The End : Reggie

The final chapter… and the beginning of the legend.

In Episode 17 of The Krays Web, we close the story of Ronnie and Reggie Kray — following the final days of Reggie, the death of their brother Charlie, and the extraordinary farewell that marked the end of an era.

As the last of the Kray family passes, what remains is something even more powerful — a legacy that continues to fascinate, divide, and endure.

In this episode:
• The death of Charlie Kray and his wish for a quiet funeral
• The reality of his send-off — and the public response
• Reggie Kray’s release from prison on compassionate grounds
• His final days with terminal illness
• The moment of his death and those at his bedside
• The scale and spectacle of Reggie’s funeral in 2000
• First-hand accounts of the procession, crowds, and atmosphere
• The symbolism, tributes, and final farewell
• The end of the Kray family — and the rise of their legend

Why it matters:
This is the true ending — where reality gives way to myth. With the Krays gone, their story becomes something else entirely: legend, memory, and history intertwined.

Follow the show and explore the full series to understand the complete rise, fall, and lasting impact of the Kray twins.

Bonus episodes coming next:
• Funeral memories with Flan
• Detective insights with Paul Stickler
• Deep dive with author David Last

This may be the end of the Krays… but it’s only the beginning of the stories within The Cray Web.

Links to Resources

Check out my website for resources used and social media links : thekraysweb.com

Contact me : wendyceepods@gmail.com

Music by Captain Fat Hands captainfathands.com

The Old East End Tonight by Gary Driscoll Entertainer | Gary Driscoll Singer | England

Transcript

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Wendy Cee 0:23

Welcome to the Krays Web, a podcast about the infamous Kray twins and those associated with them. I'm your host, Wendy C, and this is season one, The Krays, episode 17, The End, Reggie. Please note that there is some swearing in this podcast and descriptions of violence. I will be adding specific trigger warnings where needed. The voices that you hear throughout the podcast are all my family and friends who have rallied around to help me to make this podcast more enjoyable for you to listen to. I've used lots of sources when writing these episodes, far too many to list here, but details of which you will be able to find on my website, thecraysweb.com. Charlie Kray died on the 4th of April 2000 from heart complications while serving time at Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight for drug offences. Something that I will discuss in a later series dedicated to Charlie. Charlie never wanted a huge funeral like Ronnie had had. He just wanted a small affair for family and friends. In the prologue to his book, Me and My Brothers, he says.

Charlie Kray 1:36

And I don't want a gangster's funeral. I don't want to be remembered as a gangster just because I had twin brothers, Ronnie and Reggie, who got a kick out of violence and a thrill out of murder.

Wendy Cee 1:46

He goes on.

Charlie Kray 1:48

I spent my life trying to distance myself from the twins' way of life, and a gangster's funeral would associate with me with all they stood for. And that wouldn't be right. When my time comes, I want to be carried to the flat I share with a woman I adored, then be buried the next day with a minimum of fuss, and certainly no TV cameras, next to my lovely son who died tragically young. Reggie will want to stage a showy spectacular, like the one he laid on for Ronnie that brought the East End to a standstill. But I don't want that, and I'm sure that despite the differences we've had all of our lives, Reggie will respect my wishes.

Wendy Cee 2:29

So whilst Charlie's funeral was not the same scale as Ronnie's, well, let's be honest, that would be very hard. It was still a significant event, with lots of pomp and circumstance. Twenty-three limousines, two hundred and fifty friends, family and associates inside the church, and hundreds lining the streets, many there just to get a glimpse of Reggie, with many calls of support for him. Charlie's cortege was covered with floral tributes, including a boxing ring in red and white carnations from Reggie. Reggie arrived from Weyland prison in Norfolk, handcuffed to a female prison officer throughout the day. He was wearing a dark pinstripe suit with turnups, a white shirt and a black tie. As the cars travelled in convoy to St. Matthew's Church in Bethnal Green, there was an emergency and the road was closed while the fire brigade attended. Fortunately it was dealt with swiftly, and the cortege was only twenty minutes late to the church. The funeral held on the nineteenth of April two thousand at noon was reported on all channels and in all the newspapers.

Kate 3:33

And the Guardian said The East End of London turned up in force yesterday for the funeral of Charlie Kray, elder brother of the infamous Kray twins, who died in prison earlier this month, aged seventy-three. Hundreds lined the route, taken by the Hearse, and twenty-three limousines to St. Matthew's Church, Bethnal Green, where friends and family joined for a 50-minute service before driving to Chingford Mount Cemetery for his burial, next to his brother Ron, mother Violet, and son Gary, who died in 1996, aged forty-four. The BBC reported. The funeral was a much more low-key affair than that of Reggie's twin brother Ronnie, who died in nineteen ninety-five. After the service, Charlie's coffin, carried by six pole bearers, was given a guard of honour by a group of hell's angels.

Wendy Cee 4:29

So sadly, Charlie did not get the quiet low key ceremony that he so desperately wished for. But I don't think he would have been surprised. As less than six months after Charlie passed away, Reggie was gone. On the twenty-sixth of August 2000, Reggie was released from prison on compassionate grounds. He was 66 years old and had inoperable bladder cancer. The BBC reported that day. He remained in Norwich Hospital until the 22nd of September 2000 and spent his final three weeks with his wife Roberta at the Town House Hotel in Norwich. On Sunday the first of october two thousand, Freddie Foreman, Joey Pyle, Johnny Nash, and other gangsters congregated at Reggie's bedside. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness for a few days, and they all knew that the end was very close. Freddy Foreman placed his hand on Reggie's forehead and said Let go, let go, Reggie. Just let go, old son. And a few breaths later, Reggie succumbed. Reggie's funeral took place ten days later on the eleventh of October at noon, and yes, it was as spectacular an event as you are imagining. I came across a first hand account of Reggie's funeral, which I thought I would share with you here.

Albert Donahue 6:53

I arrived in Bethnal Green Road around ten twenty five AM when lots of large men with thick necks and short hair were leaving a burger shop to make their way to the church. They were security, wearing three quarter length black overcoats, black trousers, white shirts, black ties. On the right arm each wore a blood red ribbon with the gold letters RKF, presumably Reggie Kray's funeral. Each also wore on their left lapel a small red rectangular badge with the yellow letters RKF. Upside streets, opposite the undertakers were vans with satellite dishes on top to transmit bat pictures of the funeral procession to broadcasting companies. As I passed the cafe and Bethnal Green Road, where the Kray brothers used to meet for cups of tea, some local resident was being interviewed outside. In the streets behind St. Matthew's Church, there were five or six or more communications vans parked for TV stations, some with dishes on top, some with tall extended masts. On the flat roofs of the buildings opposite, English and Sun, perched video cameras, still photographers, and people just standing waiting for the cortege to start off. A large crowd stood around the undertaker's entrance and along the pavement opposite. Some stood on waste bins. The old fashioned glass urse had six black horses in front of it. The contours were their black harnesses picked out with silver lines and black pinklers decorated with silver lines and eighteen inch tall black plumes rising from the top of their heads. As the crowd watched, an enterprising TV cameraman passed by, dangling off the back platform of a red double decker bus to get a tracking shot of the Erston crowd. Along the left side of the Australas, a wreath spelled out free at last in white flowers with a a thin red floral outline and at around eleven ten AM a long white floral wreath was put on the roof of the hearse facing right. It spelled out in white flowers respect. At eleven thirteen AM, the coffin emerged and a sky blue helicopter appeared and hovered overhead. Two teenage girls were standing next to me, and as dark brown eyelineeredwood coffin containing Reggie's body was lifted into the earth, they grabbed Anne's, excited at just being there. In the crowd, cameras were lifted to take shots of the coffin, you know, some were lifted up in the air and clicked blindly. Some were the standard old thirty-five mil steel cameras, and some were the new digital steel cameras changing times. I walked back along Bethnal Green Road towards Valance Road, where the three Kray brothers had lived with their mother. As I passed the cafe, I looked inside and it was it was being renovated, gutted out for new walls and furnishings in front and back, everything changing. There were only scattered groups of people waiting along Bethnal Green Road, but at the junction with Valance Road, all four corners were more crowded. Opposite the Marquis of Port Cornwall pub, I got chatting to a man in his late fifties who had come to see Reggie's twin brothers Ronnie's funeral procession a few years ago. Have you read the books? he asked me. He told me he'd read all the books. He told me he'd been brought up in Bethnal Green, but he did not live there now. He lives in Peckham, but he came back to look. Ronnie's funeral in nineteen ninety five had been much more crowded, he said. The pavements were packed solid shoulder to shoulder. Today there were smaller, more scattered groups of people, not streets lined solid with people. Now the street market and shopping trips were continuing behind the people who were rather than lining the street en masse in groups and individually standing at the edge of the pavement. When Ronnie was buried, the craze were myths. Now they're just interesting. When the earth, strawn by six black horses and followed by a queue of low sprung black limousines, turned into Valance Road, the police stopped all the oncoming traffic, including an ambulance. Illegal prize fighter Roy Shaw was there, looking less startled than normal, and Toby Von Judge from Wimbledon. Among all the bulky black coated men, Toby stood out being quite small and dressed in a tan coloured three quarter length camelaire coat which had two military medals with short ribbons, attached well below the waist and left front. His face was lined, his air black, but heavily tinged with grey and in a ponytail at the back. He had another medal on a red ribbon around his neck. Another man had what looked like a slightly melted plastic face. I did wonder if he'd had one time had plastic surgery to change his features, but then aged, unnaturally changing the shape of the artificial skin. Arriving late was a rolly poly black man with a black bowler hat. Apparently missing were mad Frank Fraser and actress Barbara Windsor. The funeral inside the church was relayed to those outside by loudspeaker around the church's exterior, around four at the sides and two at the front. The security seems to have been influenced by militaristic films, you know, the fact everyone had black coats, pasty white faces, and red armbands gave it rather a Nazi colour tone. On each side of the church door stood three heavy set men, one behind the other, facing forwards, hands in pockets, legs apart. There was then a slight gap and about three feet in front of each trio stood another man facing forwards. Then, between these men and the entrance to the railing line semicircle in front of the church stood five men on each side facing each other, at right angles to the church door, forming a corridor of men. These men tended to stand legs apart, their hands clasped in front of their genitals. Within the railing bordered semicircle, two men stood at each corner of the building facing forwards. It was a display of power rather than actual required security, a security system copied from Hollywood War movies rather than normal showbiz funerals. I realized later that there were fewer men on one side of this phalanx than the other. The side with fewer men was a side which had lots of press cameramen mass behind the railings. Fewer men made the view less obscured. I also noticed that the security men's trouser legs were slightly too long. There was a concertina of wavy black material bunched at the bottom of each leg just above the shoe. After two or three hymns and a couple of reminiscences of Reg, the final song was Frank Sinatra's famous recording of My Way. By the time the funeral was over, the sun had come out and as My Way started, regrets I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention. Gliding out of the church doors were two priests in flowing purple and white robes, one of whom had the grace to look slightly embarrassed at the showbiz element and they led the black suited men and red's grieving wife Roberta, with female friend, out of the church. As the congregation following them emerged, there were conversations, handshakes and shoulder slappings. A big funeral like this is a chance to socialise and resement or create new business contacts. I ain't seen ya bat for years, one crew cut man said to another, How are ya? Among those coming out of the church, I noticed actor Billy Murray and playwright actor Stephen Burkoff were around somewhere, and there was Toby Von Judge again in his camelaire coat walking with a slightly taller woman wearing fake suntan, short black dress and very bleached and very fake blonde hair. As the coffin came out, one woman in the crowd clapped on her own for about five seconds, and then it was taken up by others. As the crowd slowly dispersed, I wandered along to the large junction of Bethnal Green Road in Cambridge Heath Road. The helicopter which had been hovering over the church now came and hovered over the road junction which was crowded with people on all corners and all the traffic islands. Reggie's body was now in a car. Yellow and white police motorcycles blocked the junction, while two other police motorcycles led the cortege across slowly, but it was the walking black coated men with red armbands preceding the cortage who cleared the way for the long line of vehicles. As the earth passed by, on the right side of the coffin were the words in white flowers Reg beloved. As another limo passed, a woman on the traffic island where I was standing said excitedly to a friend, It's Frankie, Frankie's in that car, and indeed he was. Mad Frank Fraser, looking impassive. When we had heard the coffin car approaching, because as it came along the road, the sound of clapping came with it. Along from the other end of Bethnal Green Road, across the road junction and away to Chingford Mount Cemetery in Essex. At the cemetery there was a fly pass by a lone Spitfire charted from Duxford Air Museum, the Spitfire, symbol of Britain went great. Afterwards, someone I know who was at the funeral told me I didn't speak to Frank, but I called his number and Marilyn, Frank's wife, voice on the answer phone saying Frank's out shooting for TV I mean.

Wendy Cee 16:08

Kate Kray says in her book Married to the Firm Reg's floral tribute to Ron had read to the other half of me. Ron and Reg were two halves of the same person. Now they had been joined again, and the flowers on Reg's hearse that day said it all free at last. All these thoughts went through my head, but most of all I thought to myself, Look out, Heaven, the Kray twins are on their way. With Violet, Charlie Senior, Ronnie, Gary, Charlie, and Reggie all deceased, the Krays were all gone. And this is when the legend of the Krays started to grow. Whilst the family are long gone, their legacy lives on. There have been many films, documentaries, books and podcasts written about the craze, some during their lifetimes and many since. If you're looking for a film to watch, the most notable three are the 1990s film The Krays, where Gary and Martin Kemp played the twins. According to Google, this is considered by many fans to be the best and most authentic version of the story. The 2015 film Legend, where Tom Hardy played both Ronnie and Reggie, a film which was widely praised. And Gangster Number One, a 1970s fictional film, which whilst was not directly about the Krays, provides a peek at the London Underworld. If you're looking for the best books to read, honestly, I don't know. I now have over 80 books about the Krays, written by the Krays, written by friends and family, and some written by other members of the underworld, and they all have their place. In my opinion, there are no bad books. But there are different memories and versions of stories, depending on whose books you're reading. And podcasts, well of course this one is the best. But British Scandal with Alice Levine and Matt Ford did a great series on the Krays too. If you're on social media, make sure you're following me. But there are Facebook pages with tens of thousands of people on who share memories, photographs, letters, stories, quotes, and YouTube videos. If you're interested in the Krays story, you should join some of these. A few that I am on are Krays Crime Lords of London, who also have a brilliant YouTube channel full of videos. And if you're looking for a wider group, try Britain's notorious gangsters. Finally, I wanted to share this with you. As part of my research, I was told to go on the gangster bus tour around London with Mickey Goldtooth. This was the 24th of May 2025. I recorded this on the train on the way home. Well, so I'm on the train after the gangster bus tour. And wow, that is an experience. So basically, you start at Liverpool Street Station, Mickey Goldtooth runs the tour. It's a big black double-decker bus, open top, gangster tour written all across the side of it. It's got pictures of the craze, takes you around all the sites, tells you some of the history about the craze. We visited the Blind Beggar Pub, lots of sites were pointed out along the way. Mickey himself, what a character! Absolutely fun, amazing. His outfit was absolutely brilliant. And again, maybe I'll describe that later. Gary Driscoll was on there singing. He's made some of his own songs, which were absolutely brilliant, and um he's actually allowed me to use one of these on the podcast, so I'll play that for you in a minute. But yes, a bit of an experience. So basically, on the way out, you kind of see the sights and everything, and then on the way back, it turns into a bit of a party bus. There's a bar on board, and everyone had an amazing time. There was music pumping out, the sun was shining. As we're driving past, people are staring at the bus, like, what's going on? I want to be on that bus. So you should definitely do the gangster bus tour, it's a lot of fun. Mickey and his uh sidekit cam were absolutely brilliant, really entertaining, told us loads of stories along the way. My only regret is that I had to drive when I got off the train, so I wasn't actually able to drink on the bus, which I think was a bit of a shame because the whole party atmosphere was amazing. So I was thoroughly recommended. I'll give you a link to it in the show notes. But yeah, what a day. I mean, again, as with all these things, that you know, there's a lot to take in and a lot to learn, but yeah, an absolutely brilliant day. Here is a very short clip of Mickey talking. It's very short because well, I don't want to spoil the tour for you. You'll have to go on it and hear the rest for yourself. You can find the tour page on Facebook GangsterToursuk slash naughtybus.

Speaker 3 20:54

Well, as we go past it, I'll explain the little story about that pub. And uh the only way you can see it was the Grey Morris. You can see it still sits in the brickwork over the top for Grey Morris. Alright. That's where Freddie Fulman, Tony Lavriano, the twins, they used to drink. And if you on the way down the stairs, you can see a picture of me and Tony Labriano on the stairwell. He um fortunately uh he got rid of the bodies. He was basically used, you know what I mean? He done 15 years, and he was a nice guy, really, the real Tony Labriano, the one I know.

Wendy Cee 21:46

So what do you think? Ronnie and Reggie Kray, famous or infamous? Over this series, we have touched on the lives of many people who are in some way associated with the Krays. The Krays web reached far and wide. I know that you thought that was the end of the first series of The Krays Web, but I've recorded three bonus episodes to share with you, which will be available weekly as normal. The first is part of the interview that I did with Flan, where she talks about her memories of the funerals. This was quite long, so I kept it separately so that you can just hear Flan talk. The second is an interview with retired detective Paul Stickler, who tells me about why he thinks the Krays became as legendary as they did, which is fascinating to listen to. In this episode, I also share some of my early recordings from when I started my research. And finally, in the third bonus episode, I talked to David Last, who has written two books on the Krays and spent many years researching them and collecting memorabilia. Now that I've covered the story of Ronnie and Reggie Kray in detail, I'll be starting to tell you more about the people who got caught in their web. From their brother Charlie Kray, whose story we've only briefly touched on so far. To Violet's hairdresser Flynn who started life in a field hospital during the war, and who recently received her MBE for her charitable work. To Nicholas McQueen, the Krays florist who has travelled the world and had more interesting careers than you can imagine. To Nemini Lethbridge, the Krays lawyer who fought her way up the ranks as one of the first female barristers before being disguard for marrying a convicted murderer. And of course, I will also be looking into many former members of the firm and the underworld in a lot more detail too, including some major crimes. This series has just been the tip of the iceberg, or should I say, the centre of a very big web. I hope that you've enjoyed this series of the craze web. If you have a story that you would like to share, a book that you would like me to review, or if you have any feedback on people you would like to see featured in a future episode, please get in touch. If you don't already follow me on social media, please do so. All of the details are in the show notes. I wanted to end series one with a song that I came across written about Ronnie and Reggie Craig. It is written and performed by Gary Driscoll, a wonderful singer originally from Camden Town in London, who has been performing in the south east of England since the 1970s. As well as singing lots of covers like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and UB40. He also has some of his own songs in his repertoire, including this one about the craze. I've had the pleasure of meeting Gary and hearing him sing a number of times, and he has given me permission to use this song in the podcast. It's called The Old Eastern Tonight. You can find Gary's songs on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and his own website, GaryDriscoll.co.uk. There is also a link in the show notes.

Speaker 5 25:16

As the pruner is singing, I wave. Flows like clarants on a train. Different times and different people. Guess they weren't always right. But let's raise a clause to the old east end to nice. Now ain't you dressed to kill? If that jagues old lever could speak of every ill. Stayed at the ransom after learning how to fight. In this land of Saints had sinners, your straight are on the fix. We had losers, we had winners in 1966. From the moment he pulled the trigger, everybody lost their sight. While the old bill paints, the old east end at night. And then raise the glass to the oldest hand. They all got the black gun and the lunch. They got the key on the way. It's great to be in the oldie stand tonight. Yeah, it's great to be in the oldie stand tonight. Now let me tell you, it's great to be in the old stand.

Can you please sort out the spacing - thank you

Wendy Cee 29:08

This was episode seventeen, The End, Reggie. Next week in episode 18, The End, Flan, with Maureen Flanagan Cox, MBE, who talks to me about the Krays funerals. Finally, I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who has helped me to put this podcast together. Please check out the show notes on my website for more information on the books and reference material that I used for my research. Until next time, stay safe.