Birmingham Boys
The Birmingham Boys were a street gang whose power extended from the North of England to London's underworld between the 1910s and 1930s. They lost control of the South East racecourses to the Sabini gang. In modern times they gained recognition due to the TV series Peaky Blinders.
History
Origin
Following the Gaming Act 1845, the only gambling allowed in England was at race tracks. The introduction of special excursion trains meant that all classes of society could now attend the new racecourses opening across the country. Cash was concentrated in the hands of bookmakers, who employed bodyguards against protection gangs operating within the vast crowds.William "Billy" Kimber, born 1882 in Summer Lane, Aston in Birmingham, a brass caster by trade, was head of the Birmingham Boys. With gangs in Uttoxeter and Leeds he controlled racecourses in the Midlands and the North. For several years Kimber was probably the biggest organised crime boss in the UK. He set up a secondary base in Islington, North London to concentrate on the racetracks in the South of England, teaming up with London gang boss Charles 'Wag' McDonald.
Kimber formed alliances with smaller organisations such as the Hoxton Gang and the Elephant and Castle Mob. Now at racecourses in the South East, one group the Brummies began to prey on were the Jewish bookies from London's East End, who turned to local underworld boss Edward Emmanuel, who in turn recruited the Italian Sabini Gang as protection.
In March 1921, the Brummagems ambushed Sabini at Greenford Park Trotting Track. A few days later, Kimber was found shot and beaten in Kings Cross, London, having gone to visit Sabini but survived. The violence escalated, but Sabini gained the upper hand when 23 Birmingham boys were locked up following the "Epsom Road Battle". In October 1940, Kimber was the president of the Devon and Cornwall Bookmakers’ Association. William Kimber died 63, in 1945, after a prolonged illness, at the Mount Stuart Nursing Home, Torquay.