaten and never worked again.
After the robbery, the gang hid at Leatherslade Farm.They left many clues behind which lead to the eventual arrest and conviction of most of the gang. The ringleaders were sentenced to 30 years in jail.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Signal Red
Destination : London, Buckinghamshire, Mentmore Author/Guide: Robert Ryan Departure Time: 1963
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