London bandits who did not deny themselves anything and called themselves "elephants"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Jack the Ripper and Professor Moriarty come to mind when it comes to the Victorian underworld. But few people know that a century ago, a gang of Forty Elephants was operating in London. It consisted exclusively of women who "took" prestigious shops, and each other was called "elephants."

In the 1870s, a new gang appeared in London. This event could have gone unnoticed, since in the capital of the British Empire, thousands of criminals were successful, if not for one "but". London women have embarked on the crooked path of the criminal trade.

The "Forty Elephants" gang appeared in the center of London, where the "Elephant and Castle" tavern was located. Historians believe that it was in it that the criminals gathered. Theft became their main occupation. And the primary targets were expensive clothing and jewelry stores.

There were many cunning tricks in the thieves' arsenal. In those days, no one followed the female customers in the stores, the sellers relied on their decency. Therefore, it was not difficult for the criminals to go into the fitting room and put on several dresses, hide small things in secret pockets, and then leave the institution. Even if they were suspected of stealing, it was not permissible to search the women.

Often a slender, slender girl entered the store, and a real "elephant" came out. Fortunately, the loose fit of Victorian dresses made it possible to hide a lot.

"Elephants" stole in stores both alone and in groups. While several girls distracted the sellers, the goods were hidden under the skirt, or passed on to the accomplice. Both London shopkeepers and big shops suffered from the Forty Elephants gang. Sellers and guards were powerless when several dozen girls smashed shop windows and tore off dresses.

Police help did not always help the shopkeepers. The bandits from Forty Elephants were often good at fighting. Nails and improvised objects were used. Many girls learned to skillfully wield a sharp hairpin for their hair. Many police officers lost their eyes or were crippled while trying to arrest the thieves.

The "elephants" were very sly and impudent. They faced a short prison term for theft, but the prospect of abandoning their craft and becoming a prostitute or a housewife in order to give birth to children for a poor husband was more frightening.

On the contrary, many girls led a semi-secular life. They held parties, bought expensive cars, and in general, they often threw money down the drain. Therefore, having joined the gang as 14-year-old girls, many of them remained bandits until old age. In addition to stealing, they were engaged in blackmail and kidnapping.

Historians do not know for certain when the "Forty Elephants" gang appeared, but in 1873 the "elephants" were already in full swing. In some periods, according to historians, there were up to 70 of them. And the gang disappeared in the 1950s, during the widespread introduction of new security systems.

History knows many more examples when women became criminals. One of them - about Anne Bonnie, a loving girl and a cruel pirate. And many women do pretended to be men.