CHARLIE RICHARDSON led one of the most notorious criminal gangs in London which had an ongoing feud with the Krays.

Read all about Charlie Richardson and his criminal life.

Who was Charlie Richardson?

Charlie Richardson was born on January 18, 1934, in Brentford.

His parents – Eileen Elizabeth Mary and Charles Frederick Richardson – move the family to Camberwell where his youngest brother Eddie was born.

Charlie and Eddie turned to a life of crime once their father left the family.

Together they created the Richardson gang which was known for torturing their victims and they used to have people collect "pensions."

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Whoever paid these "pensions," would be granted the protection of the Richardson gang.

He was once arrested for grievous body harm, on the day England won the World Cup on July 30, 1966.

There were rumours that he was connected to the South African Bureau of State Security and attempted to tap former Prime Minister Harold Wilson's telephone.

He escaped prison in 1980 before he was once again caught and then released on July 1984.

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Who was in the Richardson gang?

Charlie was the leader of the Richardson gang along with his brother Eddie.

The main men that would have meetings with the Krays were George Cornell and "Mad" Frankie Fraser.

Cornell was also very involved in drug dealing and pornography.

Meanwhile, Fraser was involved in burglary and he was also involved in desertion during the Second World War.

Desertion is when someone on military service illegaly leaves the armed forces.

He worked as an enforcer mainly for the Richardsons before he spent between 40 to 42 years in prison because of his criminal life.

Some other members of the gang included:

• Hitman Jimmy Moody
• Roy Hall who operated the electric generator
• Barry Harris who was the getaway driver
• Albert Longman
• Ron Lawrence who was a getaway driver and enforcer
• Grandad Finley who was the South London enforcer
• Harry Rawlins
• Alan More/Rigby
• Frank Bailey
• Harry Banks
• Tommy Clark
• Ron Large (Ronnie)
• Tommy Quinlan
• James Kemmery
• Mick O'Brien

Did Charlie Richardson have children?

Charlie Richardson was married to Victoria and had six children according to his biography.

The only ones we found mention of were Charlie Boy, Michelle, Susan, Mark and Carol.

His eldest daughter Carol spoke to The Express, saying: "Our dad was no angel but a lot of the stuff about him was a load of nonsense.

"He was a good father. No one could have been a better father.

"He wrote letter after letter from prison. We have hundreds of letters and would never part with them.

"It chokes me when he talks about his daily prison routine and how much our visits meant to him.

"He was such a good dad, even behind bars, because he would always want all the news from home and he gave us all the best advice about school.

"If we didn’t do our homework he wanted a full report on why not.”

Richardson passed away on September 19, 2012.

Did Charlie Richardson know the Kray Twins?

The Richardson gang and the Kray Twins had a turf war going on during the mid-to-late 1960s.

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There were many fights that happened between the two, and it is claimed that Ronnie Kray's first victim was George Cornell who made part of the Richardsons.

Sometimes the gangs used to go after each other's men and some died throughout the argument.

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