Ronnie Biggs has died.

J Cheever Loophole · 18-12-2013 12:45PM

dark crystal wrote: »

Meh, they robbed a shitload of money on it's way to be incinerated anyway. It would have been the perfect heist, had one of them not attacked the innocent driver.

No-one is innocent.

martingriff · 18-12-2013 01:31PM

J Cheever Loophole wrote: »

No-one is innocent.

So no one is innocent so its okay to beat them.

Daqster · 18-12-2013 01:38PM

I'm beginning to think Bill Hicks was right about marketing people being evil.

Mandela dies the night of the premiere of the new Mandela movie.

Now Biggs dies the day BBC are about to show the new drama series based on the The Great Train Robbery.

Oprahs_Vagina · 18-12-2013 01:58PM

I think there's a big difference for some people (me anyway) when it comes to pulling off the heist or score of a lifetime and your bottom of the rung burglar who thieves from the ordinary joe. It's just paper which can be re-printed and insured really. Not to mention it's more or less pittance to a bank.

It takes some balls, daring and audacity to pull something off like that. Same with the robbery of Northern Bank in 2004. Something that will set you up for life. Almost like a gold plated pension. He managed to escape prison, live in Australia, evade the authorities again and feck off to Brazil for the rest of his life.

All of this while taunting the British govt. and making money by recounting his tale with tourists. Not to mention another close escape from a black op kidnapping in 1981. It's all well and good getting self righteous, but if you had the resources and planning to pull off something like the GTR, you'd be more a fool for not taking the chance.

tldr: I admire the guy. Involved in one of the greatest heists of all time and lived a full life in the sun, while rubbing it in the British govt's face.

MonstaMash · 18-12-2013 01:59PM

westcoast66 · 18-12-2013 02:14PM

I met Ronnie Biggs, or 'Bigsie' as he was know by the ex-pat community in Rio in '98. At the time you could have lunch with him in his house with other tourists for $50. Nice chap but you could see he was emotionally drained...

J Cheever Loophole · 18-12-2013 02:22PM

martingriff wrote: »

So no one is innocent so its okay to beat them.

You're not a fan of the Sex Pistols, Martin?

martingriff · 18-12-2013 02:55PM

J Cheever Loophole wrote: »

You're not a fan of the Sex Pistols, Martin?

Oh ok sorry. No 2 young for the Sex Pistols

chopper6 · 18-12-2013 03:28PM

He was no criminal mastermind that's for sure...the whole robbery was a botch job from start to finish and of course the driver got a belt of a cosh for good measure....teh sort of blokes who are now considered heroes like Frankie Frazer etc are the sorts of people that were burglarising bombed out houses during the blitz.

Lowlives.

Nodin · 18-12-2013 03:31PM

osarusan wrote: »

Repeated criminal scumbag who was part of a gang of scum that beat the train driver with an iron bar.

Somehow became a celebrity with the help of tabloid rags.

....still rather see him get a state funeral than thatcher though....

DEFTLEFTHAND · 18-12-2013 04:18PM

Biggs was a bit part player, a low level petty criminal who was brought in on the robbery to help load the bags. Bruce Reynolds and Gordon Goody masterminded the idea through insider contacts in the Royal Mail.

Biggs only became the most well known of the group because of his escape and life in Brazil where he flaunted the British Justice system and became a hero to all the anti establishment crowd.

preston johnny · 18-12-2013 04:33PM

Nodin wrote: »

....still rather see him get a state funeral than thatcher though....

Sadly for you (and me) Thatcher has had her state funeral, I think the majority of the British don't view Biggs as some kind of anti-establishment hero.......just a crook. Certain sections of the media have glamorised him though over the years, and they have sold papers out of it.

end of the road · 18-12-2013 04:50PM

preston johnny wrote: »

Sadly for you (and me) Thatcher has had her state funeral

i know, all though its probably rather easy to forget she's dead considering she was an irrelevance since being kicked out of the tory party (sorry having to resign)

chopper6 · 18-12-2013 04:54PM

preston johnny wrote: »

Sadly for you (and me) Thatcher has had her state funeral, I think the majority of the British don't view Biggs as some kind of anti-establishment hero.......just a crook. Certain sections of the media have glamorised him though over the years, and they have sold papers out of it.

Being a crook or worse,a "celebrity gangster" is big money in England.

There's an odious,toad-like character called Dave Courtney who has sold many many books and makes cash from public appearances despit having no criminal form to speak of.

Further investigations into his claims of being a gangland enforcer,bareknuckle boxer and heavyweight debt collector have revealed the whole lot to be a tissue of lies...his only actual dealings with the police has been as a profesional informant.

WilyCoyote · 18-12-2013 04:56PM

martingriff wrote: »

Where is the connection.

Either Portlaoise or Limerick Jct. Unless you're going to Brazil - then it's London and Lisbon.

DEFTLEFTHAND · 18-12-2013 04:59PM

chopper6 wrote: »

Being a crook or worse,a "celebrity gangster" is big money in England.

There's an odious,toad-like character called Dave Courtney who has sold many many books and makes cash from public appearances despit having no criminal form to speak of.

Further investigations into his claims of being a gangland enforcer,bareknuckle boxer and heavyweight debt collector have revealed the whole lot to be a tissue of lies...his only actual dealings with the police has been as a profesional informant.

Didn't he say in a book that he got his start with the Krays in the 60s, even though he would have only been 9 years old when the Krays went down for life.

Hitchens · 18-12-2013 05:10PM

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Didn't he say in a book that he got his start with the Krays in the 60s, even though he would have only been 9 years old when the Krays went down for life.

Reggie went down, not sure if Ronnie did though?

:pac:

Malarkey121 · 18-12-2013 05:12PM

I have read the book his son Michael was involved with bringing to print, I found it very interesting.
End of the day he scored, took off and lived a good life came home and did the time.

Ps I had met buster Edwards in London along time ago, not everything that you have knowledge of or read as fact in newspapers or police / court reports is 100% true fact.

Ronnie Biggs has died.

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