In the late 19th century, nefarious groups ruled the streets of London, but one stood out: the Forty Elephants, London's all-female organization. Contemporaries of the real Peaky Blinders, these womenwere the best shoplifters in London, able to hide multiple fur coats in their skirts and bloomers; and their queen, Diamond Annie, ran the outfit with ruthless precision in the 1910s and '20s. Dressed in expensive furs and arriving bylimousine, Diamond Annie walked into high-end department stores and swiped fortunes' worth of merchandisein under an hour. Annie also enforced a code for the Forty Elephants, even starting an uprisingwhen one individual disobeyed her orders.
Like Mother Mandelbaum, New York's greatest fence, the Forty Elephants sold off their ill-gotten jewels, furs, and clothes;but they weren't just "hoisters," as police called them. They also branched out into complex ruses, like disguising themselves as maids to dupe families out of their fortunes. After decadesof disturbing London, Diamond Annie and herunique gang earned its spot as one of the most interestingunderground groups in history.
Photo: Gordon Grant/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
0:00 - Intro
0:00:08 - The Name Of The Group Reflected Both The Neighborhood They Lived In And An Inside Joke
0:00:25 - The Forty Elephants Found Employment In Wealthy Homes In Order To Take From Them
0:00:41 - The Women Never Wore What They Took
0:00:52 - The Police Rarely Caught The Group's Members
0:01:04 - Diamond Annie Was Only 20 When She Became Queen Of The Forty Elephants
0:01:20 - The Leader Of The Forty Elephants Was Called The Queen Of The Forty Thieves
0:01:35 - The Forty Elephants Hid Goods In Their Skirts And Bloomers
0:01:49 - The Women Had A Plethora Of Well-Planned Techniques
0:02:02 - They Went Undetected Because They Looked Like Respectable Women
0:02:16 - The Women Swarmed Shops, Stripping Them Bare In An Hour
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