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Who were the real flesh and blood beneath the iconic peaked caps of BBC's hit show The Peaky Blinders? Guns, deceit, violence and debauchery litter the seasons of a TV show which is hotly tipped to carry home more awards than each season coming before, but was such violence myth or reality?
We take a look at the real Birmingham Gang, the real Peaky Blinders, and see if the Shelby family live up to their reputation as the fearless usurpers of 19th century Birmingham, or whether they were merely a bunch of petty criminals.
Why Birmingham?
From the 1870s onwards, inner-city Birmingham was sinking into slumps of extreme poverty and was rife with overcrowded slums. Crime spread like a rash through the streets, beckoning to those who sought it.
The beginning
Gang violence erupted from youths wanting to claim ownership of certain areas such as Small Heath and Cheapside. Full on postcode wars broke out. Often these fights would result in serious injury and sometimes death. One of the most ruthless gangs were known as the Sloggers, led by John Adrian, in 1870. They were known for their weapon of choice: a heavy buckled belt used to pummel male and female victims so that they could mug them. Soon, a rival gang to the Sloggers emerged: The Peaky Blinders.
What's in a name?
The name 'Peaky Blinders' is said to be derived from the gang stitching razor blades into the peak of their flat caps so that they could use them as weapons. In the series, the gang often use their caps to swipe at their opponents’ faces – cutting off an ear or a nose here and there. Legend has it they would also blind their opponents by head-butting them with their cap on.
Mythologised reality
In reality however, historian Professor Carl Chinn told the Birmingham Mail that this is a rather unrealistic scenario. He offers the explanation that ‘peakys’ was a common nickname for popular flat caps with peaks. Plus, razor blades had only just started circulating and were still a luxury item, and therefore most likely too expensive for the gang to afford. 'And any hard man would tell you it would be very difficult to get direction and power with a razor blade sewn into the soft part of a cap. It was a romantic notion brought about in John Douglas’s novel, A Walk Down Summer Lane', says Chinn.
Killer style?
The Peaky Blinders were a stylish bunch of chaps. They used their image to add a touch of class to their brutish ways, and to set them apart from other gangs, such as the Birmingham Boys. The way they dressed themselves was purposefully distinctive: peaked caps tilted slightly to one side, cravats, bell-bottom trousers, jackets with brass buttons down the front and steel-capped boots. They even wore silk scarves tied around their necks.
And the girlfriends too
Philip Gooderson, author of The Gangs of Birmingham, wrote that girlfriends of gang members also had a distinctive style: ‘lavish display of pearls, the well-developed fringe obscuring the whole of the forehead and descending nearly to the eyes, and the characteristic gaudy-coloured silk handkerchief covering her throat.’ Gooderson also wrote about how members were allegedly often violent towards girlfriends, one of whom commented: ‘He'll pinch and punch you every time he walks out with you. And if you speak to another chap, he don’t mind kicking you.’
Who were they?
Harry Fowler, Ernest Bayles, Stephen McHickie and Thomas Gilbert. The funny thing is, these ‘notorious gang members’ were actually baby-faced kids. Look at their mug shots and you almost want to coo at each one of them.
Just a bunch of petty criminals?
Their crimes were nothing to write home about, only little scratches to their criminal records. For example, Fowler and Bayles were charged with bike theft, and McHickie was charged with breaking into a draper’s shop which was but a mere 11 doors down from his own home – hardly breaking a sweat.
Other crimes from the gang as a collective revolved around illegal betting, protection rackets and Birmingham’s black market. Court reports from the time refer to the gang members as ‘foul mouthed young men who stalk the streets in drunken groups, insulting and mugging passers-by.’
Are they the only Peaky Blinders?
It’s debated that the term 'Peaky Blinders' was in fact a generic term for the violent subcultures in Birmingham in the 20th century. Historian Eric Mooman states that all youth-street gangs in Birmingham were known as ‘Peaky Blinders’ or ‘Sloggers,' suggesting the term originated for one gang but then later became generic.
The decline
As families began to move out of the city centre in the early 20th century, the rule of the gangs started to decline. As areas such as Small Heath grew, so did the physical distance between the rivals. While conducting his research, Carl Chinn found many of the gang members' families knew very little of their ancestors' pasts. It was something that was never discussed.
'A lot of gang members didn’t talk about it when they got older, they were often ashamed of what they’d done when they were younger,' explains Chinn. The Peaky Blinders are now engraved into Birmingham folklore, thanks to the BBC show, which is now back for a fourth season.
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