Read Inside the Firm - The Untold Story of The Krays' Reign of Terror for Free Online Page B

Tiger, and he’d fought Joe Louis and Tommy Farr. He worked at Spitalfields Market on the fruit and veg, and he saw the potential of Leon, especially, as a fighter. Chris had done his bit, too, representing his approved school and borstal.
    Another man my Dad knew was Prince Monolulu, the black racing tipster from Charlotte Street. He used to wear an Indian outfit and a headdress with big plumes, and they used to go to the races together. He would say to me and my brothers: ‘You could be boxers or you could be villains.’ And he’d tell my Dad, ‘Your boys are fighters, one way or another.’ I don’t think my Dad understood it.
    Chrissy and Leon had been recognised as fighting boys among the schools in the area where we lived. They’d been in plenty of streetfights. Leon was a good scrapper, and even as a young fellow Chris had a reputation for being a bit of a lunatic. It was, ‘Leave it out a bit, don’t get involved with him.’
    He wasn’t a bloke you could push. He would turn. He had a very, very explosive temper and didn’t know what fear was. He was dangerous. When Chris had a fight, it didn’t stop at a fight. He was never one just to use his fists. He’d want to pick up a tool as well. He’d think nothing of picking up a knife or anything else that came to hand. There was always something different about Chris and his fighting.
    As a kid, Jimmy was the only one of us with curly hair. It was jet black. He was a good-looking boy, and even as a young adolescent he always wore a suit. He was a quiet fella, but if you upset him, he wouldn’t forget it. He was an out-and-out street fighter who believed in settling his arguments with his fists. He was always very proud of the family name.
    Nicky, the baby of the family, had a wild streak as far back as I can remember. He was reckless and he had a temper second to none. If he got something in his mind, he would be right and that was the end of it. He was influenced by the East End and by the brothers and the people around us, so I suppose he was destined to go the same way. He was to become the best money-getter of the lot of us.
    It was obvious to us at an early age that you didn’t survive by being quiet. You survived by your fists and your boot. On Saturday nights, we used to watch the brawls at closing time. People used to come out of the bars fighting fit and the women were worse than the men – two women fighting, usually about their kids, is something to see. And if you didn’t have a family of brothers with you, you were nothing. Brothers were your strength. Apart from a rare few one-offs, all the major villains of our generation were from families of brothers. There were the Richardsons and the Frasers from south London, the Regans from west London, the Foremansfrom Battersea, the Nashes from the Angel, us from Haggerston and the Krays from Bethnal Green and Bow.
    Most of them were boxers. They came from that type of background, all the time fighting each other in schools and at national level. Football was another important part of life in the East End. Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris and Alan Harris of Chelsea, and Bertie Murray of Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion came from the same school as me. Career opportunities at that time were very limited. The markets were a family thing, a closed shop. Tailoring and French polishing were very big, and if you could get into printing it was a bonus. Other than going into these trades, your only hope of rising above the poor conditions of the East End was to be a boxer, a footballer, a showbiz celebrity, a thief or a villain.
    At thirteen, I had become very well aware of the Kray twins when the story of their fight with the dockers spread round the East End like wildfire. They had walked into a pub, the two of them, shut the doors, taken on a whole bunch of dockers and walked out. I was very impressed. If you were a docker you were a tough man, the bee’s knees. But even the dockers stood back and said,