The London Underworld: An Insider’s Story

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Prolific armed robber. Close ally of Joey Pyle. Friend and fellow inmate of the Kray twins. Last man to stand trial with a Kray brother. First prisoner in the notorious Belmarsh Unit. Welcome to Ronnie Field's world...

From his abusive childhood, his inevitable journey into crime and his role in the dangerous underworld of south London’s gangland through to his eventful spells in many of Britain’s most secure jails, Ronnie Field is ready to recount his incredible story for the very first time. It’s a new take on the criminal fraternity of the 1970s and 1980s from one of the last men standing.


Ronnie Field was born in the workhouse in Epsom, Surrey in 1946. His father was a safe-blower and his mother suffered with illness most of her life. He was raised by a tyrannical grandmother in Cheam.
 
At the age of 16 he met south London gangster Joey Pyle and became a close ally for the next fifty years. Ronnie became a prolific armed robber, pitched against the real-life Sweeney, and evaded capture for fifteen years until a wages snatch in Leeds went horribly wrong.
 
Ronnie served time in Parkhurst with the Kray Twins, and later became the first prisoner to serve in Belmarsh Prison’s notorious Unit. His criminal career ended when he and Charlie Kray were on the wrong end of a police sting that resulted in stiff sentences. Charlie died in prison. Ronnie was eventually released and has lived on the right side of the law ever since. His autobiography Nefarious was released last year.

 
Martin Knight is an author who has partnered footballers George Best, Peter Osgood, Charlie Cooke, Dave Mackay and the Bay City Rollers on their autobiographies. He co-authored Nefarious with Ronnie. He’s also the author of several novels, the latest of which is Justice Killer. It’s a book that prompted Irvine Welsh to write, “This gritty novel has a true-crime feel and a big heart beating all the way through it,. Highly recommended.”