In July 1958, Frank Mitchell escaped from Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital. It wasn't the first time he had escaped custody; nor would it be the last. Upon his escape, he held a couple hostage in their home with an axe, and was henceforth known as the 'Mad Axeman'.
An associate of the infamous Kray twins, Mitchell was known for having a short temper, an imposing build, and a supposedly child-like mind. His first run-in with the law was at nine years old - yes, nine - after he stole a bicycle from a child smaller than he was. After that, the Mad Axeman was in and out of prisons and institutions for most of his juvenile and adult life, which is how he came to meet Ronnie Kray at Wandsworth Prison in the 1950s. Said to be able to pick up a man in each hand by the belt, Ron Kray could no doubt see that a man like Frank Mitchell could prove useful. On trial for the attempted murder of a fellow inmate, Mitchell found himself with a new lawyer - one of the best in the country at the time - and a brand-new tailored suit, all paid for by Ronnie. Mitchell was acquitted.
Sentenced to life in prison for 'robbery with violence', in 1962 he was sent to Dartmoor Prison, where his behaviour reportedly improved. He kept budgies, and was allocated to the 'honour party' - a small group of two to five prisoners who had freer working conditions, were able to roam the moors and pet the ponies, having given their 'honour' that they would not try and escape. So much for that, eh?
On one of these honour party expeditions, Mitchell, having sought permission from the sole guard with the group, separated to feed some Dartmoor ponies. Leaving the group, he jumped over one Dartmoor's numerous and much-loved stone walls, climbing into a car where Kray associates Albert Donoghue, 'Mad' Teddy Smith and Billy Exley were waiting. They drove him to London with relative ease, for it took five and a half hours for Mitchell to be reported missing. The Krays set him up in a flat in East Ham while a manhunt ensued, with 200 policemen, 100 Royal Marines and an RAF helicopter searching the moors for the escaped convict.
Mitchell quickly became a problem for the Krays. While Reggie Kray recalled being reluctant to break him out in the first place, he later said that it would "stick two fingers up to the law" if nothing else, which they [the Krays] had "been doing since we were kids." Because of Mitchell's size, strength and short temper, he was very difficult to control. Unable to leave the flat in case he was recognised, and the Krays unwilling to release him for fear of being caught, Mitchell was upset he could not visit his parents, who lived around the corner from the Barking Road safehouse, and was reportedly annoyed that Ron had made no attempt to visit him (Reg visited once). To keep him happy, they had a night club hostess, Liza Prescott, visit him and keep him company. However, Mitchell soon became infatuated with her, making a bad situation worse, and the Krays decided they had one option left: to kill him.
On Christmas Eve (of all days!) 1966, Mitchell was taken to a van, thinking he was going to a safehouse in the countryside to meet with Ronnie Kray. In the van were several Kray henchmen, including Freddie Foreman and Alfie Gerrard, both armed. The van doors closed, the engine roared to life, and the men opened fire. Donoghue suggested it took 12 bullets to kill Mitchell, whose body was - according to Foreman - wrapped in chicken wire, weighted down, and thrown into the English Channel. Frank Mitchell's body has never been recovered. Reg later claimed that freeing Mitchell was one of his biggest mistakes, and the entire event was a major turning point in the fight to bring down the Krays. In the 1988 book Our Story, Ron Kray claimed Mitchell wasn't killed, but smuggled out of England, claiming Donoghue fabricated the story. As no body has ever found, it cannot be proven what really happened.
But what does the Mad Axeman have to do with Bearnes Hampton and Littlewood?
You may know that earlier this year, during our summer Sporting and Collectors Auction, we had a large number of items related to the Kray brothers put up for auction by Charlie Kray's step son. This included, among various other lots, Ronnie Kray's gun licence, and Charlie Kray's 18ct gold ring. Related to this collection is a letter written by Frank Mitchell during his time in Dartmoor Prison that was never sent.
The letter, dated May 1963, was addressed to editor of 'Parad' [sic] (Parade) magazine, in which Mitchell 'objects strongly' to the implication he was a 'sex maniac'. Written in response to the article 'It's Madness to turn the Sex-Crazed Loose' by Charles Gretton, Mitchell states that he has 'never been convicted for-nor have I ever committed a sexual offence, you have only to write to the Home Office to find that out.' Despite admitting to his prior record and serving his sentence ('I do not defend my record… I'm trying to do my time the right way.'), he finishes his letter by writing 'If you people keep this up I'm really going to give you something to write about and I don't mean maybe.' A terrific way to clear his name as a maniac.
In the same lot as Mitchell's letter is an unsigned letter which is possibly from Ronnie Kray, postage marked January 1967, which reads -
'The chap called Mitchell he should not be doing anything wrong to get into prison. I say serve them right dam lot of robber, what [sic] your step with him at night time he might try & get away he has always been the same they no [sic] what they are up to he is to [sic] lazy to work I think they ought to search them cell they might have a knife to cut you with or a gun. I think every police should carry guns on them I and a friend of them I feel sorry for his…'
Quite what the author of this letter intended is unclear. Although post marked after Mitchell's December 24 1966 death, it is not clear when it was written, nor quite whom it was meant for.
In 1968, the Kray brothers and many of their associates were arrested for a variety of offences, including Mitchell's murder. Ron, Reg and Charlie Kray, and Freddie Foreman, were acquitted of Mitchell's murder due to a lack of evidence. However, Reg Kray was sentenced to five years for aiding Mitchell's escape from Dartmoor Prison. The 1968 arrest marked the downfall of the Kray twins and their empire. Ronnie Kray was committed to Broadmoor, where he died in 1995. Reggie Kray remain in prison until 2000, when he was released eight weeks before his death on compassionate grounds.
Mitchell's letter and the unsigned 1967 one, together with a newspaper clipping reporting Mitchell's 1958 Broadmoor escape and subsequent axe-wielding hostage debacle, are included as one lot in our upcoming Sporting and Collectors Auction in December.
