The Boyd Gang was a notorious criminal gang based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, named for member

Edwin Alonzo Boyd Edwin Alonzo Boyd (April 2, 1914 – May 17, 2002) was a Canadian bank robber and leader of the Boyd Gang. His career made him a notorious Canadian folk hero. Early life Edwin Alonzo Boyd was born on April 2, 1914, four months before the Briti ...

. The gang was a favourite of the media at the time because of their sensational actions, which included

bank robberies Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...

, jail breaks, relationships with beautiful women,

gun fight ''Gun Fight'', known as in Japan and Europe, is a 1975 multidirectional shooter arcade game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released by Taito in Japan and Europe and by Midway in North America. Based around two Old West cowboys armed ...

s, manhunts, and daring captures.

Formation

Edwin Boyd had committed a variety of crimes in his youth and served time in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

's Prince Albert Penitentiary at the age of 22.Toronto's Infamous "Boyd Gang"
CBC Archives After returning from service in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Boyd robbed a

branch of the Bank of Montreal with a German Luger on September 9, 1949, while drunk and escaped with With others, he committed six more robberies before he was caught and imprisoned in the

Don Jail The Don Jail was a jail in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located to the east of the Don River, on Gerrard Street East in the Riverdale neighbourhood. The original building was completed in 1864 and was reopened in 2013 to serve as the administrative ...

. There he met Willie Jackson and Lenny Jackson (not related) and together they broke out of jail with a hacksaw concealed in Lenny's artificial leg. After their escape, they were joined by Valent Lesso (a.k.a. Steve Suchan) and committed four more robberies in four months for . Although Lenny Jackson, a hairdresser from

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

, led the group, Boyd's charms and good looks led the media to label them the "Boyd Gang".

Death of a policeman

On March 6, 1952, Detective Sergeant Edmund Tong and his partner, Sergeant Roy Perry stopped a vehicle containing two men; these two men turned out to be Lennie Jackson and Steve Suchan. As Tong approached the vehicle, Suchan drew a .455 pistol and shot him and Sergeant Perry in the police car, wounding the latter in the arm. Tong died of his wounds on March 23, 1952. Both Jacksons and Suchan were arrested in

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after a shootout with police that left Lennie and Steve wounded. Both men were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of the policeman. Boyd was arrested separately, in Toronto.

Second escape

All four men were placed in side-by-side cells in the

. On Sept. 8, 1952, they managed to escape for a second time with the help of another saw blade, and a blank key smuggled in by a lawyer. They used a tactic where William Jackson, dehydrated himself enough to reduce his skin elasticity. Willy pressed the key on the palm of his hand, making a mark in the shape of the key. Using the new saw, they cut the blank key in the shape of the mark. That night, the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

's first television newscast, anchored by

Lorne Greene Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; 12 February 1915 – 11 September 1987) was a Canadian actor, musician, singer and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Ad ...

and produced by Harry Rasky, detailed the escape. The jail's warden was suspended, and a $26,000 reward was offered for information leading to their arrest.

Recapture

Ten days later, they were discovered hiding in a barn about a mile north of

Sheppard Avenue Sheppard Avenue is an east–west principal arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street has two distinct branches near its eastern end, with the original route being a collector road leading to Pickering via a turnoff, and the main ro ...

and

Leslie Street Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble famil ...

after Willie Jackson went to

Yonge Street Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Once the southernmost leg of provincial H ...

and Sheppard in North York to buy food and cigarettes. Lennie Jackson and Steve Suchan were quickly tried for murder. Although they were defended by prominent lawyers Arthur Maloney and

John Josiah Robinette John Josiah Robinette, (November 20, 1906 – November 18, 1996) was a Canadian lawyer who was one of Canada's premier legal authorities and litigators. Born in Toronto, Ontario, he attended the University of Toronto Schools. In 1926, he re ...

(respectively), both men were found guilty and sentenced to death. While Jackson had not fired a shot at Tong, he essentially confessed on the stand, which undoubtedly hurt their case. They were executed in a double hanging at the

in December 1952. Edwin Boyd, who had not been present at the murder, was defended by Frederick Joseph McMahon, and sentenced to eight life terms plus 27 years concurrently. Willie Jackson was sentenced to 31 years. Both served their terms in

Kingston Penitentiary Kingston Penitentiary (known locally as KP and Kingston Pen) is a former maximum security prison located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, between King Street West and Lake Ontario. History Constructed from 1833 to 1834, and opened on June 1, 1 ...

. Jackson was released on parole in 1966. Boyd was released earlier, in 1962, but returned to prison for four more years after parole violations. He then moved to the west coast of Canada where he changed his name and remarried. He died in 2002.

Unsolved murder

Journalist Brian Vallée, who interviewed an ageing Edwin Boyd for ''

'', has alleged that Boyd was also responsible for the unsolved 1947 murder of George Vigus and Iris Scott in Toronto's

High Park High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. High Park is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One-third of the park remains ...

Popular culture

The 2011 film '' Citizen Gangster'' depicts the life of Edwin and the gang. It premiered at the 2011

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

and its theatrical release was in May 2012. The movie changes the identity of the detective whose death is described above and materially changes the circumstances of the shooting. There is also a play written by John Roby and Ray Storey based on the events called "Girls in the Gang".

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* ''The Boyd Gang'' by Marjorie Lamb and Barry Pearson. Toronto, Peter Martin Associates, 1976. History of Canada (1945–1960) Organized crime groups in Canada Gangs in Toronto