The Case of the Great Train Robbery
Police guard Leatherslade Farm used as a safe house by the great train robbers. (Photo: Cheddington Historical Society)
We’re going to revisit the crime of the century … of the last century that is.
Some say the heist that happened almost 50 years ago was the grandaddy of them all.
The Great Train Robbery.
A gang of robbers inspired by the rail road stickups of the Wild West hit a British royal mail train and made off with close to $4 million in cash.
The gang wore ski masks and made off with 120 bags of money.
No guns were used and much of the stolen fortune is still unaccounted for.
One of the masterminds of the heist died Thursday at age 81.
But the question for you is:
Where did the great train leave from and where was it headed?
For the answer we’re going to check in with retired police constable John Wooley. He helped crack open the investigation in 1963 when he discovered the robber’s hangout at Leatherslade Farm.
It’s 20 miles as the crow flies from the scene of crime in Cheddington, England where the thieves intercepted the mail train traveling from Glasgow to London.
It was a dramatic moment in his long career in law enforcement…when he was shocked to stumble across the hideout and the hidden jackpot of banknotes.
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