Great Train Robbery (1963)
The Great Train Robbery was the robbery of £2.61 million, from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London on the West Coast Main Line in the early hours of 8 August 1963 at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn, near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England.
Mentmore Bridge (previously known as Bridego Bridge and then Train Robbers' bridge), scene of the robbery
View towards 'Sears Crossing' where the robbers took control of the train 51°53′23″N 0°40′23″W / 51.88972°N 0.67306°W / 51.88972; -0.67306
Train Robbers Bridge Network Rail identification plate
Ronald Arthur Biggs was an English criminal who helped plan and carry out the Great Train Robbery of 1963. He subsequently became notorious for his escape from prison in 1965, living as a fugitive for 36 years, and for his various publicity stunts while in exile. In 2001, Biggs returned to the United Kingdom and spent several years in prison, where his health rapidly declined. He was released from prison on compassionate grounds in August 2009 and died in a nursing home in December 2013.
Buckinghamshire Constabulary mug-shot, 1964
Biggs's 70th birthday, 1999 (from left): Biggs, his son Michael, Nick Reynolds, and Nick's father Bruce, the robbery mastermind