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Authors: Roy Archibald Hall
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who robbed her.
We were offered a deal. If we pleaded guilty, they would say that we had stolen less than we had. Also, John would be charged only with receiving stolen property. I was against doing any deal with the police. My mind was changed for me by my mother – she was their lever. If we agreed to the deal, she would not be charged. If we didn’t she would stand alongside us in the dock as an accessory. I had already caused her to be imprisoned once and it was not something I wished to repeat. I agreed to their terms. At Edinburgh Crown Court, I received three years and John, four. My mother walked free.
7
HALCYON DAYS
M y first sentence at Barlinie had been quite an ordeal. I was young and vulnerable and the place had terrified me. I had now done the rounds a bit and prison was just an occupational hazard. This term would be different from most, our faces had been all over the newspapers and we were described as ‘gentlemen thieves’. We had carried out what was at that time Scotland’s biggest ever jewel robbery. The cons all wanted to shake our hands and the warders were friendly. I had taken another step up the criminal ladder. Due to the publicity that the robbery and trial had attracted, we both expected to be transferred to Peterhead – Scotland’s most secure and toughest prison. In due time we were informed that this would indeed be the case. I was in the exercise yard one day, when the Chief Officer, along with the prison Chaplain, both came over to see me. They told mea vacancy had come up in the prison library. If I wanted the job it was mine, and it meant I could stay at Barlinie. When I had first done time in an English prison, John had looked after me. In Scottish prisons, the English are viewed with some suspicion. John knew no one north of the border, so now was the time for me to look after him. Like shit to a blanket, partners should stick together. But it was a quandary. The librarians’ jobs are much sought after – they give you freedom of movement and it is possible to get involved in all kind of scams. There’s no doubt that this was a golden opportunity for me to do the easiest time possible. I was given a few days to make up my mind. That evening in our cell John and I talked it through. He said I would be a fool to turn it down. He could cope with Peterhead, he would be alright. I agreed, but I had reservations. Those reservations proved to be unfounded, as within days of his arrival at his new prison he was given the librarian’s job as well. My mother rented a cottage at more or less equal distances from both prisons and visited us both regularly. It was a tough time for her.
For different reasons it was a tough time for Esther Henry who also visited me on numerous occasions. She wanted her jewels back and wanted to know whether I had sold them or still had them. I wasn’t saying anything. A visit gets you out of your cell. Visitors buy you coffee and give you cigarettes. On the inside you do what you have to do.
Even in prison Esther proved to be useful. As long as she thought there was a chance of recovering her precious jewels, she would play along with whatever I wanted. AsChristmas approached, the convicts’ concert was in preparation. A few prisoners had got a band together but were short of a drum kit. Esther had connections on the prison board of governors. The band got its drum kit, a decent one, on hire from one of Glasgow’s music stores.
The library job proved to be everything that I’d hoped it would be. Within weeks, I was involved in every possible fiddle. I got to know a young warder who was kind to me in many ways. As we got to know each other, he started to confide in me. His relations with his wife were not all that he wanted and he craved extra spice. Could I get him porn? He didn’t dare buy it on the outside for fear of discovery. We set up a trade. I would get him the porn if he would get me tobacco, which was in those days still the main prison
We were offered a deal. If we pleaded guilty, they would say that we had stolen less than we had. Also, John would be charged only with receiving stolen property. I was against doing any deal with the police. My mind was changed for me by my mother – she was their lever. If we agreed to the deal, she would not be charged. If we didn’t she would stand alongside us in the dock as an accessory. I had already caused her to be imprisoned once and it was not something I wished to repeat. I agreed to their terms. At Edinburgh Crown Court, I received three years and John, four. My mother walked free.
7
HALCYON DAYS
M y first sentence at Barlinie had been quite an ordeal. I was young and vulnerable and the place had terrified me. I had now done the rounds a bit and prison was just an occupational hazard. This term would be different from most, our faces had been all over the newspapers and we were described as ‘gentlemen thieves’. We had carried out what was at that time Scotland’s biggest ever jewel robbery. The cons all wanted to shake our hands and the warders were friendly. I had taken another step up the criminal ladder. Due to the publicity that the robbery and trial had attracted, we both expected to be transferred to Peterhead – Scotland’s most secure and toughest prison. In due time we were informed that this would indeed be the case. I was in the exercise yard one day, when the Chief Officer, along with the prison Chaplain, both came over to see me. They told mea vacancy had come up in the prison library. If I wanted the job it was mine, and it meant I could stay at Barlinie. When I had first done time in an English prison, John had looked after me. In Scottish prisons, the English are viewed with some suspicion. John knew no one north of the border, so now was the time for me to look after him. Like shit to a blanket, partners should stick together. But it was a quandary. The librarians’ jobs are much sought after – they give you freedom of movement and it is possible to get involved in all kind of scams. There’s no doubt that this was a golden opportunity for me to do the easiest time possible. I was given a few days to make up my mind. That evening in our cell John and I talked it through. He said I would be a fool to turn it down. He could cope with Peterhead, he would be alright. I agreed, but I had reservations. Those reservations proved to be unfounded, as within days of his arrival at his new prison he was given the librarian’s job as well. My mother rented a cottage at more or less equal distances from both prisons and visited us both regularly. It was a tough time for her.
For different reasons it was a tough time for Esther Henry who also visited me on numerous occasions. She wanted her jewels back and wanted to know whether I had sold them or still had them. I wasn’t saying anything. A visit gets you out of your cell. Visitors buy you coffee and give you cigarettes. On the inside you do what you have to do.
Even in prison Esther proved to be useful. As long as she thought there was a chance of recovering her precious jewels, she would play along with whatever I wanted. AsChristmas approached, the convicts’ concert was in preparation. A few prisoners had got a band together but were short of a drum kit. Esther had connections on the prison board of governors. The band got its drum kit, a decent one, on hire from one of Glasgow’s music stores.
The library job proved to be everything that I’d hoped it would be. Within weeks, I was involved in every possible fiddle. I got to know a young warder who was kind to me in many ways. As we got to know each other, he started to confide in me. His relations with his wife were not all that he wanted and he craved extra spice. Could I get him porn? He didn’t dare buy it on the outside for fear of discovery. We set up a trade. I would get him the porn if he would get me tobacco, which was in those days still the main prison
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