Elephant boys - Brian McDonald

This volume recalls the turbulent and often brutal life of south London's infamous McDonald family, taking the reader on a journey from the Elephant and Castle in the early 1920s to the crime-riddled Los Angeles of the mid-1960s.;This account aims to bring to life the personal history of Charles "Wag" McDonald's involvement in the Epsom Riot and in the racecourse gang warfare which led to his hasty departure for America. Wag's diary is used to bring to life the story of the experiences that followed: travelling in Alaska where he guarded salmon traps against pirates; as a bodyguard to Charlie Chaplin; and operating at the heart of the Los Angeles underworld and underbelly of Tinseltown.;The author has uncovered information on the McDonald and Sabini families and provides insights into some of the most notorious criminals, like Billy Kimber, "Mad" Frankie Fraser and the Richardson brothers.;The author, who was himself involved in the struggle for control of London's underworld, has first-hand knowledge of many villains - past and present - and relates the stories with help from the family archives.