The Charismatic Kray Twins Trivia Quiz

Answer: Reggie

Reginald and Ronald Kray were born on 24 October 1933, with Reggie being the elder by about 10 minutes. An elder sister, Violet, born in 1929, had previously died while still an infant, although an older brother, Charles, was to become an associate in their future criminal activities.

Answer: Both received dishonourable discharges

Military discipline was anathema to the Kray twins, and they spent most of their national service in military custody (which included being held for a short time in the Tower of London). They ended up serving six months in a military prison before being dishonourably discharged. Prior to being called up, they had been earning a living as professional boxers, but the nature of their dismissal from the Army put an end to that career.

Answer: The Firm

The nickname shows that the brothers considered their criminal activities to be as much of a mainstream career as any legitimate business, and a large number of criminal associates soon joined their "payroll".

Answer: David Bailey

A big element in the milieu of "Swinging Sixties" London was the way in which the traditional political and social "establishment" mingled freely with the world of music, fashion and (in the case of the Krays) criminality. David Bailey was one of the most influential photographers of early 1960s fashionable London, and being photographed by him did the celebrity reputation of the twins no harm at all.

Answer: Lord Boothby

Both Boothby and the Krays threatened to sue the "Mirror", which backed down (probably under pressure from senior politicians) and paid Boothby £40,000 in compensation - a lot of money in 1964. Subsequent investigations have uncovered the extent of Boothby's connections with the Krays.

Answer: The Blind Beggar

Cornell was associated with a rival East End gang, the Richardsons. One day at a party he was heard to make an uncomplimentary remark referring to Ronnie Kray's weight and homosexuality, and from then on his card was marked. On the 9th March 1966, Ronnie shot him dead in the saloon bar of the "Blind Beggar" pub on Whitechapel Road.

Answer: The Hat

Jack "the Hat" McVitie was a minor associate of the Krays, who was paid £1,500 by them to kill another criminal. When McVitie failed in his task, but kept the money anyway, he was stabbed to death by Reggie, with the assistance of his brother and other gang members. The nickname refers to the fact that he habitually wore a trilby hat, to cover up the fact that he was losing his hair.

Answer: Leonard "Nipper" Read

"Nipper" Read slowly amassed enough evidence against the twins to make a credible case against them, and in 1968 they were finally arrested and charged with a range of offences, including the murders of George Cornell and Jack McVitie.

All of their celebrity associations weren't able to save them now, and once they were in police custody enough people came forward to give evidence against them to ensure they went down for an appropriately long length of time.

Answer: Broadmoor Hospital

Following his conviction, Ronnie was certified as criminally insane and ended his days behind bars in Broadmoor, a high security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire. He died of a heart attack in March 1995, aged 61.

Answer: No

Once behind bars, the violent and ruthless twins acquired a celebrity notoriety not unlike that of another unpleasant Sixties criminal, Ronnie Biggs. Attempts to get them released from prison on the grounds that they had served their time and in any case "weren't all that bad really" were fortunately resisted by the authorities.

However, in the end Reggie Kray was released from prison on compassionate grounds in August 2000, suffering from terminal bladder cancer. He died two months later, in a room at the Townhouse Hotel, Norwich.