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This Is Why

Why is Britain still obsessed with the Great Train Robbery 60 years on?

This Is Why

Sky News

News, Daily News, News Commentary

4.0552 Ratings

🗓️ 11 August 2023

⏱️ 25 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This month marks the 60th anniversary of the Great Train Robbery, one of Britain's most notorious crimes, which involved the hijack of a London-bound Royal Mail train and the theft of millions of pounds.

Bruce Reynolds planned the robbery with a 15-strong gang of thieves, crooks and conspirers, becoming one of the most notorious criminals in British history. Bruce's son said he never realised his father was a criminal.

On the Sky News Daily, presenter Sally Lockwood is joined by Nick Reynolds, the son of Bruce, to hear about growing up on the run, and our crime correspondent Martin Brunt, to explore why we're so fascinated by the Great Train Robbery 60 years later.

Producers: Rosie Gillott, Soila Apparicio, Alex Edden
Promotions producer: David Chipakupaku
Editor: Paul Stanworth

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:56.7

Legacy to find out how. I'm Sally Lockwood and on this Sky News Daily, we're going back 60 years

1:04.8

to the 8th of August, 1963. A Royal Mail train is travelling overnight from Glasgow to London.

1:14.1

It's full of the usual things, parcels, letters, but one carriage holds something of much greater value.

1:22.4

Cash and high value packages worth almost £3 million.

1:27.8

Just after 3am, as the train was barreling through the Bedfordshire countryside,

1:33.0

it was suddenly stopped by a red signal.

1:37.6

One of the drivers jumped down from the cab to find out why they'd been stopped there,

1:42.4

in the middle of nowhere, with no one around,

1:45.7

only to find the phone line had been cut.

1:48.8

What followed was a violent attack on the train's driver,

1:52.9

the theft of more than £2.6 million, and a manhunt that gripped the nation.

1:59.3

It was unique, it was daring,

2:02.1

and our fascination with what became known as the Great Train Robbery lives on.

2:06.6

But why is that?

...

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