The story of the Forty Elephant gang
The gang first appeared in the London crime scene in 1873. More than just a ragtag bunch of women, the Forty Elephant gang was organized like a corporation with every individual having well-defined roles, responsibilities, and benefits corresponding to her experience and expertise.
The whole organization was controlled by a leader, often referred to as the ‘Queen.’ Their main activity was shoplifting preferably at those fancy stores in London’s West End.
Their first leader was Mary ‘Polly’ Carr who firmly established the notoriety of the gang in London’s West End region. But it was under her charismatic successor Alice Diamond, the gang reached its zenith, expanding its operations across the country and entering into new businesses of blackmailing and extortion. Alice ruled with military precision and was known for her fearsome fistfights arising out of her diamond-encrusted fistful of rings.
Perhaps the one differentiating factor that led to the success of the Forty Elephant gang over other gangs was the stupendous planning, the gang used to invest in before any robbery. They operated in pairs inside the shop and outside the shop, they would have reinforcements readily available in case they are chased.
They also had a battery of lawyers to assist them out of ‘sticky’ situations. And for selling of goods of all kinds, they had an established network of receivers and resellers under commission basis.
Inside the shop, each woman wore specifically created outfits with hidden pockets for pilfering goods easily without suspicion. Their clothes were designed with capacious pockets cunningly sewn into the layers beneath to hold almost any type of valuable item. In fact, the Forty Elephants gang was so well organized that in some cases, they even designed special clothes for specific shops they wanted to rob.
As a detective tells about Alice and her gang in his records.
“They will descend like a gang of locusts in taxis and chauffeur-driven limousines, cleaning out a store inside one hour without giving any breathing space what so ever.”
Newspapers described them as ‘good looking, well-dressed women having a fine stature’ as they traveled across the country, stealing the finest silks, gems, and furs, and spending their ill-gotten gains in throwing lavish parties and to fund their extravagant lifestyles.
Besides shoplifting, they also forged recommendation letters to work for wealthy families and then rob them when they had gained their trust. Their other business was seducing high-profile, wealthy men only to blackmail them and get hush money.
As Brian MacDonald writes about them in his book Gangs of London.
“London was in the firm grip of the ruthless girl gang which, between the 1870s and the 1950s, was responsible for the biggest shoplifting racket the country has ever seen. They also dabbled in many other crimes like blackmail and kidnapping, and they thought nothing of dishing out beatings or exacting revenge on enemies with knives and metal bars.”
Their peak was in the1910s and 20s when they started terrorizing shopping centers across the country. They also forced smaller gangs to pay tribute on what they had stolen and would punish criminals who did not obey their rules.
Detectives and police officials were helpless as they started using high-powered cars to outrun the police. They feared no one and their control over the London Underworld was absolute.
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