Gone Shopping: The Story of Shirley Pitts - Queen of Thieves

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I felt it was time for their story to be told and it inspired my novel, which is the first in a planned trilogy for Orion about the gang, stretching from the 1920s to the 1950s.' When Frank Sinatra came to London in the early 1970s, he made a special visit in his limo to Eva in her little terrace house in South London to pay his respects. My abiding memory of him is that he was a very tight little fellow and hated parting with any money in spite of the fact that he had millions,” was how the late Jason Coghlan, a former armed robber described him.

Master idiot’ … Peter Scott seen in the 2004 documentary The Heist. Photograph: Channel 4 Picture Publicity The Forty Thieves, a London-based exclusively female gang whose exploits were worse than those depicted in BBC drama the Peaky Blinders, posed as wealthy housewives innocently browsing the rails of the UK's most luxurious clothing stores. You could have a field day with the psychology of it all, but she started stealing milk and bread in Lambeth at the age of seven to feed her family. Her father, possibly the most inept criminal in South London, had spent the war years of her childhood in and out of prison, her useless mother had burnt all the furniture and sold all her ration books and there were six children to feed.Pitts was born in south-east London, in Lambeth Walk, Lambeth, [1] to Harry Pitts, who died in Parkhurst Prison in 1962, [4] and Nell Taylor, an alcoholic. [5] One brother, Henry "Adgie" Pitts, became a bank robber who died aged 29 in a car crash. She disowned another brother, Charlie, after he took part in a kidnap plot, for which he received a 15-year jail sentence. [1] [2] Mink stoles and furs were the top prize, but some of the gang stole silverware and one even put on a maternity girdle to pinch an entire china tea set. The 2013National Trial was held once again in North Devon.Once again in conjunction with a Country Fayre and at the same venue on the estate of Lord and Lady Arran at Castle Hill, Filleigh, Nr South Molton. . William Hague says the prospect of The Telegraph being owned by a UAE-based company is 'disturbing and should be prevented'

Is it time to think the unthinkable for Zelensky and consider a peace treaty with Putin? As counter-offensive stalls, winter sets in and the world focuses on Israel, military experts give their view The notorious gangster 'Mad' Frankie Fraser's sister Eva had risen through the ranks of the gang after joining in the 1930s. 'Any girl worth her salt in South London in those days was a hoister because they could outearn us men two to one,' he said. 'And they were the best fun for a night out.' Their loot would be stuffed into these 'hoister's drawers', allowing the women to leave the stores undetected. Ms Marsh said it 'was time to reappraise London's gangland' when she wrote The Queen of Thieves. 'It was not just a man's world, despite the countless column inches still spent poring over the phenomenon that was the Kray Twins,' she added.Had her first criminal conviction aged 14 and went on to become Diamond's accomplice. She was an alcoholic and once ran out of a jeweller with a tray of 34 diamond rings and bumped straight into a policeman. After three years in jail she took part in the Lambeth riot at Christmas 1925. In 1938, she was sentenced for stabbing a policeman in the eye with a hatpin. She is thought to have killed herself in the 1970s. a b c d e f g h Scott, Jane (March 1996). "Life of luxury off the rails". The Herald . Retrieved 11 September 2017. After an apprenticeship with the Forty Thieves, a gang of South London shoplifters... Women used to use their large clothing to their advantage to conceal stolen goods (Image: “A Female Shoplifter,” from James D. McCabe Jr. Lights and Shadows of New York Life. Philadelphia: National Publishing Co., 1872/ Public Domain) Mysterious 'witch bottles' appear along the Gulf of Mexico - and researchers are avoiding opening them