The South London Gangsters of Camberwell New Cemetery

I recently read My Manor, the autobiography of Charlie Richardson, the gangland boss who ran the south London crime firm, The Richardson Gang, along with his brother, Eddie. Also known as the “Torture Gang,” they were the rivals of the Krays in the 1960s, and these shady gangsters were notorious for the punishments they inflicted. These allegedly included electrocution, cutting off toes, nailing victims to the floor, and all manner of other unpleasant things. Charlie denied all this in his book, however.

The Richardsons operated out of Camberwell, and their reign of infamy was brought to an abrupt end after they were each sentenced to a lengthy stretch in prison in 1966, following their lurid “Torture Trial” at the Old Bailey. Charlie Richardson was released in 1984 and died in 2012 at the age of 78. He is buried in a family plot at Camberwell New Cemetery – a mere stone’s throw from where my mum lives – and although the grave does not bear Charlie’s name, it is easy to find (if you know where to look).

The so-called Torture King is not the only noteworthy south London villain interred at the cemetery. Close by Richardson’s mound, the ashes of “Mad” Frankie Fraser are scattered. He was another prominent member of the same gang and took an active role in torturing anyone who crossed them. His speciality was pulling out teeth with pliers, but he was also handy with his fists and sometimes used an axe for good measure. Along with the Richardson brothers and other members of the gang, Fraser was also sent down in 1966 and served a total of 42 years in prison throughout his life. He died in 2014, having lived to be 90 years old. I also thoroughly recommend his autobiography, Mad Frank: Memoirs of a Life of Crime.

Charlie Richardson grave – Camberwell New Cemetery. The ashes of Frankie Fraser are also scattered nearby.

You might be thinking at this point that Camberwell New Cemetery is a graveyard full of brutes, ruffians, and miscreants, but another interesting character who is buried in close proximity to the Richardson headstone does not fit this mould.

Freddie Mills was a prominent figure in British boxing. He was world light-heavyweight champion from 1948 to 1950 and is today rated as the second-best light-heavyweight British boxer of all time (behind John Conteh). As already mentioned, Mills was not a villain, but his untimely death in 1965 is considered extremely suspicious to this day. After he retired from boxing, Mills speculated in property and owned a nightclub in Soho. And it was here that he became associated with the Kray twins and subsequently ran up large debts that he was unable to pay. He was found dead in his car outside his club at the age of 46. He’d been shot through the eye. At the inquest, a verdict of suicide was returned.

There is a fanciful theory that Mills was the 1960s serial killer dubbed “Jack the Stripper” by the tabloids, but such arguments, while entertaining, are patently ridiculous.

Freddie Mills grave – Camberwell New Cemetery.

And finally – last but not least – we have George Cornell. Another south London criminal and member of the Richardson Gang, Cornell acted as an enforcer for the firm alongside Frankie Fraser. With a reputation as a hard man, he once called Ronnie Kray a “fat poof” before showing further contempt by turning up on his foe’s turf to have a pint at the Blind Beggar pub. Ronnie promptly got the hump, arrived in a huff, and shot him dead in cold blood. Kray was later jailed for this and spent the rest of his life banged up in the Broadmoor mental institution.

Until recently, Cornell’s imposing gravestone could be found nearby, in the shadow of the chapel in the centre of the graveyard. It had to be removed after the grave was smashed to bits in an act of vandalism that is believed to be an act of modern-day retaliation and vengeance by Cornell’s rivals. It seems strange to me that nearly 60 years after the incident, some wannabe plastic gangster would become offended at Cornell’s unkind comments about Ronnie Kray’s stature and sexuality and take it upon themselves to destroy his tomb. That will teach him.

George Cornell grave – Camberwell New Cemetery. Before it was desecrated.

George Cornell gravesite today – Camberwell New Cemetery.

On a separate note, the distinctive characteristics of Camberwell New Cemetery have also led to its being used in several films, notably The Football Factory starring Danny Dyer and Gangster Granny with Joanna Lumley.

Back in 2007, on one of the rare occasions that it has snowed in London in recent years, I took the opportunity to take some photos in the cemetery. These can still be found on my old Flickr account.