No they weren't. This is all we know about Jack 'The Hat' McVitie and how he died. Who is Chris Lambrianou? McVitie and a friend, Billy Exley, set off to shoot Payne, but were unsuccessful. Thank God for that.'. . with this post, location or person. The twins were quick to leave the scene and left the Lambrianou brothers, Ronnie Bender and Connie Whitehead to clear up the mess. I thought he couldn't be dead, but he was so we got some socks [on our hands] and started cleaning up.". On July 6th, 1968 the twins appeared at a hearing in front of the Metropolitan Chief Magistrate, Mr Frank Milton, at Old Street Court. George Cornells wife Olive certainly did and she turned up at 178 Vallance Road shouting and screaming and threw a brick through the window of the Krays family home in anger. Before the First World War the Blind Beggar was the meeting-place of a gang of pick-pockets and neer do wells. The Krays were silent partners in the business and so when Jack came back later threatening to shoot the Barry brothers, who were the owners it wasnt long before Ron and Reg got to hear about it. Bobby had witnessed the murders of George Cornell, Frank Mitchell and Jack 'The Hat' McVitie and while his testimony was good, the so-called "wall of silence" held up by other gang members and affiliates made gathering information extremely difficult. The barmaid at the Blind Beggar said she hadnt seen who did it. St. Petersburg. "They tied the escort up in traffic and suddenly we found ourselves sitting in the limousine five miles away from the rest of the procession. This was not long after three policemen were shot and killed by Harry Roberts. Lambrianou says: Some people tried to have us away. Chris, alongside his brother Tony, and fellow gangster Ronnie Bender, disposed of Jack the Hat's body after he was stabbed in the stomach and face by Reggie. Lambrianou and his brother Tony, who was also later jailed, had helped dispose of McVitie's body after he had been stabbed repeatedly by Reggie Kray (right, on his wedding day) and left in a basement flat in Stoke Newington. Although the police led by Detective Superintendent Leonard Nipper Read found it impossible to find any witnesses everyone really knew who had committed the murder. The Lambrianou brothers reluctantly agreed to help the Krays driver Ronnie Bender take the body south of the river and dump it on a railway line so a train would obliterate it. 'He said 'why not?' He married Marie Marney in 1950 and they had a son together named Tony. His association with Ronnie and Reggie, however, helped him forge a criminal network all over the country, one that continued even while behind bars. Kray received life imprisonment for the murder in 1969 and remained in prison . "I'm sorry, but they're not heroes. He used to work as an enforcer and hitman on occasions with The Firm and was known for drug trafficking throughout the 1960s. I'd destroyed those relationships with those people like I'd destroyed the garden. "Come on, anybody with a reputation isn't going to kill someone with an audience, are they? They couldnt have been more than five and seven years old. Jack the Hat was actually not a bad guy really. Kray wrote in the twins autobiography, Our Story: He fell forward on to the bar. Essential reading for anyone interested in the history of Hackney! While inside, Chris discovered religion and has dedicated his life since then to helping others avoid some of the pitfalls that he fell into. He is posthumously famous for triggering the imprisonment and downfall of the Kray twins. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Chris Lambrianou was the man forced to clean up after Ronnie and Reggie Kray while they sipped champagne with the stars. "I went into the kitchen and got some socks from the wicker basket to wear as gloves, so there were no fingerprints. On May 7th of the following year, the twins were arrested for these killings; and, on March 8, 1969, after a trial which had lasted for two months, they were given life sentences, with a recommendation that they serve not less . Ron died in jail. Lambrianou served 15 years, including a stint in Durham Prisons notorious E-Wing isolation unit known as The Submarine because of its small concrete cells and tiny windows. Daily blog accounts of 'horrible histories' from the London Borough of Hackney, including Hackney Central, Clapton, Homerton, Stoke Newington, Stamford Hill, Shoreditch, Hoxton, De Beauvoir, Dalston, Kingsland, the Lea River. Nonetheless Lambrianou decided to leave before things became any more heated. St Petersburg is the city Christopher Hitchens called "an apparent temple of civilization: the polished window between Russia and Europe the, "I never saw Eric Ravilious depressed. To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders, Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications, .css-o3g03s{color:black;}Published12:52,08 May 2021 BST| Last updated12:52,08 May 2021 BST. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. "However, you do have to acknowledge the other side - the victims, the violence and the destruction. In October 1967, they became equal, when Reginald Kray murdered Jack "The Hat" McVitie. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Once inside he was punched by Ronnie Kray. I'm thinking of you" - Pablo Iglesias Maurer, At the end of October 1959 in the basement of 39 Gerrard Street - an unexceptional and damp space that was once a sort of rest room for taxi drivers and an occasional tea bar - Ronnie Scott opened his first jazz club. 'That's the way they see life, and all I do is let them talk to me. . There was no shortage of guns and people who werent afraid to use them. "I said, 'Is Tony there?' . This incident led, in part, to McVitie's death. The former gangster told the MailOnline: 'I gave a talk at the Emmanuel Church in Bicester last year and all these ex-servicemen came and I got involved with them. And you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. There is nothing legendary about murdering a man in front of 16 people. Reggie was drenched in it as he was the one shoving the blade in and out. He later returned to the flat, armed with a gun, to get his brother out but instead got embroiled in helping to clear up the mess. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Did they clean the flat up? If nothing else, Lambrianou found God and himself in prison after a tough time punctuated by violence. Anthony Thomas Lambrianou (15 April 1942, Bethnal Green, London - 26 March 2004, Kent) was an English criminal known for his association with the Kray Twins. Ronnie remained in Broadmoor Hospital until his death on 17 March 1995; Reggie was released from prison on compassionate grounds in August 2000, eight and a half weeks before his death from cancer. House where Jack 'The Hat' McVitie was stabbed to death by the Kray twins. Jack McVitie. Lambrianou (left) was jailed for his part in the murder of Jack 'The Hat' McVitie and spent 15-years locked up. 'I go downstairs and there's Jack lying out in the front room by the fireplace. The recent glorification of the twins' lifestyle - including in the 2015 film Legend starring Tom Hardy - is clearly an annoyance to Lambrianou. He is posthumously famous for triggering the imprisonment and downfall of the Kray twins.He had acted as an enforcer and hitman with links to "the firm", and was murdered by Reggie Kray in 1967. 'They offloaded a lot of stuff, they were frightened to go back into society. Ronny had a shot glass in his hand and it smashed, opening up a gash across Jack's face. So then he resorted to a knife and stabbed McVittie repeatedly in the face, chest and stomach. Jack 'The Hat' had been paid in advance but unwisely had been boasting that he had cheated the twins out of their money. At midnight the Firm gathered round the radio and cheered when the death of George Cornell was announced. Reggie pointed a gun at McVitie's head, but the gun failed to fire. Shed gone out and the Krays were the childminders. We came here to bury our dad, not to escape.. A pub had been on the same spot in Whitechapel since 1673 and it was named after Henry de Montfort, the son of the Earl of Leicester, who is said to have posed as a blind beggar to escape detection after the battle of Evesham in 1265. The Krays' criminal activities continued to be hidden behind their celebrity status and "legitimate" businesses. I told her to go into the bedroom and wait with her children until we were gone.. Ronnie had a conviction for murdering George Cornell while Reggie had to serve time for the killing of McVitie. As one of the Krays most trusted henchmen, Chris Lambrianou commanded fear and respect in the most brutal and bloodiest of worlds. Ronnie Kray was charged with his murder. Lambrianou gives inspirational talks to the residents and still pops in on a part-time basis to help. Jack "The Hat" McVitie is stabbed to death with a knife by Reggie, according to the Telegraph. The brothers then fled the scene, leaving McVitie's body behind them. DONATE, Before the money moved in, Kings Cross was a place for born-and-bred locals, clubs and crime, See what really went on during that time in NYC's topless go-go bars, Chris Stein 's photographs of Debbie Harry and friends take us back to a great era of music. Reggie, normally the calmer influence on psychotic Ronnie, was driven mad by grief after his wife Frances committed suicide four months earlier. Reg then grabbed a knife from the table and repeatedly stabbed Jack in the chest and face until he was dead. and he said 'follow me' and that's what I've tried to do. Arriving at Payne's home, McVitie hammered loudly on the front door, which luckily for Payne was opened by his wife. So then he resorted to a knife and stabbed McVittie repeatedly in the face, chest and stomach. Tintagel House had been Nipper Reads headquarters specially chosen to be away from Scotland Yard and any of the Krays paid informers. Thebody was wrapped in bedsheets and driven byTony Lambrianou to South London where it was left outside a church on the other sideof the Rotherhithe tunnel. John McVitie was well known as a hard man but better known under the alias of Jack 'The Hat'. He is posthumously famous for triggering the imprisonment and downfall of the Kray twins. Jack 'The Hat' McVitie was born on April 19, 1932, in Battersea, London and grew up to have a criminal life. He was released 32 years ago and now works with the probation service rehabilitating young offenders, even missing Ronnie Krays funeral so he could speak on behalf of a youth in court. . However, it didn't happen quite like that. Lambrianou then got into his vehicle and followed closely behind. Jack 'The Hat' McVitie was born on April 19, 1932, in Battersea, London and grew up to have a criminal life. The old man was asked by the police why he would not help put Ronnie Kray away: I hate the sight of blood, he said, particularly my own.. 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