“To Britain’s criminal underworld, Freddie Foreman is the Godfather. Held responsible for the gangland killings of Ginger Marks and Frank ‘The Mad Axeman’ Mitchell, he was the punisher to those who broke the underworld’s strict code of conduct. Foreman’s dramatic kidnap and arrest for Britain’s biggest cash robbery made headlines around the world, yet this daring raid was just the peak of a safe-blowing, bank-robbing career that had spanned decades.”
Born Frederick Foreman in South London on March 5th 1932, young Fred was on trial for his first crime just 16 years later, at the Old Bailey. It was the beginning of a prolific criminal career that culminated in Britain’s biggest cash robbery, the £7m Security Express heist. Freddie was sentenced to nine years imprisonment for his involvement, having previously served ten years for the disposal of Jack “the Hat” McVitie as a personal favour for Ronnie Kray. Today, Freddie has retired from a life of crime and lives with partner Janice in North London.
JEFF MAYSH
FREDDIE FOREMAN
“Multi-award winning journalist Jeff Maysh was Freddie Foreman’s official ghost writer for this explosive autobiography, spending sixth months working with the retired gangster in both London and Marbella. Brown Bread Fred is his first book. Jeff lives in Belsize Park, London.”
Reviews
“It began late on Good Friday, the snowfall. Blanketing the hills of north-east England and the Midlands, by Saturday it had painted white the entire eastern side of the country, from Scotland to Norfolk. As Sunday slowly became Easter Monday, light snowflakes began to drift across East London - dissolving into the tarmac of Curtain Road, and scattering across the yard of the famous Security Express depot.
The air was as crisp as a five pound note, and while snow at this time of year was most unusual, for the five men crouched behind the walls and buildings of that yard, it was the only part of the morning that was unplanned.
They’d carefully pin-pointed the section of wall blinded from the electronic gaze of close circuit television, and dropped over. They’d calculated that they could hide inside this fortress known to locals as ‘Fort Knox’, completely undetected. And most importantly, they had learnt that one man’s routine of an early morning cuppa would leave the entire alarm system temporarily disabled, and the treasures locked deep inside the building open for their taking.
As these five men sat waiting through the night, they contemplated what would be the most audacious crime ever undertaken in London’s square mile, to rob the headquarters of Security Express of £7 million in cash. The redbrick complex had twelve-foot-high walls, and steel-shuttered doors. Alarms and cameras were strategically placed around the entire building and it was considered impenetrable. The next most difficult job would have been to relieve the Tower of London of the Crown Jewels…”
Tags: Brown Bread Fred, Freddie Foreman, Krays