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‘Persons of the Worst Possible Character’ – The Story of the Kray Twins as Told By Our Newspapers

On Tuesday, October 24, 1933, between 8 o’clock and 8.10 p.m., Mrs. Violet Kray, wife of Charles Kray, dealer, gave birth to twin boys in their little two-up two-down house in Stean-street, Hoxton…These boys were later to create an empire formed by fear, extortion, protection, torture and finally, murder. This March 1969 Daily Mirror article of course refers to the Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie, the most notorious British criminals of the 1960s. Feted by celebrities, chased by authorities, the Kray twins were

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Hot Off The Press – New Titles This Week

This week we have added 75,078 brand new pages to our collection, with a trio of very special brand new titles joining us over the past seven days from across England, Ireland and Northern Ireland. So read on to discover more about the new titles of the week, as well as to discover which of our existing titles we have added new pages to. Also, this week we will take a moment to remember the Matchgirls’ Strike of 1888, an early industrial action undertaken by

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Headlines from History – October crimes and punishment

Kray twins portraits

Throughout the month of October, The British Newspaper Archive will take a closer look at stories of crime, courts, and punishment in the papers.  We have pulled together some headlines from the month of October including a riot, a case of arsenic poisoning, a couple of London’s notorious criminals, and a political crime. Register now! 4 October 1936 The Battle of Cable Street took place in London’s East End on the day of a scheduled march by Oswald Mosley’s right wing

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Diving into Danny Dyer’s Past – Learning more from newspapers

In last night’s episode, we learned that Danny Dyer is a direct descendant of King Edward III, his 15 times great-grandfather. Many of us lack such famous ancestors, but that doesn’t make ours – and the times they lived in – any less interesting. Let’s take a look at Danny Dyer’s working-class ancestors – some strong male figures that Danny was hoping to find – and learn how the British Newspaper Archive can help you flesh out the lives of

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