Inside the Kray Family by Rita Smith

Author:Rita Smith [Rita Smith, Joe Lee and]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781780110530
Publisher: Carlton Books Ltd

7. “Them Kray brothers”

Joe Lee

I don’t think our Rita ever really understood what the twins were capable of. They kept it all away from her and the other women in the family – even Grandad Lee, but the rest of us blokes couldn’t avoid it.

I can’t say I was surprised about the road they went down in the end because most of their lives their heroes were tough guys and people who was prepared to stick two fingers up to the law. The more slippery these blokes were the more the twins idolized them. And we had more than our fair share of these types coming through the house or living close by in Bethnal Green.

I could think about it until I went dizzy and I still couldn’t come up with any single reason as to why they should turn out different from the rest of the family. Me and Charlie had all the same influences when we was growing up, and pretty much the same background, give or take a few bits and pieces.

Speaking for myself, I’ve always stuck reasonably close to the straight and narrow – no better and no worse than the average bloke getting through life. As for Charlie, all the aggravation he’s had to suffer all his life came down to one thing – well two things really, those brothers of his. He was no gangster. All he ever wanted was a quiet life where he could nick a few quid for himself out of some legitimate business. But every time he thought he was getting somewhere he let himself get sucked into some scheme or other by Reg and Ron – and they could be a bit persuasive when they wanted to be.

It was like he always felt that because he was a lot older than them he had a responsibility to get involved in looking out for them, and that’s what brought all kinds of trouble down on his head.

I mean it’s not like you can blame upbringing or environment for shaping those boys because I can’t think that anyone could have had a more secure and loving home life than they did. All right, leave their old man Charlie out of the picture because I don’t think he done them a lot of favours when they was kids, but for the rest they grew up surrounded by close family who thought the sun shone out of them. Right from the days when my Aunt Violet used to push them up Bethnal Green Road in one of them double prams, with all the women stopping to have a look, they was always the flavour of the month. Didn’t matter what they got up to one or the other of the family would jump in with excuses for them. Nanny Lee, Rose, May – they all thought the world of them and you daren’t say a word against them twins if they was in earshot.

As for their mother – well, they were her life.

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