Jack "Spot" Comer (12 April 1912 – 12 March 1996) was an English

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix ''-ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

Early life

Born Jacob Colmore in

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

, London, the youngest of four children, Comer's father was a Jewish tailor's machinist who, to escape anti-Semitic pogroms, had moved to London with his wife from

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

in 1898. Like many immigrants, to assimilate more into English society, the family changed their name from Comacho to Colmore, and later to Comer. His mother's maiden name was Lifschinska. Comer grew up in a Jewish

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished ...

street in Fieldgate Mansions,

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 a c ...

, along the west side of Myrdle Street, across from the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

in terraced houses along the east side. At the age of seven Jack had joined his first gang, which was made up of boys from the Jewish side of Myrdle Street who fought their Catholic rivals from the other end of the street. "Spot" soon started being called "spotty" because of a large black

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...

on his left cheek.

Career

Comer was jailed for taking part in the

Battle of Cable Street The Battle of Cable Street was a series of clashes that took place at several locations in the inner East End, most notably Cable Street, on Sunday 4 October 1936. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, sent to protect a march by me ...

on Sunday 4 October 1936. After charging at the police, he found himself surrounded by police with truncheons. He was badly beaten and sent to hospital, then prison. In the post-war era, Comer was involved in funding the

43 Group The 43 Group was an English anti-fascist group set up by Jewish ex-servicemen after the Second World War. They did this when, upon returning to London, they encountered British fascist organisations such as Jeffrey Hamm's British League of E ...

, a group of Jewish ex-servicemen and women who took direct action to oppose the supporters of the

Union Movement The Union Movement (UM) was a far-right political party founded in the United Kingdom by Oswald Mosley. Before the Second World War, Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF) had wanted to concentrate trade within the British Empire, but the Unio ...

and other more minor

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...

groups. Rapidly becoming a powerful force in the East End Comer and his gang began to take control of racecourses across Britain. After a being conscripted into the army, from which he was discharged for beating an anti-Semitic superior officer, Comer returned to London to expand his control. Moving his influence outside of the East End into the West End, Comer made huge profits from drinking clubs and gaming rooms, as well as taking “protection” cash from businesses across the capital. Comer allegedly financed and masterminded the raid on

BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the United Kingdom, British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. ...

's secure warehouse at Heathrow Airport on 28 July 1948.

Decline and later years

Comer's control of the East and West End rackets was challenged after 1952 when his former recruit and then partner, gangster Billy Hill, decided to make a move against his mentor. Trouble with the law and a systematic attack on his sources of income by Hill and others, lead to Comer being squeezed out. In 1954 Comer attacked ''

Sunday People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...

'' crime journalist Duncan Webb and was fined £50. He was accused of possession of a

knuckle-duster Brass knuckles (variously referred to as knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, knucklebusters, knuckledusters, knuckle daggers, English punch, iron fist, paperweight, or a classic) are "fist-load weapons" used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles ...

and convicted of

grievous bodily harm 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. Th ...

. Webb had published derogatory articles at the behest of Billy Hill. In 1955 he was arrested following a knife fight with

Albert Dimes George Albert "Italian Al" Arthur Dimeo (1914 – November 1972) was a Scottish-Italian criminal and enforcer, who operated in Little Italy, London. Early life Born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire to an Italian father and Scottish mother, he mo ...

. Dimes had refused to pay protection money to Comer who confronted him in Frith Street, Soho. Dimes fled but was cornered by Comer in a green grocer. After Comer was cleared of the stabbing charge, he said it was because of "the greatest lawyer in history", his barrister

Rose Heilbron Dame Rose Heilbron DBE, QC (19 August 1914 – 8 December 2005) was a British barrister who served as a High Court judge. Her career included many "firsts" for a woman – she was the first woman to achieve a first class honours degree in l ...

. In 1956, Comer and his wife Rita were viciously attacked by a group of eight men armed with clubs and knives about 100 yards outside their Paddington flat. Two if the attackers, "Mad" Frankie Fraser and Bobby Warren; were each sentenced to seven years in prison. Comer decided to retire from organized crime. During the next few decades the former 'King of the Underworld' would often be seen at boxing matches and undertook various jobs over the years including being an antique furniture dealer. He died in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane. Isleworth's original area of settl ...

at 83; his ashes were spread in Israel.

In popular culture

Comer is a major character in the 2019 film ''

Once Upon A Time In London ''Once Upon a Time in London'' is a 2019 British crime drama film directed by Simon Rumley and written by Will Gilbey, Rumley and Terry Stone. The film is about the notorious gangsters Billy Hill and Jack Comer. The film stars Leo Gregory, ...

''. Comer is mentioned in the song “Ghosts of Cable Street” by The Men they Couldn’t Hang where he is referred to as ‘Jack Spot’.

Early life

Career

Decline and later years

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading