Me and My Brothers by Charlie Kray Read Free Book Online

after a first-round mauling by Ronnie, but he was persuaded to, and won a points verdict. Reggie’s cool, scientific style earned him an easy points win over Bob Manito, of Clapham, and then it was my turn.
    Unfortunately, it was a night when the deafening cheers of the Bethnal Green faithful could not help me. I’d been out of action too long and my timing was haywire. My pride got me to my feet after two counts of nine in the first two rounds, but a left hook in the guts finished me in the third.
    I spent some of the twenty-five quid on a white fur coat for my baby son, Gary, who had been born two days after the twins turned pro. But it was my last boxing pay-day. I never put the gloves on in public again. Neither did the twins. For the next two years they were to pit their strength against a very different opponent.
    The Army.
    The twins filled in their time between call-up and reporting by joining the old man and me on the knocker. But they didn’t show much enthusiasm, and it was a relief to them when they were ordered to report at the Tower of London for service with the Royal Fusiliers. They left Vallance Road early one March morning in 1952.
    And were back in time for tea.
    Mum asked what on earth had happened, but the twins were in a foul temper and refused to tell her. They went out and didn’t come back until the early hours when we’dall gone to bed. Later that morning, they were arrested for deserting.
    They had, it transpired, reacted badly to uniformed authority once again. An NCO had shouted some orders to them. The twins didn’t like his attitude, his lack of respect, and one of them had thumped him. Then they had walked out, deciding Army life wasn’t for them.
    And after an uncomfortable week’s punishment in the guardroom, they walked out again.
    To me, it all seemed a terrible waste. Just four months before, they had been promising young boxers with just one minor blot on their record, for which they had been treated leniently. Now they were wanted men facing serious disciplinary action and, almost certainly, jail. I went to see them in hiding in various parts of London, and tried to persuade them to give themselves up. I told them the Forces favoured sportsmen; they could do well with their boxing talent. But it was a waste of breath, as usual. The twins were not going to serve in the Army and that was that.
    They stayed on the run until early November, two weeks after their nineteenth birthday. Then one cold, snowy night Reggie suddenly turned up at Vallance Road. Mum was desperately worried for him but Reggie assured her he was all right. He stayed with her for about an hour then left. As he walked into the street, a voice called out, ‘Hello, Reg. I’m going to take you in.’ It was PC John Fisher, who knew the twins by sight.
    Reggie asked him calmly to do him a favour and go away; he didn’t want a row. But PC Fisher said he couldn’t do that and lunged forward to grab him. Reggie ducked and threw a right hand. PC Fisher fell to the ground and Reggie hurried away in the snow.
    It was only a matter of time. The police knew bothtwins were in the area and they were picked up a few hours later.
    At Thames Street Court that morning the magistrate, Colonel W. E. Batt, jailed them for a month. It was the first time they had seen the inside of a prison as convicted persons.
    After their sentence, a military escort took the twins to Wemyss Barracks at Canterbury, Kent, where they were court-martialled for desertion. They escaped yet again, but it was a short-lived freedom and on 12 May 1953 the twins found themselves serving nine months’ detention in the notorious military prison of Shepton Mallet in Somerset.
    It was to be a tough nine months…for the Army! The prison staff at Shepton Mallet had never seen anyone like the twins before, and several sergeants were replaced because they couldn’t handle them. The twins were so uncontrollable that the Commanding Officer sought my help. He