The Great Train Robbery Read Online Free PDF Page B

drinks heavily, mostly at The Gladstone, Portland Road, SE25, and attends a working man’s club at 12 Enmore Road, Norbury. He appears to borrow money at the beginning of each week. He owns an old Alvis car, index No KPO264.
    No further information has been forthcoming on his brother Kevin Edward Lyttle, but Vincent Lyttle is believed to live at 210 Durnley Drive, New Addington. No CRO but thought to mix with ‘wide boys’ in the West End.

    McCarthy, Thomas
    Joined train at Glasgow, left at Crewe. Employed mainly in No 4 coach (Division 4). During the journey however he assisted in HVP at Carlisle Station owing to heavy transfer of mails.
    General Information:
    No obvious Irish accent. Lives with his wife and two children (10 and 12 years respectively) in a terraced house which he rents from Glasgow Corporation. He is not regarded too highly locally as he is known to drink and gamble frequently. Apart from this, there is no evidence of excessive spending. 8

    Could one of these two men be the ‘insider’? Lyttle lived in s outh London, an area associated with a number of the train robbery suspects, and his brother was possibly mixing with members of the criminal fraternity in London’s West End clubs. McCarthy, on the other hand, lived in Glasgow, which, according to an IB report, was also closely tied to ongoing enquiries:

    ... there is evidence that Reynolds and Daly flew together to Glasgow in May 1963. If that trip had anything to do with the planning of this offence it might mean that a Post Office or Railway accomplice lives in Glasgow. 9

    While Lyttle and McCarthy’s links to the train robbers were purely speculative, IB enquiries turned next to a man whom C11 at Scotland Yard believed had concrete links to one of the robbers:

    Detective Chief Inspector Walker also reported to me that he had ascertained that Welch or his associates had gained information regarding transit of mails from a man in the Post Office at Mount Pleasant. Furthermore, that this man had formerly been the Secretary of the local union and had been in trouble with the Police for attacking a woman with a knife.
    In pursuing this aspect I established that Thomas John Foley, CRO 36217/50 formerly a PHG at the London Parcel Section had in fact been previously employed at the Inland Section and had held the office of Secretary of the IS Branch of the UPW. Foley was suspended from duty following Police action on 10 November 1962. The CRO File on Foley shows that he was born in Southern Ireland on 26 April 1925. His associates in crime have been:-

Denis Foley (brother)
CRO 40988/56
James Sydney Moore
CRO 19060/60
John Galvin
CRO 57427/62

    The CRO Files of the above mentioned have been examined and it has been established that Denis Foley was represented by Messrs Wontner and Son, Solicitors, West Central 2, and there is no evidence that James, Wheater & Co or Brian Field have been concerned in defending either of the Foley brothers.
    The possibility that Foley was the source from which the robbery gang attacked the Up Special TPO has been discussed at various times with Detective Chief Superintendent Butler. He is quite sceptical about the information given by the informants of both Detective Superintendent Walker and Commander Hatherill, 10 but he agreed with me that further enquiry to alleviate any suspicion was in fact warranted. I promised to acquaint him with the result of the enquiries in due course. Some further enquiry is, it is thought, called for and this File is now being passed to Mr Edwards.
    I have discussed this case with DI Huntley of C11. Foley obtained for Welch two postmen’s hats which were taken to his address. There is no information connecting Foley with the Great Train Robbery. On 8 August 1963 he had been in prison for 4 months serving a sentence of 3 years imposed by the CCC on 29/3/63. 11

    With Thomas Foley now effectively eliminated from the enquiry by virtue of his current tenure at Wandsworth Prison, IB