The Great Train Robbery: The Untold Story from the Closed Investigation Files

by Andrew Cook

The Great Train Robbery of 1963 is one of the most infamous crimes in British history. The bulk of the money stolen (equivalent to over £40 million today) has never been recovered, and there has not been a single year since 1963 when one aspect of the crime or its participants has not been featured in the media. Despite the wealth and extent of this coverage, a host of questions have remained Who was behind the robbery? Was it an inside job? And who got away with the crime of the century? Fifty years of selective falsehood and fantasy has obscured the reality of the story behind the robbery. The fact that a considerable number of the original investigation and prosecution files on those involved and alleged to have been involved were closed, in many cases until 2045, has only served to muddy the waters still further. Now, through Freedom of Information requests and the exclusive opening of many of these files, Andrew Cook reveals a new picture of the crime and its investigation that, at last, provides answers to many of these questions.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime

426 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a number of books on the Great Train Robbery but not one like this, which does not deal, as the others have quite rightly done, with the hold-up and how the robbers got away, hid at Leatherslade Farm and then went on the run. Andrew Cook's detailed investigations revolve around how other train hold-ups prior to the one in August 1963 were used as practice for the big job that was to come, how the police, via their informers network mainly, discovered who were members of the gang, and how the money was passed around.

There are interviews with many of the participants. including some of the gang, statements from all the investigating participants such as the police and doctors, interviews with Post Office staff involved - was it an inside job and if so who was the informer - and detailed descriptions of how the shadowing of suspected members of the gang were carried out. It certainly brings a very different perspective on the whole robbery and its associated investigations.

One has to be extremely interested (as I am) in the affair to wade through the innumerable police, doctors and forensic reports that are quoted, all with suitable comments to put them in context but they do provide explanations as to how the investigation progressed with, originally at any rate, scant knowledge of the participants. It is quite fascinating to see how the authorities worked their way round to identifying and subsequently arresting all of the offenders.

The trial(S) - Ronald Biggs was tried separately, are covered in detail, once again with suitable comments to help the reader fully understand what is going on and why. And the judge's explanations for the lengthy sentences handed out are also covered in detail. All in all it is a fascinating work

[teleri · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Just after 3 a.m on Thursday 8 August 1963, a crime took place that still stands as the heist of the century. A gang of professional thieves made history when they held up the Glasgow to London Travelling Post Office train and seized a record-breaking haul of £3.6 million (just over £50 million in today's money)."

This book was a nightmare to read. It was a complete bore, and from the moment I read the first chapter I knew I'd have trouble finishing it - I was so close to giving up the whole time. I'll admit it got more interesting as it progressed but never enough to keep me entertained. I would play around with Play-Doh just to distract myself as I read. My attention kept drifting.

I really wish this author would have put more of an effort in because it felt like he copied and pasted the Investigation Files and wrote a few captions. It did not feel like a real book, it felt rushed and I think that's what bore me the most. When the author talked about the crimes and did not copy a quote in every two paragraphs, I found myself interested. I really think the author could have done a lot more to make it more interesting.

[Claire Wright · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well the narrative was certainly comprehensive. I am left baffled how the author has managed to make an exciting part of British criminal history into the dullest book ever. Pages and pages of reports from the police and post office investigation branch reproduced verbatim slowed the pace to a crawl. Gave up after 50 pages. One to avoid.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A forensic if rather dry look at the 1963 Great Train Robbery, featuring newly-released - in 2010 - police files.

[Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not often that I give up on reading books but I had no choice but to do so here. Andrew Cook's study of the infamous crime and its aftermath starts off well, with an almost forensic staging of the robbery itself, but soon starts to become dull afterwards. This is less a book and more a collection of police files written out in their entirety with a little comment in between each one. It's hugely detailed but also very boring; unless you're making a film about the subject, you really don't need to know all of this extraneous detail. It's one of the driest books I've ever looked at, and in the end I had no choice but to put it down and find something a little more engaging.

[Alan Brindley-Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very boring. Struggled my way to the end after skipping many parts. Don’t know how I made it to be honest.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.8
It was really good.