Frankie Fraser
| Frankie Fraser | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Frank Davidson Fraser 13 December 1923 Waterloo, London, England |
| Died | 26 November 2014 (aged 90) King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, England |
| Cause of death | Complications arising from surgery |
| Occupation | Criminal |
Frank Davidson "Frankie" Fraser, better known as "Mad" Frankie Fraser (13 December 1923 – 26 November 2014), was an English gangster and criminal who spent 42 years in prison for numerous violent offences.
Born on Cornwall Road in Waterloo, London, Fraser was the youngest of five children and grew up in poverty. His mother was of Irish and Norwegian ancestry; his father was half Native American. At the age of five he moved with his family to a flat on Walworth Road, Elephant and Castle. Although his parents were not criminals, Fraser turned to crime aged 10 with his sister Eva, whom he was close to. Fraser was a deserter during World War II, on several occasions escaping from his barracks. It was during the war that he first became involved in serious crime, with the blackout and rationing, combined with the lack of professional policemen due to conscription, providing ample opportunities for criminal activities such as stealing from houses while the occupants were in air-raid shelters.
In 1941 he was sent to Borstal for breaking into a Waterloo hosiery store, then given a 15-month prison sentence at HM Prison Wandsworth for shop-breaking. Such were the criminal opportunities during the war, Fraser later joked in a television interview many years later that he had never forgiven the Germans for surrendering. In 1942 while serving a prison sentence in HM Prison Chelmsford he came to the attention of the British Army. Although he was conscripted he later boasted that he had never once worn the uniform, preferring to ignore call-up papers, desert and resume his criminal activities.
After the war Fraser was involved in a smash-and-grab raid on a jeweller, for which he received a two-year prison sentence, served largely at HM Prison Pentonville. It was during this sentence that he was first certified insane and was sent to Cane Hill Hospital before being released in 1949. During the 1950s his main occupation was as bodyguard to well-known gangster Billy Hill. He took part in more bank robberies and spent more time in prison. He was again certified insane while at HM Prison Durham and this time sent to Broadmoor Hospital. Afraid of being heavily medicated for bad behaviour, Fraser stayed out of trouble and was released in 1955. In 1956 the British mobster Jack Spot and wife Rita were attacked, on Hill's say-so, by Fraser, Bobby Warren and at least half a dozen other men. Both Fraser and Warren were given seven years for their acts of violence.
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