Charmian Powell became the last woman you’d link to one of Britain’s most notorious 20th-century crimes. When her husband, Ronnie Biggs, became one of the most wanted criminals in Britain – if not the world – for orchestrating the Great Train Robbery, Charmian Powell also experienced a life of love, loss, and resilience in her own parallel adventure. This article follows the life of Charmian, her life in love and on the run with Ronnie, the impact of the criminal masterminds upon her family, and how her tale was adapted and followed globally.
Who Was Charmian Powell?
Charmian Powell was born into a strict middle-class English family during the 1950s. Her father was a headmaster, and by all accounts, Charmian Powell led a regimented life which differed dramatically from the hedonistic lifestyle which she would eventually lead . At 18, she was introduced to carpentry and petty criminal Ronnie Biggs, a carpenter with a criminal past, when she bumped into him by accident on a train in October 1957. This meeting would alter Charmian Powell’s life profoundly.
Her father disapproved fiercely of the match; Biggs wasn’t good enough for his daughter. But Charmian Powell had had one of those devastating love-at-first-sight experiences. In a sort of teenage defiance, she ran away, and she and Biggs became fugitives for a time before her partner was finally apprehended and jailed. She was herself given a suspended sentence in connection with petty theft committed around this period.
Marriage to Ronnie Biggs
Upon his release from prison, Charmian Powell married him in 1960, as did Ronnie Biggs. Some sources say that it was Charmian Powell’s pregnancy that persuaded her father, most reluctantly, to finally accept their marriage. For a while, he and Charmian Powell tried to live a normal, peaceful, law-abiding life. Unfortunately, at the same time, and without her knowledge, he became a member of a criminal gang of specialists run by Bruce Reynolds, and was preparing to pull off the notorious Great Train Robbery.
The Great Train Robbery and Its Aftermath
The notorious team of thieves, including Ronnie Biggs himself, boarded a Royal Mail train in August 1963 and pilfered a whopping £2.6 million – astronomical by the standards of the time. Apparently, Charmian Powell was quite shocked to hear of her husband’s crime. Eyewitness accounts suggest she really knew nothing about what had occurred until Biggs was forced to tell her his share of the loot, £147,000.
The theft was also the cause of enormous publicity for Charmian Powell; alone amidst the throngs of press and outcasts from her own parents. Her life was now entangled with a ring of criminals tied to the crime: with Ronnie Biggs gaoled for 30 years, it fell to Charmian alone to raise her children under the glaring gaze of the press and police.
Escape, Exile, and Life on the Run
The criminal Ronnie Biggs fled from Wandsworth Prison in July 1965. He reunited with Charmian Powell ( his wife) in Paris in December, and they lived abroad using aliases to flee police. In 1966, Charmian Powell and both of their sons arrived in Darwin ( Australia), but soon thereafter had to move to another city again under a different alias called Adelaide in order to be closer to the criminal man they called father.
During this time, life as a fugitive family was a stressful and clandestine experience. It also turned out she was pregnant again, and the family had another son. Despite all the risk of being found out, Charmian Powell set up as calm a home as possible under highly unusual circumstances; however, not until much later was the family’s cover lost again, leading to another uprooting and split.
Divorce and Reinvention
In order to shield Ronnie from being extradited, he absconded and ended up in Brazil. So, out of practical and painful necessity to protect herself from having to make the arrangements in relation to her notorious fugitive of a husband, she got a divorce, made the arrangements for herself to carry on with the upbringing of her sons in Australia, obtained a degree, and continued on to university rather than be a woman defined by a relationship to a wanted criminal.
She became a book editor with a respected career, using the married name of Brent for most of her working life. In fact, one of the most striking parts of Charmian Powell’s saga is that a woman who was made infamous – utterly, and entirely unfairly – set about constructing an interesting, autonomous life, quite separate from the glare.
Tragedy and Resilience
The life of Charmian Powell was not without its share of grief either; she lost her eldest son, Nicky, in a car crash, a tragedy she had to face without even fully coming to terms with the highly problematic will that accompanied her complicated marriage to Edward Heath. Nevertheless, she was a resilient soul, and throughout the difficult times managed to care for her remaining children and live a life for herself.
Charmian Powell in Popular Culture
It turns out that the British public has had some media interest in the story behind her curious life circumstances over the years. First of all, it was the British who were treated to the details in 1976 when Charmian Powell spilled the beans on all but the personal story regarding Ronnie Biggs for the first time on television. In 2013, it was her turn in Australia as she talked all about her dramatic and colourful life in the program ‘Australian Story’.
Perhaps more significantly, Charmian Powell’s life was transformed into a successful five-part ITV drama series, Mrs Biggs (2012), with Sheridan Smith playing Charmian Powell and Daniel Mays as Ronnie Biggs. The series depicted Charmian’s life from an eighteen-year-old meeting Ronnie on a train, to the robbery itself, through to her period on the run from justice, the subsequent death of their son, Charlie, and her eventual determination to rebuild her life as a single parent.
It is reported that Sheridan Smith was introduced to the real Charmian Powell to research the part, and described the story afterwards as being very poignant, and not the ‘gangster’s moll’ story that she’d initially thought it might be.
Why Charmian Powell’s Story Still Resonates
The reason why Charmian Powell’s story is so enduring is that it doesn’t fit the simple model of crime and punishment. She may not have been one of the robbers, but she suffered much of their punishment: the embarrassment and family division, the life of secrecy and hardship. And her subsequent independence and her eventual success are a source of huge strength. Charmian Powell’s life – her progression from a relatively isolated teenager to a successful career woman is a counterpoint to the more lurid aspects of the Train Robbery.
Conclusion
Charmian Powell crossed paths with one of Britain’s most notorious crimes, but her own tale is very different. The life and story of Charmian Powell has made sure that her voice and her part in the events of the famous crime have a final story told. Falling in love on a train, a teenage romance, lived years of secrecy, loss, and reinvention; Charmian Powell was more than the sum of one fact: “wife of a great train robber”. Her dramatic life and part in the great crime are now being retold in the film by broadcasters and on such shows as Mrs Biggs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who was Charmian Powell?
Ronnie Biggs’ wife, Charmian Powell, who later became Charmian Biggs, was a one-time gang member that had a marriage to the notorious Great Train Robber, who went on the run. After the pair divorced, she started using a professional working name.
How did Charmian Powell meet Ronnie Biggs?
It was back in October 1957 that she first encountered the lifelong criminal, while the duo was traveling on a train. Charmian was just eighteen at the time, and Ronnie was ten years her senior – he was 28. The pair grew close despite Charmian’s father’s disapproval, and later, they tied the knot in 1960.
Did Charmian Powell have knowledge of The Great Train Robbery before the fact?
No, she was, according to what we are led to believe, at least not aware that her husband was to be involved in planning The Great Train Robbery. She discovered this when Biggs returned with his share of the loot.
What became of Charmian Powell after Ronnie Biggs’ escape?
Charmian Powell was reunited with Ronnie Biggs in Paris, and subsequently moved to Australia with him and their children, where they assumed various false identities before circumstances made it impossible.
Is Charmian Powell’s story being explored in TV series?
Yes. Charmian Powell’s story is explored in the 2012 ITV drama series Mrs Biggs (starring Sheridan Smith), along with documentary appearances such as the 1976 British television interview and a feature for Australian Story in 2013.
