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Real Gangsters In Sheffield

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Hi

 

i once read sumet in the sheffield star about gangsters in sheffield it amazed me as i didnt know they existed in our parts only london etc it said sumthing about there Territory been west bar were the police headquaters now stands if anyone has any info or knows anything please get back to me maybe someone has a link to a website so i can read about it

 

Thanks xx

 

Ps this has nothing to do with Gangsters the good food place :)

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Hi

 

i once read sumet in the sheffield star about gangsters in sheffield it amazed me as i didnt know they existed in our parts only london etc it said sumthing about there Territory been west bar were the police headquaters now stands if anyone has any info or knows anything please get back to me maybe someone has a link to a website so i can read about it

 

Thanks xx

 

Ps this has nothing to do with Gangsters the good food place :)

 

 

Think its the book your on about ? sheffield gang wars its called . Ive read bits of it and its a good read.

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The Sheffield Gang Wars by J P Bean & other Sheffield Stories can be seen here clicky

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Yes , in the 1920's, Sheffield was regarded as the " Chicago of Britain " and had a nation-wide reputation for its gangs and violence .

It was largely cleared up by " pro-active " groups of rather large coppers going round the town and frightening the gangs into , generally , behaving themselves . From that point on , Sheffield gained a reputation for being a safe city where it was usually safe to walk through the streets and go for a drink . The hard ruthless action by the police seemed to have worked . Once the bullies and gangsters saw that the police were utterly determined to stamp on them , they retired gracefully and left the general public in peace .

Of course , in our wonderful , modern , cool Britannia , we now know this was all wrong and there 's a better way . We should have counselled the gang-members and reminded them of their Human Rights . We should have made sure , by using statistical methods , that we were not picking on one group , at the expense of another . When convicted the gang members could have been put on probation or at least treated with dignity whilst in some sort of confinement .

Nowadays of course , we know better and we can all see what a wonderful place Sheffield and other cities have become as a result of our progressive methods .

Let Us All Turn The Other Cheek . We Are All Guilty !

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I knew a bloke called Mick Cowan who's dad was in the Moony gang.

He lived on Butterthwaite lane, Ecclesfield.

Nice bloke, sadly died of a heart attack a few years back.

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I think I knew Mick back in the late 50's. Did some boxing, and was rated for a while. I agree, a good guy, some people gave him a bad rep which he didn't deserve.

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He was a great guy. Got to know him quite well over about 15 years.

Total sod in some ways but a good mate.

You were right in the boxing bit. Seems his funeral was a who's who of sheffield gangsters and boxers from all over.

The obits in the star were unusual. There were about 12 or 15 each day for 3 days. He even made the front page.

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Did you know he played Trombone in the Army?

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There was also a gang called the cellar grate gang whos speciality was lifting your cellar grate and throwing it through your front room window

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Before the Mooneys/ Garvins and the cellar grate gangs, there were a set of gangs in Sheffield named the Silk Scarf gangs, renowned for the use of razors.

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my gran lived on the kelvin flats and i made friends in the 70s with a girl called maria moony,my mom was always saying i dont want you playing with her cos her family are gangsters,dont know if this was true or not,it never bothered me and i had no trouble from them so carried on being her friend,i think her mom and dad were irish,just wondered if anyone knew if the moonies were irish.

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