Underworld boss who turned Kray twins into most feared gangsters in Britain

Ronnie and Reggie Kray were trouble from the moment they were born.

Twins, something extremely unusual in Britain in the 1930s, they were the apple of their mother Violet's eye.

Growing up in the tough East End of London in a working class neighbourhood no one could have predicted that they would go on the become Britain's most feared gangsters.

And their killing spree started when they were just children.

A new book, Krays: The Final Word by James Morton, examines the truth behind the myth of brutal criminal reign of the twins.

When the outbreak of World War Two forced the Kray family to flee London, the twins quickly showed their extreme love of violence.

The book says: "Billeted with the local doctor, the twins chased and killed his cockerel and defied his wife’s efforts to teach them to read and write.

"Violet Kray missed London, however, and they soon returned."

But they refused to settle, showing no interest in school.

The only thing that seemed to hold Ronnie and reggie's attention was boxing, a passion that was encouraged by their uncle, Alfie.

Both showed promise in the ring but even by the time they were teenagers their love of rule breaking was their defining characteristic.

Krays: The Final Word explains: "As they grew up they took to wearing razor blades sewn into the lapels of their jackets, so that anyone taking hold of them would have their hands cut, much as the Peaky Blinders in Birmingham and the Sabinis had worn blades in their caps before the war.

"They also favoured knuckledusters and nails protruding from their shoes."

They were even dishonorably discharged from compulsory National Service after repeatedly taking absence without leave.

But once free of the rules and regulations of the army, the Kray twins criminal career really began to take off.

And there was one man they turned to, who acted as a mentor to the Kray twins and developed their early reputation for violence – Billy Hill.

Hill was linked to smuggling, protection rackets and extreme violence.

He was one of the leaders of organised crime in London for more than 40 years and was the brains behind several big money robberies.

And early on, as the Kray twins were making a name for themselves in London's criminal underworld, he was the man they would turn to for advice.

Reggie especially was a huge admirer of Hill's and the brothers went to stay with him in Tangier.

They even gave him the nickname, Crutchie, because he had once broken his ankle and was forced to use crutches.

Krays: The Final Word says: "Reggie looked on him as his mentor and wrote in Villains We Have Known: ‘When I was in my early twenties, the man I wanted to emulate most of all was the former gang boss of London’s underworld, Billy Hill.

"The prime reason for my admiration was that, apart from Billy being very physical and violent when necessary, he had a good, quick thinking brain and this trait appealed to me most of all'.

"'I like to think that, in some ways, I have come close to emulating him; to be honest, I acknowledge that he stands alone and there will never be another Billy Hill'."

However, as Ronnie and Reggie's fearsome reputation continued to grow even Hill himself is said to have been frightened of the brothers.

The book says: "In his declining years, Hill was said to be terrified of the pair."

The siblings ran their criminal empire from the East End of London and counted celebrities among their closest friends.

Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Diana Dors all mixed with the Kray twins and it wasn't long because Ronnie and Reggie were famous themselves.

As the owners of a West End night club in the 1960s they were interviewed on TV and photographed by acclaimed photographer David Bailey.

But behind the exterior of their glamorous life, the brothers were cold-hearted killers.

The law finally caught up with them in 1968 and the following year they were jailed for life for the murders of George Cornell and Jack McVitie.

Both Ronnie and Reggie died behind bars.

• The Krays: The Final Word is released on November 14 by Mirror Books for £14.99and is available to buy at mirrorbooks.co.uk . Quote RB5 to get £3 off, reducing the price to £11.99.

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