On the afternoon of Sunday, 31 January 2016, the Great Train Robber Gordon Goody was laid to rest at the local cemetery in Vera, Almeria, in southern Spain, where he had lived for the previous 40-odd years. Around 250 people attended his funeral, mostly expats and local Spanish, testament to his popularity in the community.
Gordon’s notoriety was such that his death was announced all over the world.
Describing him as the ” The quartermaster of the Great Train Robbery”, The Telegraph obituary refers extensively to his book: “He was credited with being deputy to the gang’s leader, Bruce Reynolds, but the vainglorious Goody took exception to being so described, complaining in his memoir How To Rob a Train (2014) that ‘I wasn’t number two to anybody’. One of the detectives on the case described him as being the ‘brilliant quartermaster’ who ensured that all the equipment, vehicles and personnel were in place.”
“He was a complete gentleman far removed from the image that those who didn’t know him might have had from those difficult years that marked a large part of his life.”
“We will always remember his smile and his big heart that was always open to those around him.” The Telegraph
Here is a list of publications that covered Gordon’s passing, with their headlines and links to the articles:
‘Obituaries Gordon Goody’ The Times
‘Obituary: Gordon Goody, Great Train Robber and bar owner’ The Scotsman
‘Great Train Robber Gordon Goody dies aged 86’ The Guardian
‘Gordon Goody: Criminal who admitted that he had been the mastermind behind the Great Train Robbery’ Independent
‘Great Train Robbery mastermind Gordon Goody, 86, dies of a heart attack at his home in Spain’ Mail Online
‘Great Train Robber Gordon Goody “dies of heart attack” aged 86’ Mirror
‘Gordon Goody, a Leader of the Gang in the Great Train Robbery, Dies at 85’ The New York Times
‘Mastermind behind the Great Train Robbery Douglas ‘Gordon’ Goody dies at Spanish home’ Express
‘Great Train robber Douglas ‘Gordon’ Goody dies aged 86’ The Sun
‘Gordon Goody, One Of The Last Surviving Members Of The Great Train Robbery, Dies Aged 86’ The Huffington Post
Other links to articles:
11th February, 2016 Milo News