The Irish Mail Train Robbery, 1963

[arwel.owen]

My father is a life-long railwayman, now in his late 80s, having worked from the age of 16 to 65 out of Holyhead.

He was the guard on the Irish Mail on the 20th Feb. 1963, which was robbed by the Great Train Robbery gang. This little-known heist was a far more violent robbery than the August raid as my father, along with three other railwaymen and a soldier, were beaten and bound by the robbers. The robbery was foiled when a Dining Car Assistant pulled the communications cord and the robbers were forced to make a hasty escape.

Please excuse the shameless plug, but if anyone's interested in learnng more about this overlooked chapter of the Great Train Robbery story from a railwayman's perspective, I have published my father's account of the Irish Mail robbery. It is called 'The Forgotten Train Robbery: The Guard's Story' and is available as an eBook from Amazon; free if you're a Kindle Prime member. Please use the following link:

The Forgotten Train Robbery: The Guard's Story By Arwel Owen, available from Amazon

Thank you.

 

[IanXC]

Just a quick note to confirm that this advertising does have the forum staff team's approval, in fact the title is now listed in the RailUK Store.

You can also purchase any item listed on Amazon by clicking on the "powered by amazon.co.uk" link at the top right in the store.

 

[arwel.owen]

If anyone's interested in reading Kindle books, but don't own a Kindle device, you can download the free Kindle Player for your PC from here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000426311

Thanks,

Arwel.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
A huge thank you to anyone who bought The Forgotten Train Robbery and made it #3 in Amazon's Railway Books chart. I'm so pleased that someone's interested in finally reading a piece of Great Train Robbery history from a railwayman's perspective.

Thanks again.

Arwel.

 

[arwel.owen]

A couple of images from the BBC's drama about the Great Train Robbery have appeared online. It's written by the guy who wrote Broadchurch, so hopes are high for a cracking drama.

http://www.tvwise.co.uk/2013/06/first-image-bbc-ones-the-great-train-robbery/

http://pic.twitter.com/Nyk7SR6vIo

The first photos certainly look good..

 

[arwel.owen]

Here are photos of the railwaymen involved in the Irish Mail Robbery, taken from the Daily Mail, 22nd Feb., 1963.

Their full story can be found here: The Forgotten Train Robbery: The Guard's Story By Arwel Owen, available from Amazon

 

[arwel.owen]

Welsh TV station, S4C recently filmed an interview with my father, the guard of the Irish Mail, robbed by the Great Train Robbery gang in Feb. 1963. The feature is now available online, here:

S4C catch up service

It was partly filmed at Holyhead station and features the penknife he used to cut free himself and the ticket collector, as well as some other memorabilia from the robbery.

The train robbery feature starts at around 11mins. It's in Welsh, but simply press 'S' and select English subtitles to understand what's being said.

Thanks,

Arwel.

 

[arwel.owen]

A trailer for BBC One's major new drama about the Great Train Robbery is now online: http://youtu.be/Foyb5HCeM6s

The drama airs over two nights, the 18th and 19th Dec, with one episode concentrating on the robbers and the other on the police investigation. It was written by Broadcurch's writer, so expectations are high.

I wonder whether the 'forgotten' Irish Mail robbery will get a mention. I doubt it very much.

 

[arwel.owen]

Very sadly, the 95-year-old widow of Tommy Thomas, the ticket collector who was very badly beaten by the train robbers on the Irish Mail that night in 1963, died on Wednesday, the very same day as Ronnie Biggs. As you'd expect, it didn't make the headlines!

In the aftermath of this week's Great Train Robbery TV drama and Biggs' death, the press have contacted my father, the guard of the Irish Mail, to ask about his experience at the hands of the robbers. Here are a couple of links to articles that feature my father:

Daily Telegraph's Ronnie Biggs obituary: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10524545/Great-Train-Robbery-Ronnie-Biggs-dies.html

The last surviving victim of the "forgotten" hold-up by the Great Train Robbery gang before their successful swoop, said he had "no pity at all" for Ronnie Biggs and described the men as violent, with no mercy.
Howel Owen, now 87, of Holyhead, was the guard on the Irish Mail train from London to the Anglesey town in February 1963 when he and colleagues were attacked.
Mr Owen was tied up during the earlier unsuccessful heist and three other railwaymen and a soldier were beaten with coshes and bound by the robbers.
But the robbery was foiled when a dining car assistant pulled the communications cord and the train pulled into Hemel Hempstead instead of stopping further along the line at Tring where another gang member was waiting. The robbers jumped off the train when it reached the platform at Hemel Hempstead. Had it stopped earlier the gang may have been caught and there might not have been a 'Great Train Robbery.'
Mr Owen, a grandfather, said: "I have no pity at all for Biggs, I know he was a sick man. But they were violent men and showed no mercy.
"Six or seven were in the gang. I was lucky, I wasn't badly hurt but the ticket collector was coshed and I could see blood running down his white shirt. It was an awful sight, I thought they had killed him."

North Wales Daily Post article about my father: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/great-train-robbery-holyhead-railway-6428137

A railway guard believes the Great Train Robbery would not have happened if the gang that robbed his train had been captured.

Howel Owen was the guard of the Irish Mail heading from London to Holyhead on February 20 1963 when he caught the same gang rifling through mailbags.

He and ticket collector Tom John Thomas, both from Holyhead, were beaten and tied up by the gang. Mr Owen, 87, was told by one of the gang “don’t try anything silly, I’ve got a gun”.

Ronnie Biggs, who died today aged 84, was not part of that raid but Mr Owen said other Great Train Robbers were – Bruce Reynolds was probably the man who tied him up, Jimmy White acted as lookout, and Ray James was one of the men he saw in the guard’s van.

Suspicious as to where their colleagues had gone, dining car supervisor Len Tappy and stewards Tommy Thomas and Michael Carey, also Holyhead-based, pulled the communication cord to stop the train.

Kind regards,

Arwel