Alfred George Hinds
Encyclopedia
Alfred George "Alfie" Hinds (1917, Newington Butts
, London
– January 5, 1991) was a British criminal who, while serving a 12-year prison sentence for robbery, successfully broke out of three high security prisons. Despite the dismissal of thirteen of his appeals to higher courts, he was eventually able to gain a pardon using his knowledge of the British legal system.
for armed robbery, before running away at the age of seven. Eventually arrested for petty theft, he would later escape a Borstal
institution for teenage delinquents.
Although drafted into the British Army during the Second World War, Hinds deserted from the armed forces and continued his criminal career before his eventual arrest for a jewelry robbery in 1953 ($90,000 of which was never recovered by authorities). Although pleading not guilty, he was convicted and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
However, Hinds later escaped from Nottingham Prison after sneaking through the locked doors and over a 20-foot prison wall for which he became known in the press as "Houdini" Hinds. He worked as a builder-decorator in Ireland and throughout Europe until his arrest by detectives of Scotland Yard
in 1956 after 248 days as a fugitive.
After his arrest, Hinds brought a lawsuit against authorities charging the prison commissioners with illegal arrest and successfully used the incident as a means to plan his next escape by having a padlock smuggled in to him while at the Law Courts. Two guards escorted him to the toilet, but when they removed his handcuffs Alfie bundled the men into the cubicle and snapped the padlock onto screw eyes
that his accomplices had earlier fixed to the door. He escaped into the crowd on Fleet Street
but was captured at an airport five hours later.
Hinds would make his third escape from Chelmsford Prison less than a year later. He then returned to Ireland where he lived for two years as a used car dealer under the name William Herbert Bishop before his arrest after being stopped in an unregistered car.
While eluding Scotland Yard, Hinds continued to plead his innocence sending memorandums to British MPs and granting interviews and taped recordings to the press. He later sold his life story to the News of the World
for a reported $40,000.
He would continue to appeal his arrest and, following a technicality in which prison escapes are not listed as misdemeanors within British law, his final appeal before the House of Lords
in 1960 was denied after a three hour argument by Hinds before his return to serve 6 years in Parkhurst Prison.
In 1964, Hinds won a $1,300 settlement in a libel suit against the arresting officer Herbert Sparks, a former chief superintendent of Scotland Yard's 'Flying Squad
', after Sparks had written a series of articles in the London Sunday Pictorial criticizing Hinds's claims of innocence. After failing to prove to a London jury the accuracy of his statements regarding Hinds' original conviction, Sparks was ordered to pay Hinds damages.
) Students' Union by President Owen Spencer-Thomas
in 1967, he was confronted by another attempt to deprive him of his liberty. During a drink in a nearby pub after the debate, he was kidnapped by six students for a rag week stunt and frogmarched along a couple of streets to a basement room in the college. Hinds yet again foiled his captors after securing a bunch of keys and turning the lock on them.
Hinds later became a member of Mensa
, becoming secretary of the Channel Islands' Mensa Society.
Newington Butts
Newington Butts is a former village, now an area of the London Borough of Southwark, that gives its name to a segment of the A3 road running south-west from the Elephant and Castle junction...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
– January 5, 1991) was a British criminal who, while serving a 12-year prison sentence for robbery, successfully broke out of three high security prisons. Despite the dismissal of thirteen of his appeals to higher courts, he was eventually able to gain a pardon using his knowledge of the British legal system.
Hinds' Career
Hinds grew up in a children's home following the death of his father, a thief who died while receiving ten lashes (from a cat 'o 6) as a form of corporal punishmentCorporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
for armed robbery, before running away at the age of seven. Eventually arrested for petty theft, he would later escape a Borstal
Borstal
A borstal was a type of youth prison in the United Kingdom, run by the Prison Service and intended to reform seriously delinquent young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved Schools and Detention Centres. The court...
institution for teenage delinquents.
Although drafted into the British Army during the Second World War, Hinds deserted from the armed forces and continued his criminal career before his eventual arrest for a jewelry robbery in 1953 ($90,000 of which was never recovered by authorities). Although pleading not guilty, he was convicted and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
However, Hinds later escaped from Nottingham Prison after sneaking through the locked doors and over a 20-foot prison wall for which he became known in the press as "Houdini" Hinds. He worked as a builder-decorator in Ireland and throughout Europe until his arrest by detectives of Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
in 1956 after 248 days as a fugitive.
After his arrest, Hinds brought a lawsuit against authorities charging the prison commissioners with illegal arrest and successfully used the incident as a means to plan his next escape by having a padlock smuggled in to him while at the Law Courts. Two guards escorted him to the toilet, but when they removed his handcuffs Alfie bundled the men into the cubicle and snapped the padlock onto screw eyes
Eye bolt
An eye bolt is a screw with a loop on one end and threads on the other end. Eye bolts are commonly used to attach cables to objects, for instance attaching a string to the back of a painting to allow the painting to hang from a nail on a wall....
that his accomplices had earlier fixed to the door. He escaped into the crowd on Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
but was captured at an airport five hours later.
Hinds would make his third escape from Chelmsford Prison less than a year later. He then returned to Ireland where he lived for two years as a used car dealer under the name William Herbert Bishop before his arrest after being stopped in an unregistered car.
While eluding Scotland Yard, Hinds continued to plead his innocence sending memorandums to British MPs and granting interviews and taped recordings to the press. He later sold his life story to the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
for a reported $40,000.
He would continue to appeal his arrest and, following a technicality in which prison escapes are not listed as misdemeanors within British law, his final appeal before the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
in 1960 was denied after a three hour argument by Hinds before his return to serve 6 years in Parkhurst Prison.
In 1964, Hinds won a $1,300 settlement in a libel suit against the arresting officer Herbert Sparks, a former chief superintendent of Scotland Yard's 'Flying Squad
Flying Squad
The Flying Squad is a branch of the Specialist Crime Directorate, within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Squad's purpose is to investigate commercial armed robberies, along with the prevention and investigation of other serious armed crime...
', after Sparks had written a series of articles in the London Sunday Pictorial criticizing Hinds's claims of innocence. After failing to prove to a London jury the accuracy of his statements regarding Hinds' original conviction, Sparks was ordered to pay Hinds damages.
Celebrity status
In 1966, Hinds published a personal account of his escapes and his clashes with the English legal system, titled Contempt of Court. His notorious jail breaks from three high security prisons and his successful libel case earned Hinds celebrity status. He soon became a sought after speaker criticizing the English legal system. When invited to take part in a debate before The Polytechnic (now University of WestminsterUniversity of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
) Students' Union by President Owen Spencer-Thomas
Owen Spencer-Thomas
Owen Robert Spencer-Thomas MBE is perhaps best known as a television and radio news journalist over three decades, but he has also undertaken a wide range of philanthropric work as volunteer charity fundraiser, pioneer and campaigner for people with autism and other disabilities...
in 1967, he was confronted by another attempt to deprive him of his liberty. During a drink in a nearby pub after the debate, he was kidnapped by six students for a rag week stunt and frogmarched along a couple of streets to a basement room in the college. Hinds yet again foiled his captors after securing a bunch of keys and turning the lock on them.
Hinds later became a member of Mensa
Mensa International
Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
, becoming secretary of the Channel Islands' Mensa Society.