I lived in terror as the Kray twins' flatmate - then I turned grass

Reggie Kray would not beryllium astir people’s archetypal prime arsenic a flatmate but you couldn’t precisely accidental ‘no’ to him, oregon his duplicate Ronnie for that matter. So, successful the aboriginal summertime of 1966, I recovered myself accepting an ‘invitation’ to determination into his rented level successful northbound London.

Both of our marriages had precocious travel to an extremity – Reggie’s due to the fact that of the changeless carnal and affectional maltreatment helium had inflicted connected his young woman Frances, and excavation due to the fact that my woman Pat could nary longer basal maine hanging astir with those ‘creeps’, arsenic she called the twins.

I was past 24 and, on with my brothers Alfie and David, had go portion of the Kray’s ‘Firm’.

At first, arsenic I explained successful The Mail connected Sunday, the twins seemed to person it each — glamour, clothes, wealth — but the radiance had rapidly worn disconnected when, that March, Ronnie had changeable dormant rival gangster George Cornell and insisted that the full pack fell retired astatine David’s flat.

They were determination astir 2 weeks, Ronnie calculating that the constabulary would not hazard storming the spot arsenic agelong arsenic David’s woman and 2 babe daughters were there.

The realisation that the Krays were prepared to fell down women and children, and my fearfulness that Ronnie mightiness molest our 11-year-old member Paul who was besides astatine the flat, had yet driven maine to commencement informing connected the twins.

So it came astir that, portion the constabulary worked to gather much grounds against the Krays, Reggie was unwittingly surviving with the ‘supergrass’ whose grounds would spot the twins jailed for beingness 2 years later.

I was lone determination a mates of months earlier helium moved backmost successful with Ron but those fewer months sharing a level with Reggie made for the astir terrifying summertime of my life.

Reggie had slipped my older member Alfie £100 — astir £2,500 contiguous — to bargain furniture, successful ‘contemporary’ benignant from Harrison Gibson, a well-known trendy store conscionable up the roadworthy successful Ilford, Essex.

The level was our enactment place. Reggie would archer maine to get a mates of birds and the 4 of america would each slumber successful the aforesaid bed.

There were plentifulness of radical who wanted the Krays dormant truthful whenever we got backmost to the level I would spell up with my weapon astatine the acceptable and cheque for intruders. When the seashore was clear, I would awesome to Reggie and helium would travel up with the girls and truthful it went.

Ronnie hated anyone who got adjacent to his duplicate and erstwhile helium saw that we were hitting it off, he’d get aggravated astir it. He would travel implicit with immoderate of the Firm and immoderate lad was with him to enactment the night.

He would conscionable glare consecutive astatine me. ‘Go on, go,’ helium would say. ‘Get retired of it and spell home!’

The brothers were ever arguing. They would person screaming matches with Ronnie criticising Reggie’s drinking oregon immoderate trivial happening helium could travel up with, but it ever came backmost to me; the jealousy was ever raging conscionable nether the surface.

At the aforesaid time, Ronnie seemed to beryllium seeking retired the institution of my younger member David astatine Steeple Bay, the caravan tract connected the Essex seashore wherever the twins and their parents, Violet and Charlie Senior, often went.

After immoderate ‘persuasion’ from Ronnie, David had bought his ain caravan connected the site. Big and shiny, it was close adjacent to the Krays’ parents and Ronnie seemed beauteous keen connected having David’s household there.

While David travelled backmost and distant from London, his woman and children often stayed for a fortnight astatine a time. Did Ronnie truly privation their company, oregon did helium conscionable privation the kids astir arsenic extortion from the police, conscionable arsenic helium had astatine David’s flat?

Sometimes Alfie and I would spell down too, knocking backmost airy ales successful the societal nine with our bully pals the Kray twins, their member Charlie and his woman Dolly.

It was each light-hearted capable but I was getting ever much frightened of my ain shadow. Did Ronnie cognize astir my statement with Scotland Yard? There was 1 clip erstwhile I was definite that helium did.

One greeting astatine Steeple Bay helium said it was ‘a beauteous day’ (it wasn’t) and invited maine for a locomotion astir a section gravel pit. I could archer helium had thing atrocious connected his caput truthful arsenic Ronnie started down the slope, I kept walking on the top. Ronnie stood down successful the pit and said to maine ‘Come down, Bobby, it’s nice.’

I could spot him reasoning that this was an perfect spot to termination idiosyncratic but I held my ground. If helium was reasoning of shooting me, the infinitesimal passed.

It whitethorn person been a fortunate escape. When Mad Teddy Smith, the subordinate of the Firm who had archetypal introduced america to the Krays, disappeared a fewer years later, connection had it that the twins had done him successful astatine the caravan and dumped his assemblage into the marshes astatine Steeple Bay, close wherever Ronnie and I had been standing.

***

Suspecting determination was a traitor successful the Firm, Ron seemed to beryllium going huffy (later, helium would beryllium diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia too). He’d started talking to himself, conscionable muttering: ‘Yeah, right’ each the clip arsenic if helium was successful speech with someone.

Or other helium was perpetually half-mumbling, half-shouting, ‘I’m the politician circular here. F*** the police, f*** the government!’

The lone authorization helium would perceive to was his mum, Violet. She inactive lived astatine 178 Vallance Road, the tiny eastbound London terraced location wherever the twins had grown up. Everything determination was spotless, the doors done up with pinkish bows and nightclub wallpaper, with velvet stripes and stars connected the ceiling and a guitar-shaped reflector connected the wall.

Violet disapproved of her sons’ transgression ways, which bothered Ron, but she inactive seemed prepared to enactment up with a lot. Her and her hubby often turned a unsighted eye, including during a traumatic nighttime for my member David astatine astir this time.

Late 1 nighttime David drove Ron backmost to Vallance Road aft they’d been retired astatine a Mayfair nightclub. After insisting that David should enactment overnight and slumber successful the aforesaid furniture arsenic him, Ron raped him. He threatened to termination his household if David ever spoke astir it.

David shouted for Ron’s parents but, though helium was screaming loudly capable to aftermath the dead, they did not intervene.

The adjacent greeting they went downstairs similar thing had happened and Mrs Kray was fussing astir with the beverage and toast.

When David told him helium was going consecutive to the police, Ron phoned Teddy Smith and unneurotic they led him to the bath location crossed the road.

Smithy was whispering, ‘No, no, Ron! No!’ David thought Ronnie was going to termination him.

He was astir apt right. The pursuing year, erstwhile Reggie stabbed to decease Jack ‘The Hat’ McVitie, who had bottled retired of sidesplitting idiosyncratic but kept the Krays’ interest anyway, 1 mentation was that his assemblage had disappeared into the furnace that heated those baths.

***

By the clip midsummer came, the London streets were hot, the metropolis aerial was stuffy and Ron was getting crazier by the day. Often sinking into manic periods, he’d portion for days connected extremity and leaving Reggie successful charge.

The Firm started getting shooter happy.

Reggie changeable a small-time villain called Jimmy Field successful the legs due to the fact that he’d offended the twins successful immoderate way. He was dumped extracurricular a section hospital.

Another clip immoderate drunken punter came up to Kray-enforcer Pat Connolly astatine the doorway of the Starlight Club, 1 of their favourite places, and said ‘You abdominous c***. Who bash you deliberation you are? A gangster?’

Pat changeable and wounded him, and the unfortunate was dumped successful the street.

Things were getting retired of control, arsenic I saw with my ain eyes erstwhile the Krays decided to woody with a antheral called Bobby Cannon who owed them money.

Brought to a level successful Hackney, Cannon was told to beryllium down. Reggie had a small metallic revolver, similar a cowboy’s gun. He tied a handkerchief implicit the muzzle to enactment arsenic a silencer and Cannon was shaking, sensing what was coming.

I couldn’t basal by and beryllium a witnesser to murder.

But, arsenic I walked implicit to Reggie, it seemed it was already excessively late. His eyes had started to glaze. I leaned implicit to susurration successful his receptor that idiosyncratic was astatine the door, which was a lie.

This gave Cannon the split-second helium needed. Suddenly helium jumped up, burst done the rear doorway and ran retired into the street. Reggie was cursing everyone.

After that though, we conscionable went to a section nine and got drunk. It mightiness look similar madness but backmost then, arsenic I discovered that brainsick summer, it was conscionable different time with the Krays.

• Adapted from Legacy Of Menace: Life In The Shadows Of The Krays by David, Bobby and Alfie Teale (Ebury Spotlight, £16.99), to beryllium published February 13. © David, Bobby and Alfie Teale 2025. To bid a transcript for £15.29 (offer valid to 22/02/25; UK P&P escaped connected orders implicit £25) spell to mailshop.co.uk/books oregon telephone 020 3176 2937.