Reggie Kray's letters at 'what if' moment in his life are sold at auction

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-33663449

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Letters written by gangster Reggie Kray at a "sliding doors" moment in his life, have sold at auction for £750.

The notorious crime boss penned the four letters to Maureen Baker, a personal friend, at HMP Parkhurst while serving a life sentence for murder.

Wiltshire auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said one letter revealed "a real 'what if' moment" in the gangster's life.

The letters from Kray, who died of cancer in 2000 aged 66, were sold for £250 over their reserve price.

Kray ran a huge crime empire across the east end of London in the 1950s and 60s, alongside his brother, Ronnie.

The handwritten letters, mostly illegible, were written to Mrs Baker who he knew from the Tottenham Royal dance hall in the early 1950s.

"The letters offer a fascinating snap shot into the mind of one of Britain's most notorious gangsters," said Mr Aldridge.

"One sentence in particular makes fascinating reading: 'I never did receive the letters in the guard house, if I had it may have changed the direction of both our lives, but it is no good to look back.'

"This letter represents a real sliding doors or 'what if' moment of history on how his life could have been so different if he had have received the letters he mentioned."

Sold by a relative of Mrs Baker, who is now deceased, Mr Aldridge said the lot had attracted interest from London, Rome and Sydney but was eventually bought by a collector from Wiltshire.

The Kray brothers, were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1969 for their involvement in armed robberies, arson, protection rackets, assaults, and the murders of Jack "The Hat" McVitie and George Cornell.

Ronnie died in Broadmoor Hospital in 1995 while Reggie died from cancer in October 2000, eight weeks after he was released from his term on compassionate grounds.