Charles Bronson reveals his most memorable inmates during his 50 years inside
Notorious prisoner Charles Bronson has described his 50 years in prison as ‘horrendous and brutal’ at times – but says ‘I’ve still got hope’ of one day being freed.
The 73-year-old – who changed his name to Salvador in 2014 – is one of Britain’s longest-serving inmates after first being jailed in 1974 for armed robbery.
In the decades since, he has spent time in various prisons up and down the country, as well as Broadmoor Hospital, and claims to have rubbed shoulders with some of the UK’s most infamous criminals.
Speaking from high-security HMP Woodhill, Bronson recounted his most memorable encounters inside, the best bit of advice he has received behind bars and his plans for the future.
‘I’ve met some of the greatest characters people only read about’
Bronson said: ‘How do I look back on it? You know me, I’ve got no regrets.
‘Life’s too short to regret. But looking back, I feel lucky.
‘My soul is good. My heart’s good. I feel happy. I’ve still got hope. I’ve got faith. And on top of all that, I’ve got some beautiful, wonderful friends.
‘So, through all these 50 years, as bad as it has been – at times horrendous, brutal, cold, empty, hopeless – I’ve met some of the greatest characters that some people only ever read about.
‘Legends, icons. The Great Train Robbers, I’ve met them all. I’ve done bird with all of them.
‘Some of the top gangsters. I’ve met them all, the good the bad and the ugly. And if I wasn’t going on the journey I was on, I would never have met them.
Latest London news
‘I have lived with them, fought with them, I’ve cried with them. Sometimes, it’s been horrible, sad, and tragic.’
‘No one compares to them two – they were legends’
Bronson picked out notorious east London gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray as the most memorable people he has met inside.
He said: ‘There’s no-one compares to them two. They were gentlemen. They were legends. They were decent human beings. They never went against their own. They stood loyal.
‘They were great guys, especially Ron. Ron was special – very, very special. I don’t even have to think about it. Ron and Reggie, all day long.’
Bronson said words of wisdom from gangster ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser were the best advice he ever received – even though they might have ended up extending his stay in jail.
‘He said to me in the exercise yard, “Don’t think it, do it,”‘ Bronson revealed.
‘I remember saying, “What do you mean?” He said, “Well, when you think of hitting someone or smashing your cell up, don’t keep thinking about it, it’ll drive you mad. Just do it.”
‘I think that’s the greatest advice. Not so much if it is crime and violence but, in the outside world… don’t think it, do it.’
One of Britain’s longest-serving inmates, Bronson was jailed for seven years in 1974 for armed robbery.
But his sentence has been extended time and time again following attacks he carried out on prison staff and inmates.
Denied freedom eight times by the Parole Board, he has ‘still got hope’ he will leave jail one day.
‘My art has saved me’
Bronson has previously described in letters to Metro how his artwork helped him find his ‘true self’ in prison, describing how he has ‘swapped (my) sawn-off shotgun for a sawn-off paintbrush’.
‘My art is a gift of life,’ he says now. ‘I only wish I would have found that gift 40 years ago. It would have saved me a lot of pain, misery, grief, heartache, brutality.
‘Before my art, all I used to do was walk up and down my cell, press ups all day long, sit ups all day long. I’d hear something outside the door, a noise, a cough, keys jangling, boots on the floor, and it all wind me up. Silly little things would wind me up. Now, I don’t give a monkey.
‘And every time I create something, I send it to a charity. They sell it, and I’m helping people. And that is a gift of life. Love it. Without my art, I’d never see daylight. I know I wouldn’t. My art has saved me.
‘It’s true to say, art has been my main rehabilitation. The prison system keeps going on and on and on about rehabilitation. They’ve never rehabilitated me. I’ve rehabilitated myself. Absolutely.
‘The people outside will go, oh, Charlie, never get out. He doesn’t want to get out. Look what he’s done there.
‘Well, let me tell you something – I haven’t done nothing bad for the last nearly 10 years. I’ve practically been a model prisoner. And that’s down to my art. And I’m bloody proud of it.’
How long has Charles Bronson been in prison and when is he up for parole?
Once one of Britain’s most violent offenders, Bronson has spent most of the past 48 years behind bars – apart from two brief periods during which he reoffended – for a string of thefts, firearms and violent offences, including 11 hostage-taking incidents in nine different sieges.
Victims included prison governors, doctors, staff and, on one occasion, his own solicitor.
Bronson – whose real name is Michael Peterson and who has been diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder – was handed a discretionary life sentence with a minimum term of four years in 2000 for taking a prison teacher at HMP Hull hostage for 44 hours.
Since then, the Parole Board has repeatedly refused to direct his release.
An appeal last year for his latest parole hearing to again be held in public was refused.
The Parole Board will assess his latest application today.
Denied freedom eight times already, he has ‘still got hope’ he will leave jail one day. And if he does, he said: ‘I’ll get two bull mastiffs and call them Ronnie and Reggie.’
He also says taking up art ‘saved me’.
‘I wish I’d found that gift 40 years ago. It would have saved me a lot of pain, misery, grief, brutality,’ he added.
‘Every time I create something, I send it to a charity. They sell it, and I’m helping people.’ He insists he has ‘no regrets in life, but adds: ‘I have had more porridge than Goldilocks and the three bears and I’m sick of it.
‘My soul is good. For ten years, I’ve been a model prisoner. When I get out, I’m going to do a lot of good things.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.