Ebook: The Great Train Robbery. The Myth of the Ulsterman

The true origins of the plot for the Great Train Robbery will never be know for sure, there are too many twists and turns that its difficult to see what is fact and what is legend.

The popular legend has it that a bent solicitors clerk (Brian Field) contacted a couple of thieves he knew (Buster Edwards and Gordon Goody) to tell them he knew a man with knowledge of the railways and how large amounts of cash were moved around the country. They all met—Finsbury Park was at least one venue—and the man Brian introduced came to be known as The Ulsterman. But was the information The Ulsterman gave the robbers accurate, was some of it available elsewhere that they could have easily tapped into? Was some of the story or legend of The Ulsterman created to 'spice up' an old story when the robbers came out of prison. Was The Ulsterman simply a myth?

This is the third in a series of short pieces (about a quarter book length) looking at the Great Train Robbery, and it...