Reading the Daily Mirror today, I have been reminded of a shameful incident I witnessed at Selhurst on my first ever visit to a football game on December 3rd 1966, to watch Palace play Pompey.
50 years ago, one of the most shameful acts of violence against the police of the 20th Century took place, when 3 unarmed officers were gunned down in cold blood on the streets of London, by a 3 man armed gang intent on robbery, led by a man called Harry Roberts. After the crime the public were asked to catch the culprits and I recall we were told to find their getaway car, the number was PGT 726. Two of them, Whitney and Duddy were picked up quickly but Roberts went on the run; he was eventually captured in Epping Forest living rough in November 1966.
Whitney and Duddy are now dead (one died in prison in 1981, the other was killed by a drug-addicted friend after release), but Roberts is still alive and now free again.
In the mid-1960's there was a big sympathy for gangland crime, the Train Robbers were famous, after some of them escaped from prison. Prisons and their security were considered to be a joke. The crowd at one end of Selhurst voiced their opinion of the police when they chanted: "Harry Roberts is our friend, is our friend, is our friend, Ha-a-arry Roberts is our friend, he shoots coppers!"
As far as I know the police at the ground did nothing. Palace lost 2-0!
I wonder what would happen if something similar were chanted at a football game today...
50 years ago, one of the most shameful acts of violence against the police of the 20th Century took place, when 3 unarmed officers were gunned down in cold blood on the streets of London, by a 3 man armed gang intent on robbery, led by a man called Harry Roberts. After the crime the public were asked to catch the culprits and I recall we were told to find their getaway car, the number was PGT 726. Two of them, Whitney and Duddy were picked up quickly but Roberts went on the run; he was eventually captured in Epping Forest living rough in November 1966.
Whitney and Duddy are now dead (one died in prison in 1981, the other was killed by a drug-addicted friend after release), but Roberts is still alive and now free again.
In the mid-1960's there was a big sympathy for gangland crime, the Train Robbers were famous, after some of them escaped from prison. Prisons and their security were considered to be a joke. The crowd at one end of Selhurst voiced their opinion of the police when they chanted: "Harry Roberts is our friend, is our friend, is our friend, Ha-a-arry Roberts is our friend, he shoots coppers!"
As far as I know the police at the ground did nothing. Palace lost 2-0!
I wonder what would happen if something similar were chanted at a football game today...
