Latest news with #RonnieKray
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
I was a nurse at Broadmoor Hospital... Ronnie Kray and the Yorkshire ripper were NOT my scariest patients - here's who still gives me nightmares
You wouldn't guess from his soft Cornish voice and jolly demeanour that Paul Deacon worked at the most notorious mental institution in England. For a decade, Paul was a nurse at Broadmoor Hospital, the high-security psychiatric hospital situated in Crowthorne, Berkshire. Now in his sixties and retired, Paul witnessed everything over the course of his career - from being on shift when Peter Sutcliffe was stabbed in the eye, to popstars Martin and Gary Kemp paying Ronnie Kray a visit. After leaving school with no qualifications, where he says he was 'a bit of a rebel', Paul began working at a shop in his hometown. Witnessing a man collapse and later die on his shift deeply shocked the teenager - and, on the advice of a counsellor, he decided to become a nurse. At the tender age of 18, Paul was thrown in at the deep end on the busiest ward in St Lawrence's psychiatric hospital in Bodmin, Cornwall. His job was to assess patients on the admissions ward who had just come in - unmedicated - with various mental health problems like schizophrenia, severe depression, bipolar and eating disorders. The opportunity to work at Broadmoor was one Paul jumped at, 'Why not?' he thought. He recalls how during his interview he was forbidden from looking around the hospital, and that nurses there referred to dormitories as 'cells' instead of rooms, and called patients 'inmates'. Inside Broadmoor, Paul quickly worked his way up the system. He was there when the most notorious inmates were: Charles Bronson, Ronnie Kray and Peter Sutcliffe, the 'Yorkshire Ripper'. These serial killers and mob bosses were however 'no bother' - they only created more work for the nurses because other inmates kept trying to attack them. Paul was on shift the day that Peter Sutcliffe was stabbed in the eye by a fellow patient. 'We had 200 female patients banging on their doors cheering the day he was stabbed in the eye,' Paul remembers. He said Ronnie Kray was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the 'father figure' of the hospital. Kray 'could be very violent' and continued to run his business ventures from prison - even trying to recruit staff, Paul said. Paul recalls one instance when he was on duty in the visiting hall, with about 30 other nurses. He noticed everyone pointed at the door and started whispering in excited tones. Paul turned to the door to look, and in walked Martin and Gary Kemp. 'They were researching for their new film, The Krays. 'You can get confectionary from the mess, so they ordered a couple of shandies and a chocolate bar, had the interview with Ronnie, who left them with the bill. 'It was £150! Martin looked at it and said "that's a bit expensive for two shandies and a chocolate bar!" Paul laughs. 'Ronnie had added on a charge for the interview.' Its infamous convicts arguably made Broadmoor a household name in the 1980s and 90s as the oldest and one of the highest security mental hospitals in England. But there was one encounter, with a patient who didn't make the headlines, that still wakes Paul up in the middle of the night. 'I was in a music lesson supervising a patient. I'd worked with him before and usually we got on fine. 'But he kept looking at me in a really funny way. It was chilling. I asked him what was wrong. 'He said "Paul, the voices are really bad today, they're telling me to kill you". 'It made me go cold. It made me realise you could never get complacent on that job, ever. I still wake up in the early mornings haunted by it.' 'It reminded me never to get too comfortable with a patient or let my guard down.' Another time, Paul found himself locked inside a cell alone with a patient. Although he had practiced for this scenario during mandatory 'hostage training', Paul confesses that he was in 'complete shock' when his colleagues accidentally locked him inside a cell with an unbound patient having a psychotic episode. 'Everybody was trained but it just went totally wrong on this day,' Paul recalls. 'You never mentioned the names of other staff members - we all had numbers to avoid any confusion if people had the same name. 'There were three of us restraining one patient. I said number two get out - and they both left. 'The door shut and the patient jumped up; it was now a hostage situation and I was in complete shock.' But despite these flash episodes of absolute terror, Paul remains sympathetic for the inmates he worked with over years at Broadmoor. 'Most of them have really bad role models as young people - all abusive or awful parents. On a day to day basis they were drip fed trauma.' Hence why he found it shocking that some prisoners tried to fake mental illnesses to get into Broadmoor and avoid a normal prison sentence - a big mistake, Paul says. 'You learnt how to spot the fakers from the look in their eyes and how they responded to medication. 'One man quickly realised his mistake - he role played hearing voices and got caught out. 'But once he realised he couldn't simply leave he was petrified and started crying.' Paul explains: 'In prison, you have a release date, in hospital there is no such certainty. 'They have a tribunal of people at Broadmoor debating whether to let you out. It's a collective decision.' The best part of Paul's job was seeing patients cured. He reflects on one young actor who had been on the soaps. After going psychotic on set and stabbing someone in town, he had been entered into Broadmoor Hospital, where Paul helped treat him for ten years. 'He's married with kids now. That's one of the best bits of the job - seeing people cured. I believe there's always hope.' But witnessing some patients come out of their psychosis was also the worst part of the job for Paul. 'When you're nursing someone who's extremely psychotic, it can be very traumatic when they become well again and have the shock of realising they've killed someone. 'Being told you've slaughtered your entire family makes someone so terrified, it makes me wonder whether sometimes the kindest thing to do would have been to keep treating the psychosis on a low level with medication.' Paul misses the comradery of the nursing team at Broadmoor, the excitement of working with new patients and building relationships with them. But now the former nurse keeps busy in retirement by speaking about his time there and reliving the highs - and the lows. Paul also sits on the board for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and is currently writing a second book.
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
Kray twins items sell for thousands at auction
A number of possessions of the notorious London gangsters the Kray twins have sold for thousands of pounds at an auction in items that belonged to Ronnie and Reggie Kray included a collection of 19 manuscript condolence letters, which went under the hammer at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood auction house on Tuesday.A four-page manuscript letter to their mother Violet Kray, dated April 1969, sold for £1,600, and a 1960s 18ct gold diamond ring that had belonged their older brother Charlie sold for £2, condolence letters and cards sold for £1,300, while a collection of photographs and ephemera, dating between 1957 to 1974, sold for £1,500. The twins built a criminal empire in London's East End during the 1950s and 1960s before being imprisoned for Kray died in 1995, aged 61, while Reggie died in 2000 at the age of had also included a gun licence in the name of Ronald Kray, but that was unsold against a firm reserve of £5,000, the auction house said.
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Krays' gun licence could fetch thousands at auction
Several items connected to notorious London gangsters the Kray twins are to come up for auction. A gun licence issued to gangster Ronnie Kray, letters his twin Reggie wrote from prison and their brother Charlie's ring are being auctioned by Bearnes, Hampton and Littlewood in Exeter. They are being sold by Dean Buffini who is the stepson of the twins' brother Charlie Kray. He has decided to sell the items after the death last year of his mother Diane, who was Charlie Kray's partner for 27 years. The lots include a four-page letter which Reggie Kray wrote to his mother Violet Kray from Brixton prison in 1969. He told his mother he enjoyed seeing her and his father on their recent visit and "I liked that suit you was wearing, it's a nice colour." He described life in prison including watching the Des O'Connor Show and suggested his mother use honey in her tea rather than sugar, because "its good for your health". He told her he was "going to do a few yoga exercises now" and listen to Radio Luxembourg and would think of her when he was in church. He also discussed a visit from a woman believed to be called Coral or Carol who may be Carol Skinner, or "Blonde Carol" who rented the flat in Hackney where Reggie Kray killed Jack "The Hat" McVitie in October 1967. Reggie, who died in 2000, signed off the letter to his mother "Keep smiling. God bless you. All my love." Another letter going under the hammer is a four page letter Reggie wrote from Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight to Ronnie in 1982. He told his twin brother prison rule limited his correspondence "so I will not be able to write to you often". An18ct gold diamond ring that belonged to their older brother Charlie is expected to fetch between £3,000 to £4,000. It is being sold together with a photograph of Charlie Kray wearing the ring at a family wedding. The auction also includes three photographs featuring Ronnie Kray, Reggie Kray's first wife Frances Shea and 1958 receipts from the Krays' Double R Club in east London, as well as business cards for the club and The Kings Arms in Shoreditch. Lots also include letters of condolence to the twins after their mother's death. Auctioneer Brian Goodison Blanks said there was "an interest in crime" and The Krays had a major impact on London's history and culture in the 1960s. "These are historical pieces and historical documents. There is an interest in the darker side of history". He said the collection was difficult to value but the whole set is expected to fetch more than £10,000, with the gun licence alone estimated at about £5,000 to £8,000. The auction will be held on 12 and 13 August. More news stories for Devon Listen to the latest news for Devon Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ Notorious gangster's letters to be sold at auction Kray letter about Cornish houses up for auction Related external link Bearnes Hampton and Littlewood
BBC News
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Krays gun licence could fetch thousands at auction
Several items connected to notorious London gangsters the Kray twins are to come up for auction.A gun licence issued to gangster Ronnie Kray, letters his twin Reggie wrote from prison and their brother Charlie's ring are being auctioned by Bearnes, Hampton and Littlewood in are being sold by Dean Buffini who is the stepson of the twins' brother Charlie has decided to sell the items after the death last year of his mother Diane, who was Charlie Kray's partner for 27 years. The lots include a four-page letter which Reggie Kray wrote to his mother Violet Kray from Brixton prison in told his mother he enjoyed seeing her and his father on their recent visit and "I liked that suit you was wearing, it's a nice colour."He described life in prison including watching the Des O'Connor Show and suggested his mother use honey in her tea rather than sugar, because "its good for your health".He told her he was "going to do a few yoga exercises now" and listen to Radio Luxembourg and would think of her when he was in church. He also discussed a visit from a woman believed to be called Coral or Carol who may be Carol Skinner, or "Blonde Carol" who rented the flat in Hackney where Reggie Kray killed Jack "The Hat" McVitie in October who died in 2000, signed off the letter to his mother "Keep smiling. God bless you. All my love."Another letter going under the hammer is a four page letter Reggie wrote from Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight to Ronnie in told his twin brother prison rule limited his correspondence "so I will not be able to write to you often". An18ct gold diamond ring that belonged to their older brother Charlie is expected to fetch between £3,000 to £4, is being sold together with a photograph of Charlie Kray wearing the ring at a family auction also includes three photographs featuring Ronnie Kray, Reggie Kray's first wife Frances Shea and 1958 receipts from the Krays' Double R Club in east London, as well as business cards for the club and The Kings Arms in also include letters of condolence to the twins after their mother's death. Auctioneer Brian Goodison Blanks said there was "an interest in crime" and The Krays had a major impact on London's history and culture in the 1960s."These are historical pieces and historical documents. There is an interest in the darker side of history".He said the collection was difficult to value but the whole set is expected to fetch more than £10,000, with the gun licence alone estimated at about £5,000 to £8, auction will be held on 12 and 13 August.
The Sun
31-07-2025
- The Sun
Never-before-seen treasure trove of ‘artefacts' belonging to Ronnie and Reggie Kray unearthed – and you can buy them
A TREASURE trove of artefacts belonging to Ronnie and Reggie Kray has been unearthed. The stepson of Charlie Kray discovered the hoard of never-before-seen items - and they're expected to fetch a hefty price. 13 13 13 13 They include hand-written notes, cards, photographs, Charlie Kray's 1960s 18 carat diamond ring with 27 single cut diamonds and Ronnie 's first gun licence. The personal pieces are being put up for auction next month by Dean Buffini, following the death of his mother Dianne last year. Dianne had been Charlie Kray's partner for decades and moved in with him when Dean was around 13-years-old. He said he had a good relationship with his step-father, and recalled how "he introduced me to some gangsters". Dianne had refused to sell the items before her death, aged 83, because she viewed it as a "betrayal". Dean said: "I never went to visit Reggie but I did go a couple of times to see Ronnie in Broadmoor. Jimmy Savile was there and Ronnie said he was 'a wrong 'un'. "I saw Charlie two days before he died. He was a nice guy, charming, booted and suited and doing deals. "He was always smiling - it was just a shame he ended up back in jail and died in Parkhurst prison." Dean, 62, now living in Exeter, Devon, added: "Reggie and Charlie could have gone straight. "They were so different to Ronnie who was a ball of muscle and a violent man. Shocking prison tapes reveal unbreakable bond between Kray twins during darkest moments… & how vain overreaction led to brutal machete attack "Reggie was intelligent and there was a gentle side to them too." Bidders have the chance to take home a gun licence issued to Ronnie Kray in 1964. It is expected the historical piece of paper could go under the hammer for and eye-watering £5,000. Ironically, a message on the back of the licence lists safety measures to avoid death or injury. 13 13 13 "Should this occur, you would never forgive yourself," it reads. Letters penned by Reggie Kray from behind prison bars are also on sale. They were written to his mother Violet while he was on remand for murder at Brixton Jail in 1969. He explained how he was able to watch the Des O'Connor show. In other messages he urged her to use honey instead of sugar in her tea. There's also a three-page letter from Carol, known as Blonde Carol Skinner, who rented the basement flat in which Reggie Kray murdered Jack 'The Hat' McVite in October 1967. She wrote: "All I can say is that I hate myself for causing you so much pain and misery. "I can only class myself with all the swine whom I myself detest & and who are the cause of you being in prison". The auction is being held on August 12th at Hampton, Bearnes and Littlewood auctionhouse in Exeter. Auctioneer Brian Goodison-Blanks said:"These are historical artefacts. No matter what you think of the Krays, they are historical figures." 13 13 THE KRAY TWINS The identical twins were born within ten minutes of each other on October 24, 1933, in in Haggerston, East London. They were born to parents Charles David Kray and Violet Annie Lee and grew up in the East End with their brother Charles. The brothers also had a sister, named Violet who was born in 1929, however she sadly died in infancy. Their father, also Charles, was a second-hand clothes dealer and went on the run to avoid military service. Their maternal grandfather Jimmy "Cannonball" Lee encouraged them to take up amateur boxing, a common pastime for working class boys in the area. Ronnie was considered to be the more aggressive of the two twins, constantly getting into street fights as a teenager. In 1952 they began their national service, but they were too wild for the military. After assaulting the corporal in charge and several police officers, they managed to get a dishonourable discharge by throwing tantrums, dumping their latrine bucket over a sergeant and even handcuffing a guard to their prison bars. With a criminal record their boxing careers were brought to an abrupt end, and they instead turned to a life of crime. The twins became household names in 1964 when they were hit with an expose in the Sunday Mirror. It insinuated that Ronnie had a sexual relationship with Lord Boothby, a Conservative politician. No names were printed in the piece, but the twins threatened to sue the newspaper with the help of Labour Party leader Harold Wilson's solicitor Arnold Goodman. 13 13 13 The Mirror backed down, sacked its editor, issued an apology and paid Boothby £40,000 in an out-of-court settlement. Because of this other newspapers were unwilling to expose the Krays' connection and criminal activities. In the early 50s the brothers started their gang, The Firm. Under The Firm umbrella they were involved in armed robberies, arson, protection rackets, assaults and murder over close to two decades. One of their first moves was to buy a run-down snooker club in Mile End, where they started several protection rackets. In the 60s, they moved to the West End to run a gambling club, Esmerelda's Barn, in Knightsbridge. As owners of Esmerelda's Barn, the twins quickly achieved celebrity status, and rubbing shoulders with the likes of lords, MPs, socialites and famous faces such as Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland. But in March 1969, both Ronnie and Reggie were sentenced to life imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 30 years for two counts of murder of Cornell - the longest sentences ever passed at the Old Bailey. Their brother Charlie was imprisoned for ten years for his part in the murders. Ronnie Kray was classed as a Category A prisoner and was denied almost all liberties. Ronnie was eventually certified insane - his paranoid schizophrenia was treated with constant medication. In 1979 he was committed and lived the remainder of his life in Broadmoor Hospital. Reggie Kray was imprisoned in Maidstone Prison for eight years as a Category B prisoner. In 1997, he was transferred to the Category C Wayland Prison in Norfolk. Reggie Kray spent a total of 33 years behind bars, before being released from prison on compassionate grounds in August 2000, at the age of 66. He was released due to being diagnosed with inoperable bladder cancer. Ronnie Kray spent the remainder of his life imprisoned in Broadmoor Hospital, up until his death in 1995. 13
