Ronnie Hart

Ronnie Hart
Also known as	Young Ronnie
Born	1942, Bethnal Green, London
Occupation	Solider, dock labourer
Allegiance	The Firm
Origin	Bethnal Green
Status	Deceased

Ronald Joseph Hart was a distant cousin of the twins and was a key member of The Firm towards the late 1960s despite being the youngest member. He turned Queen's Evidence at the Kray trial when the twins attempted to get him to stand for Jack McVitie's murder.

History

Early life

Hart was born in Bethnal Green in 1942 to Thomas Joseph Hart and Mary Ann Burling (who married in Stepney in 1927). During the early 1960s Hart and been attempting to join The Firm. After being released from prison, he contacted the twins for financial reasons and guidance. Reggie in a later book recalled that Hart

"came knocking on the door at Vallance Road one day and said, ‘Hello, I’m your cousin. I want to join your gang.’ We’d never met him before but our checks showed he seemed to be reliable – another mistake – and so we took him on. He was our cousin but he had the habit of calling us both ‘uncle’."

It has never been explained in what way Ronnie Hart was actually related to the twins but is commonly referred to as their cousin.

The Krays

Allegedly "a young man with boyish good looks who admired the twins’ way of life", Hart joined the firm towards the latter years of its lifespan, and it is presumed the twins accepted him more likely due to the family relation.

Ronnie Hart (left) with Billy Frost (centre) and Lenny Hamilton (right) during the 1960s.

The Murder of Jack McVitie

It was alleged that on the night Jack McVitie was murdered at 97 Evering Road, he was held in a bearhug by the twins' cousin, Ronnie Hart, and Reggie Kray was handed a carving knife. According to Ronnie Hart (the Kray's cousin), Reggie stabbed his stomach and his chest and finished by impaling him through the throat on to the floor. Reggie claims it was Hart who did the stabbing.

A rare picture of Ronnie Hart

Hart was then asked by the twins to take stand for the McVitie case. Ronnie Hart had initially not been arrested, and he was not initially sought after by the police. By late August 1968, Ronnie Hart was the only person involved in the McVitie murder who had not been caught. Hart knew that the police were searching for him and at 4.30 a.m. on 31st August, he called Tintagel House and handed himself in. After being asked by the twins to stand for Jack McVitie's murder, Hart then told Nipper Read everything that had happened, although he was not aware of what happened to the body. This statement then allowed the police to establish the key events that lead up to the murder and subsequently allowed them a strong position to prosecute the twins.

Hart pictured centre, with a woman, 1960s.

It is known that Harry Hopwood and Ronnie Hart disposed of the gun and the knife in the Regent's Canal. The gun has since been found and is in a museum. A failed attempt was also made to locate the carving knife from the river bed but nothing was found. He turned Queen’s Evidence in court and produced the longest account of the McVitie affair. His statement was written on the 16th October 1968. He received a three-year prison sentence for a garage hold up.

Later life

Hart allegedly attempted suicide but then emigrated to Perth, Australia to escape possible vengeance attacks by Kray sympathisers and was put on police protection. It is possible he is still alive but no information has ever been released (he possibly passed away from cancer in the early 2000s). He allegedly passed away from cancer in the 2000s. He was portrayed by Chris Mason in Legend (2015).

Tom Hardy portraying Reggie Kray, and Chris Mason portraying Ronnie Hart in Legend, 2015.

References

• Bennett, John. Krayology (2015). Mango Books.