Roy Shaw
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Royston Henry Shaw (11 March 1936 – 14 July 2012), also known as Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw, Roy "Mean Machine" Shaw and Roy West, was a property investor, author and businessman from the East End of London who was formerly a criminal and Category A prisoner. During the 1970s & 80s Shaw was active in the criminal underworld of South London and was close friends with Joe Pyle. Shaw is best remembered today for his career as a fighter on the unlicensed boxing scene, becoming an arch-rival of Lenny McLean.


Early life

Shaw was born in
Stepney, London Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...
, to a working-class family and from an early age was involved in illegal activities. He was acquainted with 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 ...
since at least the very early 1960s; Shaw attended the funeral of Reggie Kray in 2000, and was quoted as having said: "We grew up in the same era. They were into
protection racket A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from vio ...
s and I was into blags. I never got in their way and they never got in mine. Ronnie was more of a friend than Reggie, but I've come along today because he was one of the 'chaps'. Today is like the end of an era. The Krays were legends." As an adult Shaw mainly lived 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 ...
.


Prison sentences

Shaw was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment for an
armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...
in 1963, one of England's largest armoured truck robberies. Shaw reportedly fought his way out of two different holding cells at HM Prison Maidstone, assaulting several
prison guard A prison officer (PO) or corrections officer (CO), also known as a correctional law enforcement officer or less formally as a prison guard, is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation ...
s. Shaw, who claimed he "simply hates the system", and that the "system could never beat him", was moved between different prisons and spent time at
Broadmoor Hospital Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of England's three high-security psychiatric hospitals, the other two being Ashworth Hospital near Liverpool and Rampton Secure ...
. According to Shaw's autobiography, ''Pretty Boy'' (1999), "uncontrollable prisoners, were deliberately drugged up with the aim of turning them into permanent 'cabbages'". At Broadmoor, Shaw underwent experimental
electroconvulsive therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatry, psychiatric treatment that causes a generalized seizure by passing electrical current through the brain. ECT is often used as an intervention for mental disorders when other treatments are inadequ ...
in an attempt to control his temper. His doctor claimed that Shaw had at first come across as a large and intimidating yet soft-spoken gentleman, but when faced with treatment he didn't want, Shaw became "the most powerful and dangerous man I have ever tried to treat". The doctor reported the treatments as having been a complete failure, and only served to make Shaw even more aggressive and unpredictable. Shaw routinely stabbed police informers and even slashed the throat of a former best friend while incarcerated owing to his strong belief in a "code of honour" among criminals that must not be broken. During his time in Broadmoor, Shaw again encountered Ronnie Kray. He also spent time with such people as
Ronnie Biggs Ronald Arthur Biggs (8 August 1929 – 18 December 2013) was an English criminal who helped plan and carry out the Great Train Robbery of 1963. He subsequently became notorious for his escape from prison in 1965, living as a fugitive for 36 y ...
and
Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in ...
at other prisons. By 1974, Shaw had already spent around 18 years in more than 22 different prisons.


Unlicensed boxing career

In his autobiography Shaw claimed to have had ten fights in his twenties using the alias "Roy West". However, he had only one professional bout - a six round points win against Dennis Wingrove at Wembley Town Hall in November 1956. Roy soon gave up the idea of boxing for a living when he found out that he could earn more money by robbing cash vans. On his release from prison Shaw started fighting unlicensed (not sanctioned by the
British Boxing Board of Control The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...
) boxing matches in 1978, aged 42, and gained many infamous victories, including one over Donnie "The Bull" Adams. Shaw also beat former world heavyweight contender Ron Stander, who had also previously fought
Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. Nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He was known for ...
for the heavyweight title. Stander however broke a rib before the fight with Roy Shaw. Shaw would later say in his book that he kept hitting Stander with punches which had no effect on Stander – until he found his broken rib. In Shaw's words "if Stander had not broken his rib he would have mullered me." Shaw was best known for his infamous trilogy with arch-rival Lenny "The Guv'nor" McLean. Shaw beat McLean in their first fight, but lost in two other matches to McLean. Shaw claimed in his autobiography that they only fought twice, but later he admitted on his website that there were indeed three fights with McLean of which he lost two and won one. However, McLean was by far the bigger man and also much younger than Shaw. Shaw was well into his forties when he and McLean fought and was giving away stones in weight. Shaw stated on his website that the two unlicensed boxers he most admired were Cliff Field and Johnny Waldron, both of whom also defeated McLean.


Unlicensed boxing record

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 9 Wins (8 KOs), 2 Losses , - style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Res. , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Record , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - align=center , Win , 9–2 , align=left, Kevin Paddock , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 8–2 , align=left, Lou 'Wild Thing' Yates , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 7–2 , align=left, Harry Starbuck , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 6–2 , align=left, Lenny McLean , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Loss , 6–1 , align=left, Lenny McLean , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Ron Stander , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Lenny McLean , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Terry Hollingsworth , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Mickey Gluxted , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Paddy 'Mad Dog' Mullins , , , , align=left, , , - align=center , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Donny 'The Bull' Adams , , , , align=left, ,


In other media


Press

Shaw was something of a minor celebrity in the tabloids in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Shaw has also sometimes appeared in the press over the years, such as his attending of Ronnie Kray's funeral, or his 2009 court case (see 2009 court case section below).


DVD

Shaw was the subject of a 2006 documentary DVD entitled ''Roy Shaw: Brute Force''. It was directed by Liam Galvin and contained original footage of Shaw's unlicensed boxing matches, and also interviews with Shaw himself and other former criminal underworld figures and boxers he was associated with. It was followed up with a second DVD ''Roy Shaw's Fight School''. In 2010, he appeared in Galvin's movie '' Killer Bitch'' which featured a host of criminals.


Books

Shaw has been mentioned or discussed in numerous books, most notably in arch-rival Lenny McLean's 1998 autobiography ''The Guv'Nor''. and Hard Bastards by Kate Kray. Shaw co-wrote a book with Kate Kray, the widow of Ronnie Kray, entitled ''Roy Shaw: Unleashed'' (2003). The book is a collection of stories and anecdotes about the criminal underworld of London in the 1970s/1980s, as well as Shaw's boxing career. Shaw's autobiography, entitled ''Pretty Boy'' (2003), was also co-written by Kray. It goes into further detail Shaw's early life, personal and private life, time in prison, and also expanding on stories begun in his previous book. A book written by Jamie Boyle & Gary Shaw, Roy’s son, called ‘Mean Machine. Roy Shaw’ was published by Warcrypress in 2019. It features many stories of Roy that had never been published.


Music

Roy Shaw was celebrated in song in 2011 when a group called The Sharks released "The King Of London (aka The Ballad Of Pretty Boy Shaw)". The song was written by band member Alan Wilson who met and became friends with Roy Shaw via their mutual friend Ronnie Biggs.


Later life

Shaw was married and is survived by a son, daughter and grandchildren. He latterly lived in
Waltham Abbey Waltham Abbey is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the London metropolitan area, metropolitan and urban area of London, England, East London, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich ...
, Essex with two
Rottweilers The Rottweiler (, , ) is a breed of domestic dog, regarded as medium-to-large or large. The dogs were known in German as , meaning Rottweil butchers' dogs, because their main use was to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered mea ...
as pets. In 2000, Shaw was one of the best known mourners to attend the funeral of Reggie Kray, a lifelong friend. Shaw said of Kray: "Kray came from an era before
drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...
became common currency, when there was honour among thieves and few criminals double-crossed their friends. In those days there was loyalty. Nowadays they are all having each other over all the time." Having served all his prison sentences, Shaw stated that he was going straight and had retired from any criminal activity and bareknuckle boxing. Shaw became a businessman and author with numerous financial and non-financial ventures, such as a best-selling autobiography. He appeared in two documentary DVDs by Director Liam Galvin, 'Roy Shaw: Brute Force' and 'Roy Shaw-Fight School' and later made a cameo in the film '' Killer Bitch'', he also became involved in numerous internet ventures, and property investment. The land investments, something Shaw had been involved in since before his first prison sentence, were the ventures which eventually made Shaw a millionaire.


2009 land sale court case

Shaw formerly owned highly valued land in
Chadwell Heath Chadwell Heath is an area in East London, England. It is split between the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and the London Borough of Redbridge, around west of Romford and east of Ilford, and north-east of Charing Cross. History Topon ...
, east London, which he sold in a £2.6 million land sale in 2008. Shaw gave £643,000 of this to Linda Finnimore, 43, someone who Roy had met when he was battling early stages of Alzheimers and he believed she was helping him with his business affairs and that she was battling cancer, both of which turned out to be untrue. After Roy's family had discovered what had happened due to questions being raised by Roy's bank calling his daughter Chettina, who had his power of attorney, because there was further very large transfer sums of money being requested for transfer, they took her to court. Lindsay Finnimore made claims to being his girlfriend and in a bid to have access to his assets made claims to being his common law wife. Roy said that he believed she was very intelligent and helping him but didn't find her attractive or girlfriend material. High Court judge Sir John Lindsay said that Finnimore had been "untruthful" in her case evidence. Of Finnimore, the judge said: "She, for whom the word 'feisty' could have been minted, is more educated than he and far more intelligent. Unfortunately, her considerable skills have not always been applied to acceptable purposes." Mark Morris of Aardvark Forensics Ltd provided expert evidence to the Court and demonstrated how a number of forged documents had been created on a personal computer. Mr Justice Lindsay ultimately dismissed Miss Finnimore's claims against Shaw in March 2009 and ordered Finnimore to repay the money, together with sums of £208,450, £20,000 and £57,000, plus interest. Shaw was awarded nearly £1 million in total. Judge Lindsay said that when it was put to Shaw in court that he intended to transfer £643,000 to her, he replied: "Don't talk so silly – she took me for a right mug."


References

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External links


IMDB page

Roy Shaw Myspace Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Roy 1936 births Criminals from London English male boxers English bare-knuckle boxers English criminals People from Stepney Boxers from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets People from Waltham Abbey, Essex 2012 deaths People detained at Broadmoor Hospital 20th-century English sportsmen