Did you ever meet the Kray twins when they were alive?What were they really like?Were they evil men?

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  1. Nubar Gulbenkian
    Yes, I met them in the punishment cells in Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight. I was confined there for nine of the thirteen months that I was in that prison. I had climbed onto the roof with twenty one others to protest about the turnkeys going around at night, opening cells and beating inmates in Albany Prison, next door to Parkhurst. Following the demo; which began on August Bank Holiday in 1972; I was in the punishment cells and I got into a fight with a rapist where he got second prize and I was sentenced to six days of "Number 1" diet. That is one pound of bread per day and as much water as you could drink, it can get boring. The twins were brought in with another guy, also serving multiple life sentences with a thirty year recommendation, for battering a psycho bully. They had seen me on the roof and saw by my cell card that I was on punishment. First Ronnie sent a turnkey in with tobacco, papers, matches, strikey and some soap. Then Reg followed it up with a tin of cod roe and told the screws to "give that young lad a bit of salad" to eat it with. They were too scared to refuse them and so my punishment ended there and then. I thanked the twins and, over the next few weeks, became friendly with them but I never got familiar with them as I didn't think it wise. Eventually, the powers that be moved me and the twins blessing preceded me to the next prison. Although I knew nobody at the new prison, people were falling over themselves to help me settle in, they had been told that I had the patronage of the twins. It was a great help and we kept in touch for some years, until I left prison, determined to never return. Reg was the more gregarious of the two, Ron was content with his own company or that of his brother and a close friend, Joey Martin. They were unfailingly courteous, always dressed immaculately and very softly spoken and I was grateful for their support when I needed it but I was not under any illusions about them or their capacity to inflict violence, I had seen what they could do. RegRon R.I.P.
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    They were not evil they did not doing anything to joe public it was all gang land stuff

    The One
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  3. + -

    the krays were a london gang who grew up with an abusive father but they respected and loved their mother, they were apparently charming and like local celebrities if you like but theres a lot of dark history on the gang culture read a biography etc if you like

    wierd and wounderful world of me
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    They were evil. I had a friend who’s stepdad came from that neighbourhood and said they turned up at a doss house, went in and everyone in there that wasn’t white got thrown out of the windows and beaten up. They were also killers and gangsters. People make excuses for them but there’s no excuse for that sort of behaviour. They were the sort of people that if they’d got legitimate power would’ve been two more Hitlers (or worse).

    Wulfruna
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    I think Nubar’s recall is probably the best that you will get. My mum lived in London in the 60s and was in a bar that the gang shot up. However, they could also be sweetness and light to those in favour with them. I suppose this apparent contradiction in their characters contributed to the “legend” which developed around them. No-one was under any illusions of the damage which they could and did do, (the turnkeys in Nubar’s prison did as they were told for a reason). Yet they were also capable of extraordinary generosity. Celebrities of the day such as Barbara Windsor and Diana Dors who were brought up in the same area as the Krays were often pictured with them. And it never seemed to harm their careers.
    Interesting question.

    ?
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    I was fortunate never to meet them for I suspect we would not have got on too well. They were vicious thugs who killed for fun and were incredibly evil.

    [email protected]
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    They were only evil to their own kind of villain.I met them on many occasions.I grew up in the Bethnal Green area, I knew many poor families that the twins helped.The Richardsons from South London were worse than them.

    Bert W
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    I never met them, but was told that in many quarters they were well respected for their kindness towards ordinary people who had problems.

    joan k
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