Ronnie Biggs (born Ronald Arthur Biggs August 8, 1929 in London's East End) is an English prisoner who is known for escaping from prison after his minor role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963 and for being on the run for many years. He eventually settled in Brazil but voluntarily returned to the United Kingdom in 2001. is the 220th day of the year (221st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The East End of London, known locally as the East End, is an area, with no formal authority or boundaries, that spans a number of administative districts of London in England. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Monarch Queen Elizabeth II... is the 220th day of the year (221st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The East End of London, known locally as the East End, is an area, with no formal authority or boundaries, that spans a number of administative districts of London in England. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Monarch Queen Elizabeth II... The Great Train Robbery is the name given to a £2. ...

Biography

Ronald Arthur Biggs was born in Lambeth, England and educated at King's College School, Wimbledon. In 1947, Biggs at age 18 joined the British RAF but was dishonorably discharged in 1949 for AWOL and served 2 years. In 1960 at age 31 he married Charmain Brent and had 3 sons with her (one deceased). Biggs is most famous for the the Great Train Robbery of 1963. Together with other gang members, he stole £2.6 million from a mail train. After being convicted and jailed, he escaped from HM Prison Wandsworth in 1965 by scaling the wall with a rope ladder. He fled to Paris, where he acquired new identity papers and underwent plastic surgery. In 1970, he quietly moved to Adelaide, South Australia. He worked in Set Construction at Channel 10 when a reporter recognised him. He then fled to Blackburn North, in Melbourne, Australia, staying for some time before fleeing to Brazil in the same year. His wife, Charmian, and two sons stayed behind in Australia. Lambeth is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Monarch Queen Elizabeth II... Kings College School Wimbledon, or KCS, is an independent boys school in Wimbledon, south-west London. ... Wimbledon may refer to: Wimbledon, London, a town in south-west London A constituency based around it, Wimbledon (UK Parliament constituency) Wimbledon station, a train station The Championships, Wimbledon, one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments Wimbledon (film), a movie based on the tennis championships Wimbledon F.C., a... RAF is an three letter acronym for: Royal Air Force -- the Air Force of the United Kingdom (see also Air Ministry) Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion) -- a German terror organisation Rigas Autobusu Fabrika -- a factory making buses in Riga, Latvia Rapid Action Force in India Računarski Fakultet RAF... A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from his or her obligation to serve. ... AWOL (pronounced a-wall) is an acronym for the United States and other armed forces expression Absent WithOut Leave or Absence Without Official Leave. The United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy use the term Unauthorized Absence (UA) instead. ... The Great Train Robbery is the name given to a £2. ... The symbol £ represents the pound currency which Britain uses. ... British Rail TPO vehicle NSA 80390 on display at Doncaster Works open day on 27th July 2003. ... Her Majestys Prison Service is the British Executive Agency reporting to the Home Office tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own Prison Services). ... HM Prison Wandsworth is a prison in Wandsworth in south London, England. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) The Eiffel Tower in Paris, as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... “Facial reconstruction” redirects here. ... Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia, with a population of over 1. ... Capital Adelaide Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Premier Mike Rann (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 11  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $59,819 (5th)  - Product per capita  $38,838/person (7th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  1,558,200 (5th)  - Density  1. ... Blackburn North is a suburb of Australia, in the state of Victoria. ... Melbourne (pronounced ) is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3. ...

In 1974, he was found by the British police in Rio de Janeiro, but could not be extradited because the United Kingdom did not benefit from reciprocity of extradition to Brazil, a condition for the Brazilian process of extradition. Additionally, Biggs' current girlfriend (Raimunda de Castro, a nightclub dancer and prostitute) was pregnant; Brazilian law would not allow the parent of a Brazilian child to be extradited. As a result, Biggs was able to live openly in Brazil, completely untouchable by the British authorities. While his status as a felon prevented Biggs from working, there was nothing to stop him profiting from Scotland Yard's misfortune. As a result, "Ronnie Biggs" mugs, coffee cups and t-shirts suddenly started to appear in tourist traps throughout Rio. Location of Rio de Janeiro Coordinates: Country Brazil Region Southeast State Rio de Janeiro Government  - Mayor Cesar Maia (PFL) Area  - City 1,260 km²  (486. ... Extradition is the official process by which one nation or state requests and obtains from another nation or state the surrender of a suspected or convicted criminal. ... // This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Whore redirects here. ... A pregnant woman Pregnancy is the process by which a mammalian female carries a live offspring from conception until it develops to the point where the offspring is capable of living outside the womb. ... A felony, in many common law legal systems, is the term for a very serious crime; misdemeanors are considered to be less serious. ... New Scotland Yard, London New Scotland Yard, it blowwsssss often referred to simply as Scotland Yard or The Yard, is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for policing Greater London (although not the City of London itself). ... Billboards are used to advertise the attractions Tourist trap is a phrase for any establishment or set of establishments that have been created to attract travelers or tourists and provide products for the tourist to purchase. ...

He spent the next three decades of his life as a fugitive and became something of a celebrity, despite having been a rather minor figure in the actual robbery. For other uses, see Celebrity (disambiguation). ...

Supposedly, Biggs returned to England several times during the making of a documentary about the Great Train Robbery, always in disguise. He also recorded vocals on two songs for The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, Malcolm McLaren's film about the Sex Pistols. The basic tracks for "No One is Innocent" (aka "The Biggest Blow (A Punk Prayer)") and "Belsen Was a Gas" were recorded with guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook at a studio in Brazil shortly after the Sex Pistols' final performance, with overdubs being added in an English studio at a later date. "No One is Innocent" was released as a single in the UK and reached #6 on the British singles charts, with the sleeve showing Martin Bormann playing bass with the group (in actuality this was American actor James Jeter). The Great Rock n Roll Swindle (1980) is a fictional documentary (a mockumentary) film directed by Julien Temple about the seminal British punk rock band Sex Pistols. ... Malcolm McLaren (born Malcolm Robert Andrew Edwards, 22 January 1946, in London) is an English impresario, musician and self-publicist who is best known as being the manager of the punk rock band Sex Pistols. ... The Sex Pistols were an iconic and highly influential English punk rock band, formed in London in 1975. ... Stephen Phillip Jones (b. ... Paul Cook, born on July 20, 1956, is an English drummer and former member of the Sex Pistols. ... Les Paul, a pioneer of multi-track recording. ... Martin Bormann Martin Bormann (June 17, 1900 - c. ...

Following the extradition attempt, Biggs collaborated with Bruce Henry, an American bass player, Jaime Shields and Aureo de Souza to record Mailbag Blues, a musical narrative of his life that he intended to use a movie soundtrack. This album was re-released in 2004 by whatmusic.com.

In 1981, Biggs was kidnapped by a gang of adventurers who smuggled him to Barbados, hoping to collect some reward from the British police. The coup was discovered, though, and Biggs made use of legal loopholes to have himself sent back to Brazil. In February 2006, Channel 4 aired a documentary featuring dramatisations of the attempted kidnap and interviews with John Miller, an ex-British Army personnel who carried it out. The team was headed by security consultant Patrick King. In the documentary, King claims that the kidnapping may have in fact been a deniable operation. ^[1] Channel 4 is a public-service British television station, broadcast to all areas of the United Kingdom (and also the Republic of Ireland), which began transmissions in 1982. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... In politics and espionage, deniability is the ability of a powerful player or actor to avoid blowback by secretly arranging for an action to be taken on their behalf by a third party. ...

Bigg's son by de Castro, Michael Biggs, eventually became a member of the successful band Turma do Balão Mágico, bringing a new source of income to his father. In a short time, however, the band faded into obscurity and dissolved, leaving father and son in relatively dire straits again. Balão Mágico (Magic Balloon) was a very famous children television program in Brazil. ...

In 1991, Biggs sang vocals for the song "Carnival In Rio (Punk Was)" by German punk band Die Toten Hosen. Andreas Frege (Campino) Andreas Meurer (Andi) Andreas von Holst (Kuddel) Kuddel and Andi Die Toten Hosen is a German punk band from Düsseldorf. ...

In 2001 Biggs announced to The Sun that he would be willing to return to the UK. He had suffered a stroke the previous year, was in poor health and found himself unable to meet mounting medical costs. His stated desire was to "walk into a pub a British man and have a pint of bitter". This article is about a British tabloid. ... Stroke (or cerebrovascular accident or CVA) is the clinical designation for a rapidly developing loss of brain function due to an interruption in the blood supply to all or part of the brain. ... Bitter is a British term for a type of beer or pale ale. ...

Biggs was fully aware that he would be detained upon arrival in England. Even so, he returned voluntarily on May 7, 2001, and was immediately arrested and re-imprisoned for his crimes. His trip back to England on a private jet was paid by The Sun, which reportedly paid Michael Biggs £20,000 plus other expenses in return for exclusive rights on the news story. Ronald Biggs had 28 years of his sentence left to serve. Since his return he has undergone a number of health scares, including two heart attacks, and has failed to get his sentence overturned or reduced. is the 127th day of the year (128th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), more commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ...

On November 14, 2001, Biggs petitioned Governor Hynd of HMP Belmarsh for early release on compassionate grounds based on his poor health. He had been treated four times at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich in less than six months. His health was deteriorating rapidly and he asked to be released into the care of his son for his remaining days. The application was denied. is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... HM Prison Belmarsh is a high security prison in Thamesmead, Eastern London, England. ...

On August 10, 2005, it was reported that Biggs had contracted MRSA. His lawyers, seeking for his release on grounds of compassion, said that their client's death was likely to be imminent.^[2] is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a bacterium that has developed antibiotic resistance, first to penicillin in 1947, and later to methicillin. ...

On October 26, 2005, the Home Secretary Charles Clarke declined his appeal stating that his illness is not deemed terminal. Home Office compassion policy is to release prisoners with three months left to live.^{[citation needed]} Biggs continues to need a tube for feeding and has difficulty speaking. ^[3] is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office and is responsible for internal affairs in England and Wales, and for immigration and citizenship for the whole United Kingdom (including Scotland and Northern Ireland). ... The Rt Hon. ... In law, an appeal is a process for making a formal challenge to an official decision. ... This article is about incurable disease. ...

On July 4, 2007, Biggs was moved from Belmarsh prison to Norwich prison on "compassionate grounds". ^[4] is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

References

Channel 4 is a public service television broadcaster in the United Kingdom (see British television). ... BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Guardian photo gallery of Biggs