Who was George Cornell?
GEORGE CORNWELL is known to be Ronnie Kray's first victim following a gangster life with different clans.
Get to know more about the life of George Cornwell and how it came to an end.
Who was George Cornell?
George Cornell was born in St George In The East on November 13, 1927, to Mary Ann Garrett and Joseph Cornell.
As of 12 years old, Cornell worked as a Billingsgate fish porter at the nearby docks where he became friends with Lennie Hamilton and Billy Frost.
He also spent some time doing National Service with the Kray Twins' cousin, Billy Wiltshire.
His first conviction was on in 1944 when he stole chickens and then he was imprisoned for three years a year later for garage-breaking and stealing.
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He had several convictions for assault and stealing throughout his years, and later on, joined gangs too.
His first one was The Watney Streeters before he got himself involved with the Kray twins.
What happened to George Cornell?
George Cornell was known to be Ronnie Kray's first victim.
On March 9, 1966, he and his friend Albie Woods walked into The Blind Beggar pub and ordered some light ales while sitting on stools by the bar.
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At around 8.30pm, the men were approached by Ronnie Kray and his associate Ian Barrie.
Barrie fired two shots into the ceiling to warn the barmaid and the people in the pub and that is when Kray walked towards Cornell and took out a 9mm Luger.
He shot him and ran away, however, there were witnesses to prove that Ronnie was the one who killed him.
Cornell was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died at around 3.30am.
No one agreed to testify against Ronnie Kray and so he was released from custody by the police as they had no solid proof that he was the one who killed Cornell.
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What gang was George Cornell in?
His last gang he formed part of was The Richardsons and together with "Mad" Frankie Fraser, he became an enforcer.
They often used to carry out meetings in The Grave Maurice pub and had many talks with the Krays.