Jack Comer
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Jack "Spot" Comer (April 12, 1912 – December, 1996) was a notorious Jewish gangster during the 1930s, 40s and 50s. To assimilate more into British society, the Comacho family changed their name from Comacho to Colmore to Comer, but they still faced a large amount of anti-semitism at the time of Spot's upbringing.
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[edit] Early life
From the East End of London, Jacob Comacho was the youngest of four children with his dad being a poorly paid Jewish tailor's machinist who had moved to London with his wife from Łódź, Poland in 1903.
Jack grew up in a true ghetto street with the Jews down one side of Myrtle Street and the Irish down the other. At the mere age of seven Jack had joined his first gang, which was made up of boys from the Jewish side of Myrtle Street who fought their Christian rivals from the other end of the street. At this time there was still a lot of prejudice against the Jews who'd moved into the area over the previous 30 years.
Jack Spot soon started being called "spotty" because he had a big black mole on his left cheek and Spot-at the age of just eight started to develop broad shoulders and strong arms and was renowned as a snappy puncher who could take a lot of heavy punishment as well. At the same age Spot was elevated to leader of his street gang even though there were many other older kids who resented this but Spot stood up to them all.
[edit] Criminal career
Together with Spot's closest friends Morris Goldstein, aka 'Moisha Blueball' and Bernard 'Sonny the Yank' Schack and the rest of his mob he would give his all in battle and would challenge the biggest and strongest of boys, despite usually being outnumbered.
Spot started out as a bookie's runner, before becoming involved in a protection racket in Petticoat Lane. He fell out with his partner in this, fought him, and took direct control of the protection racket. He was also acting as a lookout to a successful housebreaker.
After being arrested, in the wake of which he somehow managed to evade imprisonment despite asking for 40 offences to be taken into consideration, Spot returned to bookmaking.
[edit] Rise to power & the Interwar years
Spot was seen as somewhat a hero after his involvement in the Cable Street riots. He and his Jewish pals heard that the Fascist leader Oswald Mosley was planning a march through the streets of the East End on Sunday 4th October, 1936 creating a great deal of anger and resentment throughout the Jewish community.
On that Sunday morning in October, Communists, socialists and local tearaways like Jack Spot stood well prepared and armed as Mosley and his neatly dressed Blackshirts began assembling near Tower Hill accompanied by the police, there to see the parade through and for Mosley and the Blackshirts protection.
As the march went through thousands were ready for battle and to do everything to stop the march. Spot even issued orders to a mob he had got together to cause as much havoc as possible.
Spot waited until half of the 2,500 Blackshirts had passed and aimed to split the parade in two sections. After yelling 'down with Fascism' he and his mob charged into the fascists with full power injuring as many Blackshirts and police as possible with Spot single handedly knocking out Mosley's leading minder, a Wrestler called Roughneck. After Roughneck went down, one of Spot's mobs from the other side of the street attacked the Blackshirts and soon many hundreds of ordinary Eastenders fought side by side, Jews and Gentiles.
Eventually Spot found himself alone and was totally surrounded by coppers with batons. He put up a good fight against them but was badly beaten and sent to hospital then prison. His involvement in the Cable Street riots earned him respect among all Jews and many others in the East End communities.
Jack Spot went on to say 'This was more than a mob fight. It was a victory over the Nazis. I don't want to swank, but that night I was the hero of the East End.'
During his time in prison he learnt a lot from other criminals from all areas of crime.
It was not long before he re-established the protection rackets, principally offering protection against the fascist Blackshirts.
[edit] Decline and later years
Spot's control of the East End rackets waned in 1952 when Spot's former partner Billy Hill was released from prison after a failed £1.25 million heist on Heathrow Airport. Off-course bookmaking was also about to become legalized at this time, creating another dent in Spot's income.
On August 11, 1955, a knife fight occurred between Spot and Albert Dimes in Soho. The case ended up in court although neither was jailed. After this, Spot progressively lost control of his crime empire. In 1956, Spot and his then wife Rita were attacked by "Mad" Frankie Fraser, Bobby Warren and at least half a dozen other men. Both Fraser and Warren were given seven years for their acts of violence.
In the winter of 1996, Jack Spot died of natural causes at a nursing home in Eastbourne, Sussex aged 84 years old.
[edit] Further reading
- Morton, James. Gangland Bosses: The Lives of Jack Spot and Billy Hill. London, 2004.
- Clarkson, Wensley. Hit 'Em Hard Jack Spot, King of the Underworld. HarperCollins Publishers ISBN 0-00-712441-4
