Bruce Reynolds

For the television personality, see Bruce Reynolds (TV personality).

Bruce Reynolds (1931 – 28 February 2013) masterminded the Great Train Robbery, which netted £2.6m. At the time it was Britain's largest robbery. He spent five years on the run before being jailed for 25 years in 1969. He was released in 1978. He has written three books and performed with the band Alabama 3, for whom his son, Nick, plays.

Reynolds was born in London. His mother died in childbirth when he was four. His father, who remarried, was a trade-union activist at the Ford Dagenham assembly plant. He was evacuated to Suffolk and Warwickshire during World War II and worked in the accounts department of the Daily Mail before turning to crime. He had been an antiques dealer and thief.

In 1957 Reynolds was arrested, together with Terry Hogan, for assault and robbery of a bookmaker returning from White City Greyhounds with £500. The police stated their belief that the intent of the cosh attack was grievous bodily harm and not robbery. Hogan was sentenced to 2½ years and Reynolds received a year longer.

After the train robbery, Reynolds went on the run to Mexico, then went to London, then Torquay, Devon, where he was arrested on 9 November 1968. He was released in 1978, and jailed in the 1980s for three years for dealing amphetamines. He gained a profile as a media 'former criminal' figure and his autobiography The Autobiography of a Thief (1995) was generally well received.

Reynolds died on 28 February 2013 at the age of 81. He left a son, Nick.

In popular culture

To date there have been three films based on The Great Train Robbery, The Gentleman Prefers Payment featuring Horst Tappert as Reynolds, Robbery with Stanley Baker as Reynolds and Buster with Larry Lamb as Reynolds.

He was portrayed in the 2012 television series Mrs Biggs by Jay Simpson.

He was also the subject of the song 'Have You Seen Bruce Richard Reynolds', originally by Nigel Denver and later covered by the UK band Alabama 3. Bruce Reynolds appears on the Alabamba 3 version.