Today in History - 1963

A gang of 15 men robs a Royal Mail train carrying about £2.6 million from Glasgow to London. The super-secret train had already picked up mail and cash from banks in Scotland and northern England by the time the thieves sprang into action near Cheddington. However, their getaway plan was not as meticulous as they thought, and most of the gang members were eventually caught.

By rigging a light to turn red on the railways, the thieves ensured that the engineer would stop the train. At this point, the masked and armed men ambushed the engineer and detached the back cars from the train. They then unloaded millions of dollars from the front cars into their getaway truck. The 75 postal workers who were riding in the rear cars did not even realize that there was a robbery in progress until the gang drove away. By this time, their attempts to call the police were thwarted because the thieves had already cut the phone lines in the area.

With a significant head start, the robbers made it to their planned hideout, Leatherslade Farm. However, after it was announced on the radio that law enforcement officials planned on searching an area including the farm, the gang panicked and fled. Unfortunately for the robbers, the police beat them to the farm and found fingerprints everywhere. Scotland Yard officials tracked down 12 of the gang members, all of whom were found guilty. Eleven received sentences of 20 to 30 years; one received a three-year sentence.

Most of the money from the robbery was never recovered.
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