Mourners gathered to remember Kray Twins enforcer Freddie Foreman, widely known by the nicknames “The Guv’nor” and “Brown Bread Fred”, at his funeral following his death at the age of 94.
Family friends and former associates attended a service at GreenAcres Kemnal Park in Sidcup, south-east London, before continuing to the Greyhound pub in nearby Keston.
Those seen at the gathering included former Essex Boys associate and true crime writer Bernard O’Mahoney, The Essex Boys Tapes actor Mike Linnane, convicted armed robber John Twomey and ex-Kray Firm member Chris Lambrianou.
Foreman, a convicted criminal, died at a care home in west London on the morning of October 10 after a short illness, according to his family.
Although he was acquitted of several murder charges at the Old Bailey, Foreman later claimed he had carried out killings and disposed of his victims’ bodies at sea.
During much of the 1960s, he was a powerful figure in east London’s underworld and operated alongside the notorious Kray Twins and their gang, The Firm.
He was linked to the disposal of Jack “The Hat” McVitie’s body after McVitie was murdered by Reggie Kray. Foreman was also a close associate of the gang behind the £6million Security Express cash robbery in Shoreditch, east London, in August 1983.
In the period before his death, Foreman had left his home in Maida Vale, west London, reportedly after becoming estranged from members of his family.
Friends and former associates gathered at GreenAcres Kemnal Park in Sidcup, south-east London, to honour underworld figure Freddie Foreman, who died aged 94
Foreman (right) appears in this 1961 photograph with, from left to right, Sulky Gower, boxer Henry Cooper, Charlie Kray and Reggie Kray
Freddie Foreman, pictured in London in 2000, died aged 94 in west London on October 10, 2026
Foreman’s godson Nick Reynolds described his passing as “the end of an era”.
“I saw Fred a few months ago when he was in St Mary’s Hospital and he was in great form, talking about the old days and looking remarkably well for someone of his age,” he said.
“He had not been in hospital for long and was preparing to leave his Maida Vale flat to move into a care home.”
“Fred was my godfather and a close friend of my father. I was very fond of him, so this is incredibly sad news.
“He was also a major source of support for the Great Train Robbers, helping Buster Edwards and Ronnie Biggs.”
Maureen Flanagan, a former model and longtime friend of the Kray family, remembered Foreman as a “very warm man”.
“Fred was the last of the old-fashioned gentleman gangsters,” she said.
“He was warm-hearted, treated women like princesses and was especially kind to children. Any man who upset them, though, would face the consequences.”
Floral tributes were placed in memory of Freddie Foreman at his funeral in south-east London
Convicted armed robber John Twomey attended Freddie Foreman’s funeral in south-east London, with a wake held at the Greyhound pub in Keston
Former Kray Firm member Chris Lambrianou was among those attending the funeral
Actor Mike Linnane, whose films include The Essex Warriors and The Essex Boys Tapes
Also there was former Essex Boys associate and true crime author Bernard O’Mahoney (right)
Freddie Foreman – also known as Brown Bread Fred – was an East London gangster who worked closely with the Kray Twins in the 1950s and 60s
Foreman (centre) is pictured in 1969 at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington with Tottenham Hotspur footballers Mike England (left) and Pat Jennings (right)
‘He was the last of the old guard and only Chris Lambrianou is left now from the Krays’ Firm.’
In 2018, Foreman put on a sharp navy blue suit for the release of the biographical film Fred: The Godfather of British Crime, which premiered as part of the East End Film Festival in London.
The film delved into the life of Foreman, allegedly responsible for numerous murders while acting as a henchman for Kray Twins Ronald and Reginald.
His rise through the ruthless British crime underworld grabbed headlines – with Foreman having been one of the only voices from the era still alive.
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He was sentenced to ten years in prison for reportedly being involved in disposing of the body of Jack ‘The Hat’ McVitie, who had been stabbed to death by Reggie Kray in Clapton, east London, in October 1967.
Foreman told an interviewer in 2000 how he had thrown McVitie’s body off a boat into the sea off Newhaven in East Sussex.
Following his prison stint, Foreman found himself locked up once again after allegedly taking part in the Shoreditch Security Express robbery, which was the largest cash robbery in the UK at the time.
In total, Foreman served 16 years in 15 different jails – though he was acquitted at the Old Bailey on murder charges four times.
He also ran his own pub in south London and later outed himself as the organiser of the prison escape of gangster Ronnie Biggs in 1965.
The violent career criminal and self-confessed murderer went on to produce two volumes of memoirs, alongside his occasional media appearances.
Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2024, Foreman recalled how he first began building his reputation in post-war south London, first as a boxer and subsequently as a criminal.
A side hustle involving hitting electrical stores brought him into the orbit of Charlie Kray, the Kray twins’ elder brother.
He said: ‘I was used to death and destruction. Nothing would faze me anymore. Like when Ronnie shot Georgie Cornell.
‘Georgie Cornell was a pal of mine, he was a nice guy. But he went and shot him in the Blind Beggar. I had a flat opposite that.
‘I got involved with them. It was a bad move, but they did help me. They got me that flat.
‘I used to go around to their house to their mother, Violet, and have a cup of tea. I took the kids around there to see them. She was a lovely woman. She would look after the kids if I had to go out anywhere.
‘We got to know the Kray family. There were good times and bad times.’
Among the mourners at his funeral was John Twomey, who was jailed in 2010 after he and others were found guilty of raiding a Menzies World Cargo warehouse near Heathrow airport in 2004.
Twomey, described in court as the ringleader of the £1.75million theft, was sentenced to 20 years and six months.
Fellow mourner Bernard O’Mahoney previously worked as a nightclub doorman and was played in 2020 gangster biopic Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins by ex-Wimbledon and Wales footballer Vinnie Jones.
Also there was Chris Lambrianou, one of Ronnie and Reggie Kray’s most feared gang members who has since helped set up a charity aimed at steering youngsters away from crime.
Back in the 1960s, he would dish out regular beatings on behalf of the twins and helped clear up the murder of Jack ‘The Hat’ McVitie.
He had to put socks on his hands to mop up McVitie’s blood and then with his brother Tony Lambrianou drove the body south of the Thames and left in it in a car outside a church.
The pair ended up being jailed for life for their part in the 1967 gangland slaying.
But since his release, he has told of trying to stem a knife crime epidemic and encouraged criminals to move away from gangs and into the boxing gym.
He told the Daily Mail in 2021: ‘These kids carry knives because they are scared most of the time, scared that they will be stabbed if they don’t have a knife.
‘But the longer they carry that knife – the more likely they are going to use it – destroying not just the life of the victim and their family but also their own.
‘We are reaching out to these youngsters and trying to help them get away from people who may look like they want to take them under the wing but in reality treat them like a commodity and nothing more.
‘We’ve so far helped countless youngsters off the streets and into the gym, where they can use their energy in a positive through boxing.’
Lambrianou added: ‘Myself and my brother – and others – were jailed for a moment of madness.
‘We didn’t wield the knife that killed Jack or were even there when he was killed but were sucked in and crime has a habit of doing that to people.
‘I saw what it did to my old dad who had to traipse all over the country to come and see me in prison and then my brother.
‘Your family serve every minute with you inside, it corrupts your soul, and if we can stop a 12-year-old picking up a knife and going out with the intention of doing someone harm, then we’ve done alright.’