Billy Hill (William Charles Hill) (1911 – 1984) was a famous British gangster and criminal mastermind from the 1920s through to the 1960s.
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Hill was born into a London criminal family and began as a house burglar in the late 1920s, then specialized in "smash-and-grab" raids targeting furriers and jewellers in the 1930s. During World War II, he moved into the black market, specializing in foods and petrol. He also supplied forged documents for deserting servicemen. He was involved in West End protection rackets with fellow gangster Jack Spot.
In the late 1940s, he was charged with burgling a warehouse and fled to South Africa. Following an arrest there for assault, he was extradited to Britain, where he was convicted for the warehouse robbery and served time in prison. This was Billy's last jail term. After his release he met Gypsy Riley, better known as Gyp, who became his common-law wife.
In 1952, he planned the Eastcastle St. postal van robbery netting £287,000 (2010: £6,150,000),[1] and in 1954 he organised a £40,000 bullion heist. No one was ever convicted for these robberies. He also ran smuggling operations from Morocco during this period.
In the 1960s Billy was busy fleecing aristocrats at card tables and he was also involved in property development. He bought for Gyp the biggest nightclub in Tangier, Churchills, which she ran from 1966 until the mid-1970s. Billy retired from crime in the 1970s and died peacefully on January 1, 1984. Billy was the mentor to Ronnie and Reggie Kray, advising them in their early criminal careers.[2]
In 1963 Mickey Spillane was playing Mike Hammer in The Girl Hunters in London where he met Hill and showed him around the set. When the prop department couldn't find Spillane a real M1911 pistol, Hill brought the producers several real pistols to use in the film.[3]
In 1955 Billy wrote his memoir Boss of Britain's Underworld. Billy's only child Justin Hill has now republished this book in December 2008 with a modern introduction and never-before-seen photographs.