Jack Spot
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Jack "Spot" Comer (born Jacob Colmore ; 12 April 191212 March 1996) was a Jewish gangster who rose to rule
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
's underworld.


Early life

Born Jacob Colmore in
Mile End Mile End 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. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...
, London, Comer was the youngest of four children. His father was a Jewish tailor's machinist who, to escape anti-Semitic
pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
s, had emigrated to London with his wife, whose maiden name was Lifschinska, from
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
, Poland, around 1900. It was a bad time for Jewish immigrants and refugees who arrived in Britain during this period:
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
was both in the streets and the corridors of power. This antagonistic environment was, in part, organised by the British Brothers' League. To assimilate more into English society, the family changed their name from Comacho to Colmore, and later to Comer. Comer grew up in a Jewish
ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...
street in Fieldgate Mansions,
Whitechapel Whitechapel () 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. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...
, along the west side of Myrdle Street, across from the Irish in terraced houses along the east side. At the age of seven, Comer 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. Proving his abilities as a street fighter, Comer soon joined Alfred Solomon's gang,
The Yiddishers The Yiddishers were a London street gang based in Whitechapel led by Alfred Solomon. One of their more famous members was future mobster Jack Spot during the inter-war years. During the 1930s, they opposed the growing fascist movement in Great Bri ...
, and saw a route out of poverty. As was customary in gangs, Comer got a nickname: he was called "Spot", either because he was always "on the spot" when there was trouble, or because of a
mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...
on his left cheek. In pre-Second World War Britain, antisemitism and fascism was a feature of everyday lives for Jews. Comer gained a reputation amongst Jews as a someone to call on for protection. He often found himself in violent encounters with antisemites, sometimes being paid but at other times getting involved out of principle. He was involved in the
Battle of Cable Street The Battle of Cable Street was a series of clashes that took place at several locations in the East End of London, most notably Cable Street, on Sunday 4 October 1936. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, sent to protect a march ...
and other attacks on
Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980), was a British aristocrat and politician who rose to fame during the 1920s and 1930s when he, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, turned to fascism. ...
's
Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security (, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-vo ...
. His only prison sentence in his career came in 1937 as a result of causing grieveous bodily harm to a Blackshirt. Jack served six months. In the post-war era, Comer is said to have been involved in funding the
43 Group The 43 Group was a British 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 Ex ...
, a group of Jewish ex-servicemen and women who took direct action to violently oppose and disrupt the actions of the fascist
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 ...
and other
far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
and extreme-right groups.


Rise to the top

Rapidly becoming a powerful force in the East End, and having built a reputation running "muscle" in Leeds, Birmingham and other northern nightclubs, Comer and his gang began to violently take control of racecourses across Britain. After wresting the courses from many other gangs across the country, the money from racecourses abruptly ceased as they closed with the outbreak of war. A wartime effort to crack down on illegal gambling clubs led to Jack and several companions being rounded up and then conscripted into the army. Jack did not fit the life of army discipline. His discharge was formally for 'mental instability,' but in fact he had beaten an antisemitic superior officer, and continued to make himself a nuisance until he was released. Comer returned to London to expand his control. Spreading his influence outside of the East End into the West End, Comer made huge profits from running drinking clubs and gaming rooms, as well as taking "
protection Protection is any measure taken to guard something against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although ...
" money from businesses across the capital. Although his rise to the top was violent, Comer's real skill was bringing together criminals of different capabilities for "jobs". Muscle, burglars, safe crackers, forgers, fences, hijackers and thieves were brought together to suit the job at hand. On top of this, there were MPs and police on his payroll and, at his strongest, up to a thousand men on call to face any threat to his empire. It was organised crime in a way that had not been seen in London before. Under Comer's leadership criminals such as Billy Hill, the
Kray twins Ronald Kray (24 October 193320 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were English gangsters or organised crime figures and identical twin brothers from Haggerston who were prominent from the late 1950s until their arres ...
and Freddie Forman were able to rise in London's underworld.


Decline and later years

From the mid-1950s, after over a decade at the top of London's underworld, Comer's control of the East and West End was challenged. Billy Hill was a talented and smart thief who had written to Comer asking to work for him whilst Hill was serving time. Comer took a shine to Hill and on his release from prison Hill was picked up, taken to
Savile Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...
for a suit and then on to meet Comer. Recognising Hill's talent for crime, Comer took him under his wing and gave Hill a few spielers (gambling clubs) to run. Eventually, when Hill had amassed enough money and clout he made his move against his mentor. Trouble with the law and a systematic attack on his sources of income by Hill and others led to Comer being squeezed out. In 1954, after ''
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'' crime journalist Duncan Webb published derogatory articles about him at the behest of Billy Hill, Comer attacked Webb. He was accused of possession of a knuckle-duster, convicted of grievous bodily harm, and fined £50. Although a small fine for Comer, the court case took over a lot of his time. 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 ...
, who had refused to pay protection money. Comer was cleared of a charge of stabbing; he said it was because of "the greatest lawyer in history", his barrister
Rose Heilbron Dame Rose Heilbron, DBE (19 August 1914 – 8 December 2005) was a British barrister who served later 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 ...
. In 1956, Comer and his wife were ambushed and viciously attacked by a group of eight men armed with clubs and knives about 100 yards outside their Paddington flat. Two of the attackers, "Mad" Frankie Fraser and Bobby Warren, were each sentenced to seven years in prison. Whilst Comer was recovering from his injuries, his enemies " grassed him up" to the police for attacking and cutting a petty criminal, Tommy Falco. In all probability the wound had been inflicted by Falco himself or others to frame Comer. While Comer was imprisoned awaiting trial, Billy Hill was able to take over Comers' West End interests, and Comer decided to retire from organised crime. During the next few decades, the former "King of the Underworld" was often seen at boxing matches, and undertook various jobs over the years, including being an antique furniture dealer. He died in
Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It lies immediately east of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's original area of ...
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, written by Will Gilbey, Rumley and Terry Stone, and starring Leo Gregory, Terry Stone, Holly Earl, Dominic Keating, Geoff Bell and Jamie Foreman. T ...
''. Comer is mentioned in the 1985 song "Ghosts of Cable Street" by
The Men They Couldn't Hang The Men They Couldn't Hang (TMTCH) are a British folk punk group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush (vocals, guitar), Paul Simmonds (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, keyboards), Philip "Swill" Odgers (vocals, guitar, tin whistle, melodic ...
, where he is referred to as "Jack Spot". Comer is an important secondary character in the 2024 novel ''
The Great When ''The Great When'' is the first of five intended fantasy novels in ''The Long London Quintet'' series by English author Alan Moore. Background Author Alan Moore resolved that ''The Long London Quintet'' series would investigate the five closin ...
'' by
Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...
, mostly as "Jack Spot".


References


Further reading

*Morton, James. ''Gangland Bosses: The Lives of Jack Spot and Billy Hill''. London, 2004. *Clarkson, Wensley. ''Hit 'Em Hard Jack Spot, King of the Underworld''. HarperCollins Publishers {{DEFAULTSORT:Comer, Jack 1912 births 1996 deaths English gangsters English anti-fascists 20th-century English Jews English people of Polish-Jewish descent Organised crime in London Criminals from London People from Mile End Jewish anti-fascists