Neil Duckett

He robbed a mail train carrying 2.6 million pounds back in 1963, he broke out of prison in 1965 by scaling the wall with a rope ladder, and he has been famous ever since. I’d read the story and i’d seen the movie so the opportunty to meet the man in person, drink a few beers, and get a few souvenirs signed back in January 2000 was too good to pass up. 

A group of us went to Rio De Janerio for about 6 back in December 1999 to see in the Millenium, that’s a whole other story but rest assured partying on Copacabana beach at the turn of the century was a pretty memorable experience, too much to write in the post.

The guys that went had a pretty loose schedule in South America. Arrive on the 26th of December and leave sometime in February, with only 1 “must do” while we were there, and that was meet up with Ronnie Biggs. Some preliminary work got us in touch with his son Michael who said it shouldn’t be a problem, we got the address and had pencilled in a date that we had to confirm closer to the time. Unfortunately Ronnie was pretty sick, having just a few months before had his second stroke, he was still keen to host a few Australians at his house for a few afternoon beers while he told us a few stories.

The beers flowed and the stories were told, Ronnie’s sense of humour was much sharper than his appearnace at times, his son Michael was a true champion and gave us the heads up on other places in and around South America that he new we’d like, looking back it was brilliant advice that he gave us.

Ronnie was nice enough to sign a few t-shirts for us all and few 100 pound notes, to signify the loot he knocked off, and many of us have since framed these for prosperity. He put on the beers and the nibbles and we had a good few hours at his luxurious house over looking the bay in Rio De Janerio all for nothing.

Ronnies’ desire to walk into a “British Pub and have a pint of beer” got the better of him in 2001 and literally only a year or so after i was sat in his house, he was back in the UK volountarily, immediately arrested and imprisoned for his crimes. At the time he had 28 years of his sentence to serve. Today, with his health failing all the time, Ronnie is in Norwich Prison serving out what must be the last chapter in his life.

Regardless of what you’re oipinion of Ronnie Biggs is, the crime he and the others committed and how it affected the many it did, i can say i drank a few beers with “Ronnie Biggs - The Great Train Robber” … and have the t-shirt and pictures to prove it.

Popularity: 10% [?]

If you like this post then please subscribe to my full feed RSS.