Before the Second World War the East End was an area of great economic hardship and social deprivation. Housing remained a major problem the whole area was overcrowded with families living in slum conditions and unemployment was rife. This was the history of the area for many years. The White Chapel Murders created a vision of darkest London with criminality and the East End becoming synonymous this image. Pre-war detective novels presenting the criminal elements of the area reinforced this evil image. Stories about Jack the Ripper show him luring victims down dark fog-filled narrow alley; the Elephant Man and the mystery of darkness was associated with the area, and the fictional evil genius, Fu Manchu, threatened to unleash the forces of evil on the outside world. This area of the East End soon became associated with crime and evil. This area was once the home of the major docks in the city and a large population of workers moved to the area to fill employment needs.
The London Docks began in the small area between London Bridge and the Tower of London. With the expansion of trade and empire in the late 1700 and 1800 period the docks grew in size and so did the labor force required to service this industry. The newly built housing however became overcrowded and deteriorated into slum conditions and poverty. People lived their squalid lives against a background of immorality, drunkenness, crime and violence. Robbery and assault were commonplace and the streets ruled by gangs. The streets were most unpleasant places, the many alleyways were unlit at night and prostitutes and brothels were common place. Soon the area was referred to as `The Nether World' or `the city of the damned'. The unpleasant, smelly and dirty trades were being established, like the building of slaughterhouses, fish farms, breweries and factories. This happened on the East Side of London because the dominant west winds kept the smells away from what was to become the rich, fashionable and aristocratic West End. The city had managed to maintain the separation of classes through geography.
It was into this area that twin brothers were born, who would reflect the violence and hard life of the area. At 8 am on the 24th of October 1933, Reggie Kray was born. Ten minutes later his identical twin Ronnie was born. These two would live to create a legend related to organized crime that is matched by the violence of gang-wars in Capone's Chicago. There is no doubt that the environment, in which these two were raised, had a great deal to do with their choice of profession. They were the children of Violet and Charlie Kray. They had an older brother Charlie, who assumed a great deal of responsibility for raising the boys, since their father was either traveling away from home or one the run from the police. The father was constantly on the run, a deserter from the British Army. The Police and the Military were always calling at the house looking for him, sometimes in the middle of the night, waking the whole family. The homecomings became less frequent, with the police calling more times than the father. Although on many occasions Charlie was in the house when It was searched by the Police but they failed to find him. The Twins began to associate their father's absence with the Authorities which instilled in them a deep hatred and resentment for anyone in a uniform. The grandfather was a boxer, who aided the start of older brother Charlie into the same profession.
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