The Forum’s Vice Chairman Duncan Verity has a large collection of video presentations with which he occasionally entertains members as an alternative to employing a guest speaker.

For the meeting on the 2nd of October he selected a feature titled The Great Train Robbery which dealt with the famous occasion on the 8th of August 1963 when £2.6 million in used banknotes was stolen from a secure railway carriage on the West Coast main line in Buckinghamshire.

The video was unusual in that it featured a commentary by Bruce Reynolds who was the leader of the gang of robbers and had planned the enterprise. The robbery went according to plan except that one of the robbers seriously assaulted the train driver.

The gang returned to their hideout, a nearby farmhouse, before sharing out the cash and dispersing. Reynolds had arranged for the farmhouse to be burnt down but this didn’t happen which left much evidence which enabled the police to arrest all the gang except for Reynolds who escaped to Mexico along with his family.

However, when funds ran short, he returned to England to continue his criminal career and he was arrested by the police.

After members added their reminiscences Forum Chairman Mike Earle thanked Duncan for providing excellent entertainment for the meeting.