1964: Great Train Robber escapes jail

A massive manhunt was launched in August 1964 when one of the so-called Great Train Robbers escaped from prison.

Charlie Wilson, 32, was apparently freed from Winson Green Prison in Birmingham by a gang of three men who broke into the jail in the early hours of the morning.

Wilson was described as one of the masterminds behind the 1963 robbery of more than £2.5m from a Royal Mail train. He was believed to be the robber who knew where the missing money stolen in the raid was hidden.

He went on the run for four years, but was finally re-captured in Canada and returned to jail in the UK.

After his release, he moved to the Costa del Sol in Spain and was alleged to have become involved in drug dealing. He was shot dead by a hitman in April 1990 as he relaxed by his swimming pool.

From the BBC Archive.

Originally broadcast on 12 August 1964.