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|also_known_as=Aunt Rose |
|also_known_as=Aunt Rose |
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|born=c. 1907, Bethnal Green, East London |
|born=c. 1907, Bethnal Green, East London |
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| − | |died=25 December 1955 (aged 48)<br> |
+ | |died=25 December 1955 (aged 48)<br>Bethnal Green, East London |
|spouse=William Wiltshire (m. 1927) |
|spouse=William Wiltshire (m. 1927) |
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|children=Billy Wiltshire (b. 1927) |
|children=Billy Wiltshire (b. 1927) |
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|parents=[[Jimmy Lee]], [[Mary Lee]] |
|parents=[[Jimmy Lee]], [[Mary Lee]] |
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| − | |siblings=[[John Lee]], [[Joe Lee]]<br> |
+ | |siblings=[[John Lee]], [[Joe Lee]]<br>[[Violet Kray|Violet Lee]], [[May Lee]] |
|status=Deceased}} |
|status=Deceased}} |
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'''Rose Wiltshire '''(formerly '''Lee''') was the sister to [[Violet Kray]] and the maternal auntie to the Kray twins. |
'''Rose Wiltshire '''(formerly '''Lee''') was the sister to [[Violet Kray]] and the maternal auntie to the Kray twins. |
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[[File:IMG_6066.jpg|thumb|A young Aunt Rose.]] |
[[File:IMG_6066.jpg|thumb|A young Aunt Rose.]] |
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==Death== |
==Death== |
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| + | [[Jimmy Lee]] |
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| − | {{Quote|The doctors warned us that the end would come with a haemorrhage and that it wouldn’t be nice to see. Her feet swelled up and the rest of her went thin as a rake. Then on Christmas Eve the bleeding started.|[[Violet Kray]] in ''The Profession of Violence'' by John Pearson, 1972}} |
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It had been known by the family for two years that Aunt Rose was ill with leukaemia and she passed away on Christmas Day 1957. The news of her death was reportedly kept from Ronnie but whilst in a psychiatric unit himself, he was put in a straight jacket after reacting to the new badly. |
It had been known by the family for two years that Aunt Rose was ill with leukaemia and she passed away on Christmas Day 1957. The news of her death was reportedly kept from Ronnie but whilst in a psychiatric unit himself, he was put in a straight jacket after reacting to the new badly. |
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She was portrayed by actress Susan Fleetwood in [[The Krays (film)]] in 1990. |
She was portrayed by actress Susan Fleetwood in [[The Krays (film)]] in 1990. |
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| + | [[Jimmy Lee]] |
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| − | {{People}} |
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[[Category:The Lee Family]] |
[[Category:The Lee Family]] |
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[[Category:Civilians]] |
[[Category:Civilians]] |
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Revision as of 20:20, 31 January 2018
Rose Wiltshire (formerly Lee) was the sister to Violet Kray and the maternal auntie to the Kray twins.
Her death from leukaemia had a profound effect on Ronnie Kray (who was very close to his aunt) and states his mental illness was triggered by her death in 1955, when he was twenty-two years old.
History
Rose was born in 1907, and was the first daughter to Jimmy Lee (1877-1971) and Mary Lee (b. 1867). Shortly followed by Violet two years later, May in 1911 and finally John in 1914.
In 1927, Rose Lee married William Wiltshire in Shoreditch and shortly gave birth to a son named William, where they stayed with Jimmy and Mary, the twins maternal grandparents on London Street. Aunt Rose was known for her aggressive attitude and was often caught up in fights around the local area. She often stuck up for the twins if they were involved in fights or criminal activity. Aunt Rose was the twins favourite. When Ronnie was teased in school about his eyebrows being too close together, she told him that it was a sign that he was 'born to be hanged'.
During the 1960s, Violet's sisters Rose and May lived either side of her in Vallance Road, her brother Jimmy slept downstairs in the living room, while Grandad Jimmy 'Cannonball' Lee, Grandma Lee and their son John and his wife lived across the road in their cafe. Aunt Rose was living with her husband and son next door to her parents in a flat at 45 Dunbridge Street (as London Street had been recently renamed).
A young Aunt Rose.
Death
Jimmy Lee It had been known by the family for two years that Aunt Rose was ill with leukaemia and she passed away on Christmas Day 1957. The news of her death was reportedly kept from Ronnie but whilst in a psychiatric unit himself, he was put in a straight jacket after reacting to the new badly.
She was portrayed by actress Susan Fleetwood in The Krays (film) in 1990.