Peaky Blinders

"They were not charismatic men - they were horrible, nasty and violent."

- English historian Carl Chinn

The Peaky Blinders were a gang of hooligans and thugs who lived in Birmingham, England in the 1890s to the 1930s. They are one of the most well-known street gangs in British history.

The origins of the Peaky Blinders can be traced back to the 1850s. At that time Birmingham’s streets were filled with gambling dens and kids playing rough sports. When the police started to crack down on these immoral activities, the youth fought back, banding together in what would become known as “slogging gangs”. These gangs frequently fought the police, and assaulted anyone walking in the streets. One constable by the name of Constable Lines was stabbed and beaten to death in March 1875 by these sloggers. A slogger name Samuel Bayliss, was convicted of stabbing two soldiers.

By the 1890s though, new fashion such as flat caps, bell-bottom trousers and overcoats became accessible to the lower classes. Youth gangs started adopting these threads as their signature outfit, and in time they took on the name of the Peaky Blinders based on their peaked caps and fashion. They first came into national attention when a man by the name of George Eastwood was assaulted by a gang whom an inhabitant called the Small Heath Peaky Blinders. Since then it has replaced the term sloggers, as a generic name for any hooligan or street ruffian.

They participated in petty crime such as pickpocketing, thievery, armed robbery, and even home invasion. Besides these, they also conducted small organized crime activities such as protection rackets, gambling, taking control of land, and illegal bookmaking in racecourses. Their number one favorite activity however, was fighting, and they used a variety of weapons from belt-buckles, metal-tipped boots, canes, fire irons, and occasionally, firearms. The idea that Peaky Blinders had flat caps with razor blades stitched in their peaks is considered a myth, since razor blades at that time was new and very expensive. Most of these youths were of different occupations such as factory worker or laborer, but others like Henry Lightfoot were army veterans.

The Peaky Blinders used these weapons to fight rival street gangs, the police, and other militiamen in numerous melee and shootouts. In 1905 for example, a peaky blinder by the name of William Lacey shot and killed a member of the Summer Hill Gang. The Peaky Blinders frequently targeted the police, which became known as “constable baiting,” and many died at the hands of Peaky Blinders like Police Constables Snipe in 1897 and Gunter 1901. Hundreds more were injured or have left the force because of the violence.

By the 1920s to 1930s, the Peaky Blinders have disappeared. Better policing and education, as well as competition with larger, more organized gang like the Birmingham Boys, led to their decline. However, the Peaky Blinders still had a lasting influence in the British criminal underworld. One of the first gang lord in the UK, Billy Kimber, was himself a former Peaky Blinder.

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