In addition to this, Reggie revealed in the 2001 documentary, Reggie Kray: The Final Word, that there was one other murder the twins did that had not ever been revealed, with many believing this was Teddy Smith.Īnother photo of Teddy Smith in later life. The disagreement was that he and Ronnie fought fiercely over a boy whilst on holiday with some other young men, and that Smith was strangled by Ronnie in a lovers' quarrel in 1967 before being buried in marshland in Essex. Some say (including Nipper Read) he was murdered at the request/at the hands of the twins, after having a disagreement. After several years and failing health he bought a one way ticket back to England and was put up by a friend in Luton. He then moved to a place in Barnet North London before migrating to Australia and living with his elderly mother in a suburb of Sydney. Initially he moved back to Islington (where he was born) and lived above a pub. He had disappeared in the late 1960s, just prior to the arrest of the twins. He soon became disillusioned with the twins following the disappearance of Frank Mitchell and vanished from the scene.
The twins and Smith were later acquitted, seen in the photo above leaving the Old Bailey. As they walked free from the court, Boothby had penned a letter of congratulations to Ronnie and Teddy Smith. His fellow peers were appalled at Boothby's intervention, as were the police.Īn alleged passport photo of Smith once he had emigrated to Sydney, Australia. Lord Boothby campaigned for his friends in the House of Lords, demanding to know how long they would be detained before the trial. Smith and the Kray were arrested by Nipper Read's police squad on protection racket charges after Smith had smashed up a West End club the twins were trying to muscle in on. He also had a relationship with Tom Driberg, a Labour MP, who provided him with the addresses of rich friends to burgle in exchange for sexual favours from Smith. Winifred Atwell can be seen in the centre. Teddy Smith (furthest right) next to Ronnie Kray. According to Pearson, he was ‘one of the few people Ronnie trusted who was also capable of handling him’. Ronnie was very fond of Teddy and vice-versa. He and Ronnie fought quite frequently, verbally, never physically and their rows never lasted long. Smith was in a relationship with Ronnie during the 1960s but it is not known for how long. Relationship with Ronnie Kray Main article: The Boothby Affair Mad Teddy Smith with Ronnie Kray (left) and Reggie Kray after being acquitted at the Old Bailey on the 5th April 1965, for demanding money with menace. He was thrown out of the club, and later arrested with the Twins in association with the McCowan affair, but the trio were all acquitted in April 1965. In Micky Fawcett’s Krayzy Days, there is an instance described where Teddy was seen at The Hideaway, being a nuisance and too drunk. He also helped write letters to national newspapers regarding Mitchell's release date. He was involved with springing Frank Mitchell from Dartmoor, along with fellow firm member Albert Donoghue. Teddy was credited as 'Ted Smith' in the credits.
He carried around a little dog and a long cigarette holder and was also a playwright, and wrote a prison-based play for the BBC called The Top Bunk, in October 1967. He had been put inside Broadmoor Hospital in 1952 and had been certified insane. Reggie Kray can be seen third left, and Limehouse Willy (far right), Teddy Smith (centre, seated with cigarette) in a group photo during the 1960s. Known by many as "Mad" Teddy Smith, he was said to have been an intelligent man who could speak many languages. Smith was alleged to have been extremely violent and unpredictable when he had been drinking alcohol and had many homosexual affairs throughout the 1960s. By this time, he had amassed nine convictions for assault and theft. He was one of the youngest ever Broadmoor inmates, aged 20 when he was sectioned. When befriending the twins, he had only recently been released from prison after being sent down for fifteen months, for theft of a car. By the age of seventeen, Smith had nine criminal convictions, ranging from armed robbery, assaulting a police officer, and theft. Smith was born on 4th January 1932 in Islington.