NEW: In 1933, two self-styled American gangsters attempted one of Britain's first armed bank robberies, in Newcastle upon Tyne, with disastrous results.
Read and listen to the full story @Narratively: narratively.com/the-bank-robbers-who-couldnt-shoot-straight-or-do-anything-right-really/
@Narratively Meet Joe and Tommy Duffy. Born in Scotland, they crossed the pond to become American Gangsters. They ran with Al Capone and served time in America's toughest prisons. Then they brought the bullet-spraying armed bank robbery to sleepy old gun-free England: narratively.com/the-bank-robbers-who-couldnt-shoot-straight-or-do-anything-right-really/
Joe and Tommy's older brother Jimmy Duffy immigrated to Canada in 1911 and became a famous athlete. Jimmy won the Boston Marathon in 1914 and was killed in action at Ypres in 1915. Newspapers called him "Canada's greatest runner". 1/5
@Narratively The American gangsters targeted the Cattle Market branch of Lloyds Bank in Newcastle upon Tyne. At the time, the market was filled with butchers carrying meat cleavers... The bank, near Newcastle's Centre for Life, is now a bar. Read more at @Narratively: narratively.com/the-bank-robbers-who-couldnt-shoot-straight-or-do-anything-right-really/
Jimmy Duffy was born in Ireland and raised in Scotland. In Canada, he worked for a sports outfitter and ran for athletic clubs in Toronto and Hamilton. The "crack runner" was chosen to represent Canada at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics and finished 5th in the Olympic marathon. 2/5
After the Olympics, Jimmy Duffy won seven consecutive marathons, including the Yonkers Marathon (New York) in 1913 and the Boston Marathon ("the most exciting race ever held") in 1914. After crossing the finish line in Boston, Duffy requested a cigarette and a beer. 3/5
At the outbreak of WWI, four months after he won the Boston Marathon, Jimmy Duffy joined the 91st Canadian Highlanders. He was among the first Canadian contingent to reach the front line. He was killed in action at Ypres on 23 April 1915, a week before his 25th birthday. 4/5
When Tommy Duffy emigrated in 1923, he first went to Canada to request Jimmy’s vacant job in Toronto. Eight years after Jimmy’s death, the vacancy had been filled. A penniless Tommy crossed the border—illegally—into Detroit. What happened next? Read here: narratively.com/the-bank-robbers-who-couldnt-shoot-straight-or-do-anything-right-really/
Paul Brown
@paulbrownUK
Writes about stuff: history, football, true crime, rocketbelts. New book: The Tyne Bridge: tynebridgebook.com Newsletter: singulardiscoveries.com