Discover the Forty Elephants, an all-women South London gang, their rise, tactics, and the Disney+ show inspired by their story.
The gang came from Elephant and Castle. These working women were very organized. They kept West End shop owners on alert. They were active from 1870 to 1950.
The women dressed like movie stars. They wore furs and jewelry and stole from department stores. They sold items for a profit.
The Forty Elephants worked in South London. Life was hard in Elephant and Castle around 1800. The area had poverty, sanitation issues, and high rents. Crime became a survival method for them.
The gang was often a family business that passed down through generations. Leaders were called ‘Queens,’ and the best leader got the title.
Alice Diamond led the group in the 1900s. They used their gender to their advantage, which helped them blend in stores. They worked in teams, each targeting city areas.
Brian McDonald wrote a book about Alice Diamond and said the girls used prudish attitudes. Women had privacy in stores back then. It gave them shelter to steal.
The women threw lively parties and spent lavishly at pubs and clubs. They wanted the lifestyles of movie stars. They copied rich young socialites.
The Forty Elephants dressed up to raid West End stores. A detective said they descended like locusts and distracted shop assistants. Others stole items at the same time.
They used special clothing to hide goods. This included skirts with pockets & belts with hooks. They sold the stolen items for a profit. They earned money on commission, too.
Some leaders were imprisoned. Alice Diamond and Maggie Hughes went to Holloway. Disney+ released A Thousand Blows on February 21. It shows the gang clashing in boxing and fighting with another crime boss.