himself the nickname of The Mad Axeman. However, since he had been at Dartmoor, he had not become involved in any incidents of violence, and in line with prison policy at the time, in May 1965 he was allowed to be employed on an outside working party. As the Home Secretary, Roy Jenkins, explained to the House of Commons on 13 December 1966, the day after Mitchell’s escape, “The object of outside working parties is to test the trustworthiness and develop the responsibility of a prisoner in conditions of less than maximum supervision when his eventual return to the community is contemplated.” The prison authorities believed that Mitchell had matured and they didn’t anticipate that he would abuse the trust that was being shown.
Frankie Mitchell wanted to go home for Christmas. He made that clear when he was visited by friends of the Kray brothers in the spring of 1966; he repeated it after his escape when he was still effectively being held prisoner, this time by the Krays. If anything was the overriding motive for his escape, it was that. The former Governor of Dartmoor Prison had recommended that a date be set for his release, but the government refused to do so, and for someone of his restricted mental abilities, it must have seemed as if he was going to be stuck in prison for the rest of his life, exactly as the judge had apparently ordered.
Mitchell’s working party often consisted of himself and another prisoner, and they would be left to their own devices on the moor. From all accounts, the prison officers were wary of Mitchell, and as long as he came back to the prison, he was often left to his own devices. During the autumn of 1966, he was able to visit local public houses in Peter Tavey, half a dozen miles from the prison, and even go into local towns to buy budgerigars, which he had taken an interest in breeding during his time in Dartmoor. That gave ample opportunity for him to be given clear instructions.
The Krays, who at that time controlled much of the villainy in the East End of London, had got to know Mitchell when they were all locked up in Wandsworth jail, and they kept in touch with him when he was moved to Dartmoor. Around Easter 1966, two of their henchmen, “Fat Wally” Garelick and Patrick Connelly visited Mitchell, giving false names, along with a girl (known as Miss A in the court proceedings). The discussion turned to the Krays, and Mitchell made it clear he didn’t want to still be in Dartmoor at the end of the year. “You won’t be here for Christmas,” he was told, and, according to the evidence Miss A gave at the trial of the Kray brothers and their accomplices, the two men told her that “they” were going to get Mitchell out.
In June, Garelick returned to the prison, and when Mitchell asked about the timetable for his escape, he was told to be alert, as it would have to be arranged at short notice. Garelick, Connelly, Miss A and another girl also spent some time reconnoitring the area around the prison during this trip. The plan was then presented to Ronnie and Reggie Kray in London for their approval.
The third visit at the start of December saw an increasingly anxious Mitchell insistent that he wanted to go home. Garelick reassured him that he would be, and told him that he would need to “run further” now than they had originally told him. The day before the escape, Garelick and Connelly made a final trip to Dartmoor, a couple of days after hiring a car.
The weather wasn’t good on 12 December; it wasn’t sufficiently bad to prevent the working party from going out to work on a fence on the firing range at Bagga Tor, but it did mean that for the majority of the day, the prisoners stayed in the base hut. In the afternoon, Mitchell asked if he could take some bread to feed the horses, something that he had done regularly near the point where the prisoners were dropped off and picked up. Usually he would be waiting there for them when the rest of the prisoners arrived.
Frankie Mitchell wanted to go home for Christmas. He made that clear when he was visited by friends of the Kray brothers in the spring of 1966; he repeated it after his escape when he was still effectively being held prisoner, this time by the Krays. If anything was the overriding motive for his escape, it was that. The former Governor of Dartmoor Prison had recommended that a date be set for his release, but the government refused to do so, and for someone of his restricted mental abilities, it must have seemed as if he was going to be stuck in prison for the rest of his life, exactly as the judge had apparently ordered.
Mitchell’s working party often consisted of himself and another prisoner, and they would be left to their own devices on the moor. From all accounts, the prison officers were wary of Mitchell, and as long as he came back to the prison, he was often left to his own devices. During the autumn of 1966, he was able to visit local public houses in Peter Tavey, half a dozen miles from the prison, and even go into local towns to buy budgerigars, which he had taken an interest in breeding during his time in Dartmoor. That gave ample opportunity for him to be given clear instructions.
The Krays, who at that time controlled much of the villainy in the East End of London, had got to know Mitchell when they were all locked up in Wandsworth jail, and they kept in touch with him when he was moved to Dartmoor. Around Easter 1966, two of their henchmen, “Fat Wally” Garelick and Patrick Connelly visited Mitchell, giving false names, along with a girl (known as Miss A in the court proceedings). The discussion turned to the Krays, and Mitchell made it clear he didn’t want to still be in Dartmoor at the end of the year. “You won’t be here for Christmas,” he was told, and, according to the evidence Miss A gave at the trial of the Kray brothers and their accomplices, the two men told her that “they” were going to get Mitchell out.
In June, Garelick returned to the prison, and when Mitchell asked about the timetable for his escape, he was told to be alert, as it would have to be arranged at short notice. Garelick, Connelly, Miss A and another girl also spent some time reconnoitring the area around the prison during this trip. The plan was then presented to Ronnie and Reggie Kray in London for their approval.
The third visit at the start of December saw an increasingly anxious Mitchell insistent that he wanted to go home. Garelick reassured him that he would be, and told him that he would need to “run further” now than they had originally told him. The day before the escape, Garelick and Connelly made a final trip to Dartmoor, a couple of days after hiring a car.
The weather wasn’t good on 12 December; it wasn’t sufficiently bad to prevent the working party from going out to work on a fence on the firing range at Bagga Tor, but it did mean that for the majority of the day, the prisoners stayed in the base hut. In the afternoon, Mitchell asked if he could take some bread to feed the horses, something that he had done regularly near the point where the prisoners were dropped off and picked up. Usually he would be waiting there for them when the rest of the prisoners arrived.
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