Free Inside the Firm - The Untold Story of The Krays' Reign of Terror by Tony Lambrianou Page A

item. His bedroom was covered in SS flags, and he had dummies dressed in all these Gestapo uniforms. He had machine-guns and pistols in there too. One day, he dressed himself up and went marching up and down the heavily Jewish area of Stamford Hill wearing the uniform, the boots, the lot.
    Davy organised a holiday for me, Terry Smith and the Venables brothers down in Devon. When we got there, we were each given a .303 rifle, old army issue. He said, ‘We’re going for training.’
    I said, ‘I thought we’d come down here for a holiday.’
    We stayed for a week, during which time we shot a cow in a field. Stories about the manoeuvres began to appear in the papers, so we disappeared and came back to London. Despite the fact that he lived, and really believed in himself, as a Nazi, I always saw Davy Sadler as a useful person to have around – ‘We can always do with one of those.’
     
    After this period, my Jimmy dropped out of things completely – just retreated into the background. He’d come out occasionally, socialising, or to offer brotherly support, but we never involved him in anything again. He went into legitimate business. Had he not, he would have wound up the same as us. By this time he’d met his wife-to -be, a Hoxton girl called Carol, who married him in 1963.
    However, before that wedding there was another one: mine. I hadn’t yet turned twenty when Pat informed me that she was expecting a baby, so we decided to get married. It delighted my parents, but I didn’t like the idea of becoming a father one bit. It was a responsibility, and at that time I had no sense of responsibility.
    We were married in the register office at Shoreditch Town Hall on 23 August 1962. Leon was the best man; Chris was still away on his Corrective Training. I wore a blue serge suit, white shirt, blue tie and black shoes. I remember buying Pat a nice dress and matching coat in beige.
    I thought the whole thing was a big joke – I remember bursting out laughing when I took the marriage vows. Pat took it all rather seriously, but my view at that time was, ‘If it keeps her happy, don’t worry about it.’ We got in the car and drove home after the ceremony, and my mother was crying, but that afternoon I went outas usual. Pat and I went out to the dogs in the evening, and then for a meal, with Leon and June: I won £800 at the racetrack, so that was a nice little start for us.
    It was only later that the whole significance of the day occurred to me. I thought, ‘God almighty, I’m a married man and I’m only twenty!’ But being married didn’t mean that everything had to stop. My brothers and I always tended to do what we wanted anyway, and I carried on going out and about with my mates.
    I saw some pressure at home with Pat, though. We needed somewhere on our own, especially with the baby coming. Leon was living in a house in Blythe Street, and he introduced me to the landlord. Pat and I moved into number 22, the top flat next door, and Jimmy and Carol eventually took the flat above Leon. Nicky stayed at home in Queensbridge Road until he was nineteen, when he moved in with his girlfriend, Cathy Reilly, a Bethnal Green girl.
    My daughter Karen Lee came along on 13 October 1962; she was born in Bethnal Green Hospital at five past midnight on a Tuesday morning. I’d been on the phone all Monday night trying to find out what was happening. When I found out that Pat had had a 71/21b baby girl, I rushed over with my mother to see her.
    I felt absolutely great. It’s yours, and nothing can ever take that away from you.
    When we brought the baby home, my mother wouldn’t let her out of her arms. Now she had a daughter, the first girl born to the family. And as the weeks went past, she took the baby over; my Mum almost brought her up. Everybody was thrilled about it. Leon and Nicky were always making a fuss of her, and she was spoilt rotten. She was a beautiful baby, my pride and joy, and this was a very happy period for