Charlie Reilly was born in a part of north west London known as Somers Town of Irish parents, but in the year of his birth few rays of hot summer sunshine shone on him or any of the inhabitants of the polluted, sooty slums in which they lived. That year, 1912, saw the beginning of some clearance with the rebuilding of the area, but Charlie was not around long enough for those changes to help in his upbringing. What did help him though was the proximity of three major railway stations and many more hospitals and clinics. By the age of twelve he was an expert at stealing bicycles, or any other kind of unattended property that had value. He was not a discriminative thief, favouring neither patient nor traveller. At fourteen his criminal alertness extended onwards and upwards into housebreakin
