Ronnie and Reggie Kray ran 1960s London’s underworld. They were suit-wearing, violence-loving celebrities. But in early 1965, they got arrested for a brawl in the East End. The police didn’t mess around. They sent the twins to the Tower of London’s military prison wing.
Why the Tower? Simple. It was a secure military prison at the time. The Krays were awaiting trial, and the authorities wanted maximum security. You don’t get more maximum than a castle with a moat and a history of chopping off heads.
Life Inside: More Tea, Less Torture
The twins didn’t sleep in a cold, damp dungeon. No, they enjoyed a surprisingly civilised stay. They had beds with sheets. They had a radio to listen to pop music. The guards even let them wear their own flashy suits during exercise.
Ronnie Kray, the paranoid one, was initially scared. He thought Beefeaters (yeomen warders) would poison his food. He refused to eat for a day. Reggie, ever the practical one, had to talk him down. “Just eat the bloody toast, Ron.” It worked.
They shared the wing with army deserters and rebellious soldiers. Imagine being a regular squaddie, locked up for being drunk. Then you look across the cell block, and Ronnie Kray is staring at you. That must have been a terrifying wake-up call.
