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| Bruce Reynolds funeral: Ronnie Biggs attends Great Train Robber's sendoff | Bruce Reynolds funeral: Ronnie Biggs attends Great Train Robber's sendoff |
| (8 days later) | |
| The church of St Bartholomew the Great in Smithfield, just round the corner from the Old Bailey, has seen everything in its 900-year history, from the Great Fire of London to the bombs of the second world war, but it can never have hosted an event quite like the one that took place on Wednesday. The occasion was the funeral of Bruce Richard Reynolds, ringleader of the Great Train Robbery that took place almost exactly 50 years ago. | The church of St Bartholomew the Great in Smithfield, just round the corner from the Old Bailey, has seen everything in its 900-year history, from the Great Fire of London to the bombs of the second world war, but it can never have hosted an event quite like the one that took place on Wednesday. The occasion was the funeral of Bruce Richard Reynolds, ringleader of the Great Train Robbery that took place almost exactly 50 years ago. |
| Many of his fellow robbers have already had their collars felt by the Almighty but perhaps the best known of them, Ronnie Biggs, now partially paralysed through a series of strokes, was in attendance. He gave a cheery two fingers to the massed ranks of photographers as he arrived. Unable to speak now, Biggs had a message read out on his behalf: "Bruce was a true friend, a friend through good and bad times and we had plenty of both." Another of the old robbers, Bob Welsh, was there too, also in a wheelchair. | Many of his fellow robbers have already had their collars felt by the Almighty but perhaps the best known of them, Ronnie Biggs, now partially paralysed through a series of strokes, was in attendance. He gave a cheery two fingers to the massed ranks of photographers as he arrived. Unable to speak now, Biggs had a message read out on his behalf: "Bruce was a true friend, a friend through good and bad times and we had plenty of both." Another of the old robbers, Bob Welsh, was there too, also in a wheelchair. |
| "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him," said the Rev Martin Dudley, the church's rector, as he opened the ceremony. "A man is not defined by one act. There is always the bigger picture." And over the next hour and a half, a portrait of the man who planned what became Britain's most famous robbery was painted in bright colours. | "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him," said the Rev Martin Dudley, the church's rector, as he opened the ceremony. "A man is not defined by one act. There is always the bigger picture." And over the next hour and a half, a portrait of the man who planned what became Britain's most famous robbery was painted in bright colours. |
| The funeral was organised by Reynolds' son, Nick, who was a diver with the Royal Navy during the Falklands war and is now a sculptor and a musician with the Alabama Three, creators of the theme tune of The Sopranos. He had wanted to get away from the old-style gangster's send-off, so there was to be no floral tribute in the shape of a mailbag, no playing of Frank Sinatra's version of My Way. Instead, there were tales from friends, music from the band and the church's own magnificent choir. | The funeral was organised by Reynolds' son, Nick, who was a diver with the Royal Navy during the Falklands war and is now a sculptor and a musician with the Alabama Three, creators of the theme tune of The Sopranos. He had wanted to get away from the old-style gangster's send-off, so there was to be no floral tribute in the shape of a mailbag, no playing of Frank Sinatra's version of My Way. Instead, there were tales from friends, music from the band and the church's own magnificent choir. |
| Nick Reynolds described his father as "my best friend, soulmate and older brother … He chose a lunatic path and paid the price." He recounted how his father had studied sociology in prison under the tutelage of Professor Laurie Taylor and the late Stan Cohen and had become a different person. "He was an artist at heart and although he referred to the train robbery as his Sistine Chapel, his greatest triumph was in reassessing himself and changing his attitude about what was important in life." | Nick Reynolds described his father as "my best friend, soulmate and older brother … He chose a lunatic path and paid the price." He recounted how his father had studied sociology in prison under the tutelage of Professor Laurie Taylor and the late Stan Cohen and had become a different person. "He was an artist at heart and although he referred to the train robbery as his Sistine Chapel, his greatest triumph was in reassessing himself and changing his attitude about what was important in life." |
| Of the looming August anniversary of the robbery, he said his father had not been looking forward to all the bother from the media. "So, as he had so often done before when wanted for questioning, he chose to split the scene." Nick's sons, Spiggy and Otto, read poems for their grandfather. | Of the looming August anniversary of the robbery, he said his father had not been looking forward to all the bother from the media. "So, as he had so often done before when wanted for questioning, he chose to split the scene." Nick's sons, Spiggy and Otto, read poems for their grandfather. |
| The actor David Thewlis, who met Reynolds while making the film Gangster Number One, said there had always been a great affinity between actors and thieves as each needed the skills of the other "Thieves are, by necessity, great actors," he said. Thewlis described his conversations with Reynolds in the eccentric Clerkenwell watering hole The Tardis, "about Jesse James and James Joyce". | The actor David Thewlis, who met Reynolds while making the film Gangster Number One, said there had always been a great affinity between actors and thieves as each needed the skills of the other "Thieves are, by necessity, great actors," he said. Thewlis described his conversations with Reynolds in the eccentric Clerkenwell watering hole The Tardis, "about Jesse James and James Joyce". |
| The writer Jake Arnott recalled that on his meeting with Reynolds, the latter had quoted William Burroughs: "Steal everything in sight." He praised his writing, describing Reynolds' memoirs, The Autobiography of a Thief, as a modern classic. "His life was like a novel. Bruce knew more than most about the need for adventure." | The writer Jake Arnott recalled that on his meeting with Reynolds, the latter had quoted William Burroughs: "Steal everything in sight." He praised his writing, describing Reynolds' memoirs, The Autobiography of a Thief, as a modern classic. "His life was like a novel. Bruce knew more than most about the need for adventure." |
| The instantly recognisable punk poet John Cooper Clark had been prompted by news of the death to pen Lines Upon the Death of Mr Bruce Reynolds, which he read to the packed, candlelit church, ending with the line: "RIP Gentleman Thief." Another hero of the punk era, Mick Jones of the Clash, who co-wrote My Daddy was a Bank Robber, was also present but the music was left to the choir and the Alabama Three who sang Too Sick to Pray. | The instantly recognisable punk poet John Cooper Clark had been prompted by news of the death to pen Lines Upon the Death of Mr Bruce Reynolds, which he read to the packed, candlelit church, ending with the line: "RIP Gentleman Thief." Another hero of the punk era, Mick Jones of the Clash, who co-wrote My Daddy was a Bank Robber, was also present but the music was left to the choir and the Alabama Three who sang Too Sick to Pray. |
| There were a few familiar faces from gangland's past: Freddie "Brown Bread Fred" Foreman and Chris Lambrianou, both of whom were involved with the Krays around the time the robbery took place. Gordon Goody, now very ill in Spain, had sent a message in which he remembered the first meeting of "the most infamous rogues" at a pub in Putney in 1960. | There were a few familiar faces from gangland's past: Freddie "Brown Bread Fred" Foreman and Chris Lambrianou, both of whom were involved with the Krays around the time the robbery took place. Gordon Goody, now very ill in Spain, had sent a message in which he remembered the first meeting of "the most infamous rogues" at a pub in Putney in 1960. |
| The actor Ray Stevenson read from Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet – "only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing" – which was about as far as you can get from Sinatra's "and now the end is near". Mourners were asked to make a donation to Amnesty International, the organisation to which Reynolds used to send his fees when he wrote occasional pieces for the Guardian. | The actor Ray Stevenson read from Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet – "only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing" – which was about as far as you can get from Sinatra's "and now the end is near". Mourners were asked to make a donation to Amnesty International, the organisation to which Reynolds used to send his fees when he wrote occasional pieces for the Guardian. |
| There was a rendition of Gabriel Faure's In Paradisum and the playing of the familiar Irving Berlin song Let's Face the Music and Dance, a favourite of the robber's, which had also been played at the funeral of his wife, Angela, who died two years ago. | There was a rendition of Gabriel Faure's In Paradisum and the playing of the familiar Irving Berlin song Let's Face the Music and Dance, a favourite of the robber's, which had also been played at the funeral of his wife, Angela, who died two years ago. |
| In the epilogue of his memoirs, Reynolds recounted the growing number of funerals he was attending as other train robbers died: Charlie Wilson, shot dead in the south of Spain; Buster Edwards, who hanged himself in south London; Roy James, who had died of a heart attack. He closed the book with a reference to Biggs: "When I look at his frail frame, I see my own mortality. C'est la vie!" | In the epilogue of his memoirs, Reynolds recounted the growing number of funerals he was attending as other train robbers died: Charlie Wilson, shot dead in the south of Spain; Buster Edwards, who hanged himself in south London; Roy James, who had died of a heart attack. He closed the book with a reference to Biggs: "When I look at his frail frame, I see my own mortality. C'est la vie!" |
| They were the same words with which he greeted Tommy Butler, the detective who eventually arrested him, and they would be on the lips of many of the mourners as they headed for a Shoreditch pub to say a final farewell to Bruce Richard Reynolds. | They were the same words with which he greeted Tommy Butler, the detective who eventually arrested him, and they would be on the lips of many of the mourners as they headed for a Shoreditch pub to say a final farewell to Bruce Richard Reynolds. |
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