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Fascinating story that has only been touched on elsewhere on the board. Apparently it featured in FT276, but I haven't read it.
The World's Most Bizarre Heist Chase Happened In Tottenham
BY DAVID FATHERS
LAST EDITED 26 MONTHS AGO
At the turn of the 20th century, London was considered a safe haven for many exiled foreign revolutionaries. The Fifth Congress of the Social Democratic Labour Party had met in May 1907, on Southgate Road, Islington. Among those attending were Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky. At around this time several left wing east European political groups were attempting to raise funds for the revolutionary cause through robbery. Stalin and Lenin had organised a major bank robbery in the Georgian capital Tbilisi in 1907; 40 deaths resulted from the shootout.
Paul Helfeld (21) and Jacob Lepidus (25) were both Jewish-Latvian revolutionaries and had until 1907, been living in Paris when a bomb killed Lepidus's brother as he was carrying it with a plan to assassinate the president of France. As the authorities began arresting members of the gang, Jacob Lepidus and Helfeld thought it best to flee to the United Kingdom.
Two years later the pair emerged in north London and took employment at the Schnurmann Rubber Factory, just off Tottenham High Road, opposite the police station. Though the factory has long gone, the police station is still there today. With detailed knowledge of the factory's weekly wage collection, Helfeld and Lepidus planned a hold-up...
Full Story with maps, photos and illustrations:: https://londonist.com/london/tottenham-outrage-1909
The World's Most Bizarre Heist Chase Happened In Tottenham
BY DAVID FATHERS
LAST EDITED 26 MONTHS AGO
At the turn of the 20th century, London was considered a safe haven for many exiled foreign revolutionaries. The Fifth Congress of the Social Democratic Labour Party had met in May 1907, on Southgate Road, Islington. Among those attending were Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky. At around this time several left wing east European political groups were attempting to raise funds for the revolutionary cause through robbery. Stalin and Lenin had organised a major bank robbery in the Georgian capital Tbilisi in 1907; 40 deaths resulted from the shootout.
Paul Helfeld (21) and Jacob Lepidus (25) were both Jewish-Latvian revolutionaries and had until 1907, been living in Paris when a bomb killed Lepidus's brother as he was carrying it with a plan to assassinate the president of France. As the authorities began arresting members of the gang, Jacob Lepidus and Helfeld thought it best to flee to the United Kingdom.
Two years later the pair emerged in north London and took employment at the Schnurmann Rubber Factory, just off Tottenham High Road, opposite the police station. Though the factory has long gone, the police station is still there today. With detailed knowledge of the factory's weekly wage collection, Helfeld and Lepidus planned a hold-up...
Full Story with maps, photos and illustrations:: https://londonist.com/london/tottenham-outrage-1909