A remarkable and previously unpublished manuscript providing a dramatic first-hand account of one of Britain’s most notorious criminal episodes is set to come under the hammer at Wotton Auction Rooms on Tuesday.
The extraordinary archive centres on a 21-page autograph manuscript written by John “Scotch Jack” Dickson (1930–2014), a close associate of the Kray twins, recounting his alleged involvement in the concealment and eventual murder of Frank “The Mad Axeman” Mitchell following Mitchell’s infamous escape from Dartmoor Prison in 1966.
Estimated at £800–£1,200, the manuscript offers a rare and highly detailed insider narrative of events that have fascinated crime historians for decades. Written in Dickson’s own hand and apparently prepared for publication or journalistic investigation, the account traces the mounting tensions, paranoia and fear that surrounded Mitchell’s final days while under the protection of the Kray organisation.
Among the most striking aspects of the manuscript are vivid descriptions of Mitchell himself, his increasingly unstable behaviour, repeated threats of violence and the growing anxiety among those tasked with hiding him from the authorities. The narrative culminates in a dramatic account of Mitchell’s disappearance and presumed murder, one of the enduring mysteries associated with the Kray empire.
Adding significantly to the archive’s importance is its provenance. The manuscript was almost certainly supplied directly by Dickson to the distinguished Fleet Street journalist and crime correspondent Alfred Ernest Draper (1924–2013), author of numerous books on organised crime, policing and criminal justice. According to family tradition, Dickson intended the account for possible publication but requested that it remain unpublished during the lifetime of the Kray twins owing to fears of possible repercussions.
Preserved within Draper’s working papers and retained by his family for more than three decades, the manuscript appears to represent a rare surviving piece of unpublished Kray-related source material. Accompanying the manuscript is Dickson’s signed covering letter from Finchley asserting that the document contains “the true story”, together with additional manuscript notes concerning the Kray organisation, witness intimidation, firearms, police investigations and internal tensions within the gang.
Interest in original Kray-related material remains exceptionally strong among collectors of true crime, criminology, London history and twentieth-century social history. Unpublished first-hand documentary material of this nature is rarely encountered on the open market, particularly when preserved within the archive of a respected crime journalist.
Commenting on the sale, Joseph Trinder of Wotton Auction Rooms said: “This is an extraordinary piece of British criminal history. The Kray twins continue to fascinate historians, researchers and collectors, but genuinely fresh material connected directly to their inner circle is exceptionally scarce. What makes this archive particularly compelling is that it appears to offer an unpublished first-hand account from an individual at the centre of events surrounding one of the most notorious episodes in Kray history.”
The archive will be offered in Wotton Auction Rooms’ Summer Quarterly Fine & Curated Sale on Tuesday, 30 June.
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