Charles James Kray (9 July 1927 – 4 April 2000) was an English professional boxer and convicted criminal. He was the elder brother of Ronnie and Reggie Kray.

Early life

Charles James Kray was born at 26 Gorsuch Street,

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. It was Historic counties of England, historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. Hoxton lies north-east of the City of London, is considered to be a part of London's East End ...

on 9 July 1927, to Charles David Kray (1907–1983), a wardrobe dealer, and Violet Annie Lee (1909–1982). His father was of Irish descent and his mother was Romani. When Kray was six, his mother had

identical twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

, Ronnie and Reggie Kray, with Reggie born 10 minutes before Ronnie. His sister, Violet (1929) died in infancy. In 1932, the family moved to Stene Street, near

Kingsland Road Kingsland Road is the name given to an East London stretch of the A10 road within the London Borough of Hackney in England. The A10 was originally a Roman Road better known as Ermine Street or sometimes the Old North Road. The name ''Kingsla ...

, Hackney. The family later moved to 178 Vallance Road in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

. Kray attended Laburnum Street School in

Haggerston Haggerston is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. There is an Haggerston (ward), electoral ward called Haggerston within the borough. H ...

, where he was selected for the football team. Before the war, Kray worked for

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is a insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gover ...

as a messenger boy in the city, earning around 18

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

s a week.

Boxing career

Young Charlie was brought up on stories about fighting and boxing, and often dreamt of winning the

Lonsdale Belt The Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, commonly known as the Lonsdale Belt, is the oldest championship belt in British professional boxing. Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, The 5th Earl of Lonsdale introduced the prize on behalf of the National S ...

as Champion of the World. In 1943, Kray represented the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

as a

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

against the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

. Kray soon took up boxing again and trained in the local gyms. His grandfather set up a punch bag in an upstairs room in Vallance Road. After a spell of

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Si ...

, Kray joined the

Naval Cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

s, where he continued training seriously. He later joined the Navy where he boxed as a

. However, he started to get terrible headaches and was soon discharged unfit from the Navy, on medical grounds, due to chronic migraines. In his early twenties, Kray started to box professionally, winning a number of fights. He lost the last professional fight he fought.

Criminal history

Although he did not have the violent reputation of his younger brothers, Kray was still an important component of the family's gangland history. When the twins' empire came crashing down following their arrests in 1969, Charlie was inevitably dragged down with them. Kray was given a 10-year sentence for being an accessory to the murder of George Cornell. He was released from prison in 1975, and went on to make money from promoting the family's legend, such as being paid £100,000 to act as a "consultant" on the 1990 film ''The Krays''. In 1997, Kray was given a 12-year sentence for attempting to smuggle cocaine valued at £39m into England. Three years into his sentence, Kray's health started to deteriorate.

Krayleigh Enterprises

In 1985 officials at Broadmoor Hospital discovered a business card of Ronnie's that led to evidence that the twins, from separate institutions, were operating Krayleigh Enterprises (a "lucrative bodyguard and 'protection' business for Hollywood stars") together with their older brother Charlie Kray and an accomplice at large. Among their clients was

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, who hired 18 bodyguards from Krayleigh Enterprises on his visit to the 1985 Wimbledon Championships. Documents released under Freedom of Information laws revealed that although officials were concerned about this operation, they believed that there was no legal basis to shut it down.

Personal life

Kray married Doris "Dolly" Moore on Christmas Day 1948. They had two children, Gary Kray (1951-1995) and Nancy. In an argument, Moore had said that Nancy was not Kray's daughter but then denied it. Gary died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on 8 March 1995. Kray later discovered Moore had been having an affair with George Ince, but stayed with her for the sake of his family. She continued to see Ince behind Kray's back. The couple separated in 1975. During the 1950s, Kray had a six-month affair with

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''.

, star of the ''

Carry On films ''Carry On'' is a British comedy franchise comprising 31 films, four Christmas specials, a television series and stage shows produced between 1958 and 1992. Produced by Peter Rogers, the ''Carry On'' films were directed by Gerald Thomas and st ...

'' and ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

''. The affair did not last long because his children and their happiness came first and staying with Moore provided them with a stable background. Kray had been a confidant of

Jackie Collins Jacqueline Jill Collins (4 October 1937 – 19 September 2015) was an English romance novelist and actress. She moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and spent most of her career there. She wrote 32 novels, all of which appeared on The New York Times B ...

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

Sonny Liston Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( – December 30, 1970), nicknamed "the Big Bear", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1962 after k ...

and

Christine Keeler Christine Margaret Keeler (22 February 1942 – 4 December 2017) was an English model and showgirl. Her meeting at a dance club with society osteopath Stephen Ward drew her into fashionable circles. At the Cold War (1953–1962), height of the ...

. Kray said he found life difficult and claimed he was "unemployable" because of his surname. On the evening of 4 April 2000, Kray died from heart complications at St Mary's Hospital. He was 72. He had been suffering from a heart condition prior to his death. Kray died in the presence of his girlfriend, Diane Buffini, and two other friends. Kray's surviving brother Reggie was released from prison to attend the funeral. Kray's funeral was held at St Matthew's Church,

on 19 April 2000 and he is buried at Chingford Mount Cemetery.

Published works

* ''Me and My Brothers'', with Robin McGibbon. Everest Books, 14 October 1976. * ''Doing the Business'', with Colin Fry. John Blake Publishing Ltd, April 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kray, Charlie 1927 births 2000 deaths English gangsters English male boxers 20th-century English sportsmen