George Cornell (13 November 1927 – 10 March 1966) was an English criminal and member of The Richardsons, who were scrap metal dealers and criminals from

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

. Cornell was shot and killed by

Ronnie Kray Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...

The Blind Beggar The Blind Beggar is a pub on Whitechapel Road in the East End of London, England. Due to its location close to Whitechapel Station, the pub is generally described as being in Whitechapel; it is however located just on the Bethnal Green side of ...

public house in

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. Kray was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

three years later for the murder and remained in

Broadmoor Hospital Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth Hospital near Liverpool and Rampton Secure ...

until his death from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on 17 March 1995.

Early life

George Myers was born in the old boundary of

St George In The East St George-in-the-East is an Anglican Church dedicated to Saint George and one of six Hawksmoor churches in London, England. It was built from 1714 to 1729, with funding from the 1711 Act of Parliament. Its name has been used for two forms of p ...

on 13 November 1927, to Mary Ann Garrett and Joseph Cornell, one of seven children (although records suggest eight) born to unwed parents. George and his siblings changed their surname by

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party (law), party. Et ...

from Myers to Cornell who was their stepfather for a short period of time. From the age of 12, Cornell often worked as a Billingsgate fish

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

, and then at the nearby docks where he ran credit rackets and became friends with Lennie Hamilton and Billy Frost. Cornell did his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

with Billy Wiltshire, the Kray twins’ cousin.

Criminal history

On 30 October 1944, his first conviction (as George Myers) came for

stealing Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

chickens. In May 1945, he was

imprisoned Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

for three years for garage-breaking and

larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Engla ...

after

goods. In 1950 (as George Cornell), he received his first prison sentence, of fifteen months, after being convicted at the Central Criminal Court for

unlawful wounding Grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. The ...

and

malicious damage Malicious may refer to: Films and video games * ''Malicious'' (1973 film) (''Malizia''), an Italian comedy starring Laura Antonelli * ''Malicious'' (1995 film), an American thriller starring Molly Ringwald * ''Malicious'' (2018 film), an Americ ...

. In 1952, Cornell received fines for

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

and wilful damage. In 1953, Cornell was imprisoned for shop breaking (

cigarettes and razor blades). He also assaulted two police officers and used insulting words and behaviour, getting off with a 40

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

fine. Cornell went on to face several more spells in prison, one for

malicious wounding Grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. The ...

when he is believed to have slashed a woman’s face with a blade. His last spell in prison was in 1963. Cornell was originally a member of an East End gang called The Watney Streeters, and later became involved with the

Kray twins Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...

. However he changed sides around 1964 and allied himself with The Richardsons, led by Keith Askem and brothers Charlie and Eddie Richardson. Cornell, along with The Richardsons colleague and friend "Mad" Frankie Fraser, became an enforcer for the Richardsons and was primarily used by them for talks with the Krays. Meetings were often held in pubs such as The Grave Maurice.

Death

On 9 March 1966, Cornell and his friend Albie Woods entered

pub, ordered some light ales and then sat upon stools next to the bar. At around 8:30pm, both men were approached by

and a Kray associate, Ian Barrie; upon seeing him, Cornell smiled and said sardonically, "Well, just look who's here". As a warning to the barmaid and the few others in the pub, Barrie fired two shots into the ceiling, while Kray walked towards Cornell, took out a 9mm Luger, and calmly shot him once in the top of the forehead, above his right eye. The men turned and departed to a waiting car on the street. Cornell slumped against a nearby pillar, the bullet, apparently, passing straight through him. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died at around 3:30am. The news spread rapidly. Although Ronnie Kray was identified by several eyewitnesses as he calmly left the public house, no one would agree to testify against him and the police were forced to release him from custody. Cornell was buried in Camberwell New Cemetery,

. Cornell was most prominently known for being the first victim of

Old Bailey trial

On 4 March 1969,

was unanimously found guilty by a jury at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

of the murder of Cornell.

Reggie Kray Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...

was also found guilty of murdering

Jack McVitie Jack McVitie (19 April 1932 – 29 October 1967), best known as Jack the Hat, was an English criminal from London during the 1950s and 1960s. He is posthumously famous for triggering the imprisonment and downfall of the Kray twins. He had acted ...

, who was killed in 1967. They were both sentenced to

. Ronnie Kray died on 17 March 1995 at the age of 61 at

Wexham Park Hospital Wexham Park Hospital is a large National Health Service, NHS hospital in Slough, Berkshire. It has been managed by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust since 2014. Andrew Valentine Morris, Sir Andrew Morris is the chief executive of Frimley Health ...

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. He had suffered a

two days earlier. Reggie Kray died on 1 October 2000 at the age of 66 after being released from prison on compassionate grounds from

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...

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References

External links

*
BBC website: "1969: Kray twins guilty of Cornell and McVitie murders"
''History of The Kray Twins including Cornell'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornell, George 1927 births 1966 deaths 1966 in London 1966 murders in the United Kingdom Criminals from London Organised crime in London Deaths by firearm in London English gangsters English murder victims Kray twins Murdered British gangsters People murdered by British organized crime People murdered in London 1960s murders in London Deaths from heart disease