Fred is the only gangster who lived through the turbulent history of the British underworld and survived to tell the tale.". Theyve got relatives and I dont want to keep rubbing it in. I try to keep as active as I can, and I've got loads of friends still. As a member of the Kray twins ' gang, The Firm, he has been linked to countless murders and served a total of 16 years in prison. Foreman's dramatic kidnap and arrest for Britain's biggest cash robbery made headlines around the world, yet this daring raid was just the peak of the safe-blowing, bank-robbing career that spanned decades. Dad never got nicked for it. One of five sons of a taxi driver and a housewife, the violence and poverty of his childhood in London during the war helped form him. They liked me, they were nice birds, and I became their protector, he says. "They're all killing each other for no reason whatsoever, aren't they? a walking stick, and two strokes and triple bypass surgery have slowed him down. But in 1968, when I was 10, my life was turned upside down. This showed how tough you were., Would any of todays young post-code gang members, who also seek that word respect by stabbing each other, be writing their memoirs or appearing on film in half a century? British Metropolitan Police, via Agence France-Presse Getty Images. A killer at the centre of the most powerful crime organisation in Britain. When the men walked past he wound down his window and called Marks name. The actor Jamie Foreman's father is 88-year-old gangster Freddie Foreman, who worked with the Kray twins and, despite never being convicted of the crimes, later admitted to the murders of Frank . Apparently eager for company, Foreman is instantly welcoming when I knock on his door, unannounced, at a residence for seniors in Maida Vale in west London.Dressed in a grey jogging suit, he pours . I had been hoping that Mr. Foreman could shed some light on what would possess a group of geriatric criminals to come out of retirement. Foremans journey from Brown Bread Fred, (brown bread being Cockney rhyming slang for dead), to retired pensioner has been variously marked by hardship, opulence, menace and a canny instinct for survival. Foreman was arrested years later for handling the proceeds of the robbery after he had moved to the Costa del Crime in Spain, bought property and opened his club. "I felt it correct to keep this information private in order to protect the privacy of those around me," he wrote in it. Foreman, born into poverty in Battersea, London, began a life of crime in his early twenties by . "I'd like to set the record straight on a lot of things. Something went wrong, please try again later. It did, but only at first. At the height of his career in crime, Freddie and his wife Maureen lived in a five-bedroom house . I was sent to boarding school for my betterment and also to protect me from his dangerous world. Dad was waiting outside in his car. Foreman is married to Maureen Foreman. There was no way I was going to write my own dad off as an evil man. Get a daily dose of showbiz gossip direct to your inbox. He was my hero, no matter what hed done. But in 1972 Evans was charged with murder and to save his own skin he grassed. Dad suggested asking Ronnie if Barbara could help. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. Violence, he stresses, was a sometimes necessary and unfortunate occupational hazard, but it was never an end in itself. Reminiscing about the episode, Foreman, the self-described Godfather of British crime, now 87 years old, says the break in at Security Express was humane. He said it was a perilous but glamorous world; Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland visited the brothers nightclubs in the West End of the capital. Love celebrity gossip? In 2018, it was reported Foreman was living in a nursing home with no money, estranged from his family.[7]. You dont prove youre a hard man by stabbing someone. Two died there last week. Freddie is now 86 years old and he is one of last surviving old-school London gangsters. Mr. Foremans criminal career began in the 1940s at age 16 when he lived in Battersea, in South London, then a tough neighborhood. I found that pattern in my hundreds of detailed interviews with estranged family members for Fault Lines. She recommended the Italia Conti stage school, explaining how to apply and prepare for an audition. I think its terrible whats going on, he says. What did he think of the film? She is a drug addict and a all round horrible person, and I have completely cut her out of my life. He is sprightly in manner, but sometimes uses a walking stick, and two strokes and triple bypass surgery have slowed him down. Everyone says it was based on me there were so many similarities., His other long jail sentence, of nine years, was for involvement in the 6m Security Express robbery in Shoreditch, east London, in 1983. Fred is available on Digital 28th May and DVD on 4th June. Gang warfare in its current form has claimed many lives already this year, with dozens of fatal stabbings in London, many of them gang-related and involving much younger men than in the 1960s mayhem. He was going to shoot six coppers; I should get a medal, Mr. Foreman said of Mr. Mitchell. "Kash asked what it was, whether it was getting better. He laments that his sons never visit. Frederick Gerald Foreman was born at 22 Sheepcote Lane, Battersea on 5 March 1932, the son of Herbert Albert Foreman. He lives off the proceeds of his books, including an autobiography called Respect.. But can a man accused of over 40 murders, known as the 'Godfather of London', really find redemption? "I've served 16 years in prison: 16 Christmases, birthdays. The film comes just a couple of years after the publication of. Dressed in a gray jogging suit, he poured two large glasses of wine. Once He Was the Godfather of British Crime. Now Hes Just a Grandfather. For others, the end of an unhappy and complicated relationship just comes as a. So did I feel angry, ashamed, messed up? He was the key witness in the trial of my dad and three members of his firm. My godfather Buster Edwards, and the other Great Train Robbers would drop by, as would the Kray twins. And the thrill of once again being part of the game.. There. Fred is the only gangster who lived through the turbulent history of the British underworld and survived to tell the tale. I dont know. In the trailer, we're told: "They used to say about him: don't mess with Fred or you're brown-bread - dead.". But Fred: The Godfather of British Crime isn't a film talking posthumously about his crimes; it comes straight from the horse's mouth, as half a century after his alleged crimes, the ex-gangster is eager to talk us through what went down. I was devastated, but I had to be strong for Mum. Attached to almost every unsolved gangland murder in London over the last 50 years - to Britain's criminal underworld Freddie Foreman is "The Godfather". Fred: The Godfather of British Crime [2018] A sombre examination into the psyche of former London gangster Freddie Foreman: 85 years old, allegedly responsible for multiple murders and nearing the end of his life. Foremans criminal career began in the 1940s at age 16 when he lived in Battersea, in south London, then a tough neighbourhood. James' first wife left . Apparently eager for company, Foreman is instantly welcoming when I knock on his door, unannounced, at a residence for seniors in Maida Vale in west London. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Foreman was one of the most feared gangsters in 1960s London, his brutal reputation earning him the nickname "brown bread" - or dead, in Cockney rhyming slang. His brother-in-law Roger Cook said the family figured out he was sick, but had no idea how serious it all was for Freddie. Dads exploits let us enjoy the finer things of Swinging 60s London. past this time round has proved more troublesome than he anticipated. Convicted gangster Freddie Foreman - born on March 5, 1932 - was once known as the Godfather of London, his home. A shelf is crammed with memories of his former life: a black-and-white portrait of him as a scrappy 17-year-old bare-knuckle boxer, a photograph of the Kray twins. In time the spoils of crime were enough to finance a business empire a string of betting shops, a casino and a nightclub. Much to his indignation, as there was then no extradition treaty between Spain and the UK, he was hoisted back to England still in his shorts and flip-flops. There was a facility to go out to sea, he says in the film. He wishes he could spend more time with his eight grandchildren. Freddie did not commit any wrongful actions towards the rest of the band. On the day of his sentencing for his role in McVities death he was also charged with another murder, that of fellow Kray henchman Frank Mitchell, another career criminal who the Krays had helped to escape from Dartmoor prison only to have him killed months later in the back of a van in which Foreman was present. He was charming, intelligent, loyal to his friends and as feared as he was respected., One of five sons of a taxi driver and a housewife, the violence and poverty of his childhood during the war helped form him. Ginger went down, but Evans used Gingers body as a shield until he could run for it. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Today its hard to reconcile the old man who sits across from me with someone who was once one of Londons most feared hard men. The causes of estrangement can include abuse, neglect, betrayal, bullying, unaddressed mental illness, not being supportive, destructive behavior, substance abuse. By his twenties he had started selling stolen goods, keeping them in a lock-up garage in South London. Nowadays, it's all so open, isn't it?" Part memoir, part documentary, it doesnt shy away from discussing his more callous exploits and explores his relationship with the Krays something he now describes as his "biggest regret. ", Brian added: "She was with us all the way. He was going to shoot six coppers; I should get a medal, Foreman says of Mitchell. When Jer died at the age of 94 in 2016, Queen guitarist Brian May lifted the lid on Freddie's publicity-shy family in his tribute. The Kray twins' most feared enforcer Freddie Foreman reveals the biggest regret of his life He put three kids through boarding school, lived in a mansion and travelled all over the world - all. His main motivation for crime, he says, was that he had a wife, Maureen, and three children to support. "My wife was saying 'It's not too bad, Fred, you can do 10 years, youre not doing life.' But his years on the run came to an end in 1990, when he said he was lured to a Spanish police station and arrested. His real entry into the underbelly of London crime came in the 1960s when he was recruited by the Kray brothers, under whose tutelage he earned another of his nicknames: the Undertaker. But the lure of crime cut short his American dream. I quit school at 14. He was later acquitted of Mitchell's murder and that of Tommy "Ginger . He recalls how he tried to punch and kick his way out of the police car as it sped by the beach, on the way to the airport, and that he was drugged like an animal before eight police officers bundled him onto a plane. Reminiscing about the episode, Mr. Foreman, the self-described Godfather of British crime, now 87 years old, said that the break-in at Security Express had been humane. I lived in a four bedroom villa, he said, between Marbella and Puerto Bans.. I didnt have an education, he added. He lives off the proceeds of his books, including an autobiography called Respect. She constantly bugs my wife on facebook with friend requests, but we ignore them, because she demands to see pictures of her grandson. But incredibly, gangster Freddie Foreman claims that today's gang members are immoral. Foreman is a little coy on the subject when pressed on film about all this by its director, Paul Van Carter. And the thrill of once again being part of the game.. Freddie Foreman[1] (born 5 March 1932), better known as Brown Bread Fred, is an English publican, gangster, former associate of the Kray twins and convicted criminal. I was still angry that he wasnt in my life, though. I was ecstatic. 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At the time, he was 82. By the 1950s, he says, he had graduated to stealing washing machines and televisions. Was it his idea? Is Netflix show Kaleidoscope based on a true story. Freddie Foreman didnt want his son to follow in his footsteps. Critics have raved about his harrowing performance as a feisty, elderly Londoner succumbing to dementia while being cared for by his daughter, played by Olivia Colman. I dont think anyone who has turned to crime these days is going to live long enough to build up a reputation, are they? Thats all Im looking forward to when is it my turn? He says this with a chuckle as he tucks into his veal, spaghetti and red wine. There is no greater dishonour than not being able to support your family, he says. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. "She was there when times were good but the family had to suffer with me when they werent so good too. His father Bomi attended Freddie's funeral after his sad death from bronchial pneumonia, and the small family moved up to Nottingham away from London to be out of the spotlight. Get a daily email direct to your inbox with our newsletter. Freddie Mercury left a legacy when he passed away in November 1991 at the young age of 45 - however the music icon also took many of his secrets to the grave. Theres only been one film (of that genre) I really liked and that was The Long Good Friday. When I was 18 and my mother discovered my revolver in my bedroom closet, she told me I was going to end up hanging from a noose. Foreman was nicknamed "Brown Bread Fred" (Brown Bread being Cockney rhyming slang for Dead), as he was known in the underworld for being able to dispose of bodies.[2][3]. He lamented that his sons never visited. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. He was Britains Al Capone. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Godfather of British crime Freddie Foreman speaks to Dan Bilefsky about turning down the Hatton Garden heist, what the Krays were really like, and how hes the last one left, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. May include adverts from us and third parties based on a true story them in gray. Began a life of crime cut short his American dream he says the... Foreman - born on March 5, 1932 - was once known as the godfather of London ', find. ; ginger like to set the record straight on a lot of.... At the height of his books, including an autobiography called Respect 22 Lane! In a lock-up garage in south London facility to go out to sea, he stresses, was facility! 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