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Robin Hood Hat Gang

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Does anyone remember a gang of guys who wore Robin Hood  hats and use to rob  large houses and terrorize its occupants in the late 50's / early 60's.

Rumor was that they originated from London or the SouthInsert image from URL

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Maybe this lot?

From the Daily Herald, 3rd April 1961

The gentle bandits – by a kidnapped cashier

Cashier George Wiseman, who was kidnapped 50 yards from his front door in broad daylight, rubbed a shoulder as he talked last night about the four gentlemanly robbers. “They gave me a nasty turn, but they were very considerate” he said.  “They must have been watching me for weeks to have planned it so well”.  Sixty year old George, who works at a bakery in Acton-lane, West London, was kidnapped as he walked up to his semi-detached house in St James-gardens, Wembley. He was flung face-down on the seat of a car with two men sitting on his back.  The car drove for 20 minutes. Then the keys to his office, and the safe containing more than £5,000 were taken from his hip pocket.  The car with George still in it was left in a lock-up garage.  One man stayed behind as a guard.  The rest went off to rob the office.  Later the driver returned and George was dumped in a playing field at Barnes Bridge.  He staggered to a telephone box and dialled 999.  But the police already knew of the raid.  The gang had been disturbed by security guards – and had to run away empty-handed.  Later George said “They were anxious not to hurt me. They kept asking if I wanted a drink of gin or whisky.  In the garage the guard gave me a cigarette.  I think he was the leader.  He wore a Robin Hood hat.  All the gang were quite well spoken, and seemed well dressed”.

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The Sheffield Mob, weren't so gentle. In fact they were brutal. I think they did a house somewhere just over the border in Derby shire and also a house on Cavendish Road in Sheffield which belonged to a market (Potato) trader called Stanley Taylor.  He was at home with his wife and a friend when they burst in and brutally savaged them all, looking for cash. But if I recollect correctly, they got away and sped off in a car down Lyndhirst road

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OK, how about these (though no mention of hats):

December 1960 - Two men between 18 and 22 wearing masks, armed with a sawn off shotgun and an automatic pistol, fired a shot and threatened to shoot Claire Pallister (38)  and her daily help Mrs Heath if they did not hand over the keys to their safe.  They were locked in the cellar, at South Lawns, Dore and £6,000 of jewellery and ivory were taken.  The husband was Lawrence Pallister, a wealthy packaging manufacturer.  On 21st February 1961 at Sheffield Assizes, two 24 year old men were sentenced to 22 years and 19 years for armed robbery and other offences.  James Henry Jennings a Shoreditch builder's labourer of no fixed address and Eric Samuel Mangle a Sheffield asphalter of no fixed address were found guilty of breaking into a Sheffield house and stealing £4,434 of jewellery and cash, the Pallister home robbery, housebreaking at Brough (including stealing a pistol) and assaulting Stanley Taylor with intent to rob - Jennings also was charged with wounding Stanley Taylor (60) hit with a gun-butt with intent to do grievous bodily harm, in the same incident shooting a Mr Lawton in the thigh,  and wounding a Police Sergeant at Wetherby while resisting arrest after housebreaking there.  Mangle was accused of wounding Peter Lawton with intent to disable him. The pair pleaded guilty and asked for 22 and 23 further offences to be taken into consideration.  The men had been arrested at Redcar, and had 4 firearms, knives, a bayonet and a fireman's axe, and both men had numerous previous convictions.

Edited by TedW

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19 hours ago, TedW said:

OK, how about these (though no mention of hats):

December 1960 - Two men between 18 and 22 wearing masks, armed with a sawn off shotgun and an automatic pistol, fired a shot and threatened to shoot Claire Pallister (38)  and her daily help Mrs Heath if they did not hand over the keys to their safe.  They were locked in the cellar, at South Lawns, Dore and £6,000 of jewellery and ivory were taken.  The husband was Lawrence Pallister, a wealthy packaging manufacturer.  On 21st February 1961 at Sheffield Assizes, two 24 year old men were sentenced to 22 years and 19 years for armed robbery and other offences.  James Henry Jennings a Shoreditch builder's labourer of no fixed address and Eric Samuel Mangle a Sheffield asphalter of no fixed address were found guilty of breaking into a Sheffield house and stealing £4,434 of jewellery and cash, the Pallister home robbery, housebreaking at Brough (including stealing a pistol) and assaulting Stanley Taylor with intent to rob - Jennings also was charged with wounding Stanley Taylor (60) hit with a gun-butt with intent to do grievous bodily harm, in the same incident shooting a Mr Lawton in the thigh,  and wounding a Police Sergeant at Wetherby while resisting arrest after housebreaking there.  Mangle was accused of wounding Peter Lawton with intent to disable him. The pair pleaded guilty and asked for 22 and 23 further offences to be taken into consideration.  The men had been arrested at Redcar, and had 4 firearms, knives, a bayonet and a fireman's axe, and both men had numerous previous convictions.

That sounds like them.  Stanley Taylor who was hit in the head with the gun-butt and wounding his friend Mr Lawton who was  shot in the thigh

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Eric Samuel mangle was my father he died a few years ago . This is very interesting information 

 cheers nick 

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On 28/11/2020 at 18:33, Linikitten said:

Eric Samuel mangle was my father he died a few years ago . This is very interesting information 

 cheers nick 

The same man who escaped from Dartmoor Prison?

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Yes it was him but I can’t find anything online regarding the escape 

    I do remember selling a car 20 years ago to a old lad that went white when he saw my name on the log book and asked me if I was related . He then went on to tell me about the escape how the other was tied up in the gym . 
   I often think about putting a book together as this was before I was born and things carried on till he died aged mid 70’s . He joined the hells angels aged 50 and had a friend who came from America that laundered money for the mafia . His answer to most things was to meet it head on with violence. I’ve seen him break people’s knee caps with a cosh . For disrespecting him I know when he first met my mum he ended up assisting her brother with a crow bar then got 12 months for 18 stitches  . 
   Hopefully people will put more information on here as I’d like to know more 

 cheers nick 

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`Eric Mangle was sentenced to nineteen years reduced to twelve on appeal. In September 1964 while working in the prison laundry he escaped from Dartmoor with 3 other inmates. They did this by overpowering  a warder and getting over the wall.  On the run for 8 weeks he was given an extra six months on capture.  Eric was released in 1970 after serving nine-and-a-half years.

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On 21/01/2021 at 10:12, only_me said:

`Eric Mangle was sentenced to nineteen years reduced to twelve on appeal. In September 1964 while working in the prison laundry he escaped from Dartmoor with 3 other inmates. They did this by overpowering  a warder and getting over the wall.  On the run for 8 weeks he was given an extra six months on capture.  Eric was released in 1970 after serving nine-and-a-half years.

 

Great information thanks 

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