BOBBY Welch, the last surviving member of the Great Train Robbery gang, has passed away.
He was one of 15 who stole cash equivalent to £50 million in today’s money after raiding a Royal Mail train in 1963.
But who was Bobby Welch and how did he die?
Who was Bobby Welch?
Arsenal supporter Bobby was a nightclub owner prior to the robbery.
He joined forces with the likes of Ronnie Biggs and Bruce Reynolds to raid the Royal Mail train.
Nick Reynolds, son of train robbery gang leader Bruce, who died aged 81 in 2013, said Bobby’s death was the “end of an era”.
He told The Sun.”Bobby was a very decent straight forward man who lived for his family.
“He was angry about the train robbery and about what happened to him in prison.
“He liked my dad though he thought he was a little bit flash.
“Despite his leg, he managed to outlive the rest of the gang and that’s probably as he had the support of his wife and family.”
Bobby was locked up for 30 years for his role in the robbery, before being released from jail in 1976.
He became became a car dealer and gambler following his release.
But a botched leg operation while inside left him crippled and it was later amputated.
Through his later life he shunned publicity and lived in quiet obscurity with his family.
What was Bobby Welch’s cause of death?
Bobby is understood to have been frail for sometime and lived with Alzheimer’s.
His family said he died peacefully at home of natural causes in Brockley, South London, where he lived with his wife.
Was Bobby Welch married and did he have any children?
Bobby lived with his wife until he died.
He had family, but it is unclear who.
What happened in the Great Train Robbery?
On August 8, 1963, Welch joined a gang in holding up a Glasgow to London night mail train carrying used banknotes.
The gang managed to tamper with signals to bring the train to a halt at Bridego Railway Bridge in Buckinghamshire.
They then then stole £2.6 million – the equivalent of £50 million in today’s money – in one of Britain‘s largest heists.
In total, 128 sacks of used banknotes – weighing a massive 2.5 tonnes – were shifted off the train and the gang fled within 30 minutes.
Most of the cash was never recovered and is believed to have been split into £150,000 shares.
A total of 12 train robbers was caught, while three got away with it. Two of those are dead.
The third was never identified and it is not known if he is alive.
Train driver Jack Mills was bludgeoned with a metal bar during the raid which left him scarred for life.
Who were the other great train robbers?
The most famous names from the gang were it leader and mastermind Bruce Reynolds and fugitive Ronnie Biggs.
Reynolds fled to Mexico on a fake passport before being joined by wife, Angela, and son, Nick.
He was arrested in Torquay, Devon, five years later and sentenced to 25-years in jail.
Others involved were Ronald ‘Buster’ Edwards, Charlie Wilson, Roy James, Brian Field, Bill Boal, Tommy Wisbey, Gordon Goody and James Hussey.
Roger Cordrey, Jimmy White, Leonard Field and John Wheater were also in the gang.
