Nil Desperandum (ePub)

Born into abject poverty and a culture of crime in the East End of London shortly before the Second World War, Patsy Feeley soon realised that life was all about determination and survival. After long spells in approved school, detention centre, borstal and the Army, he developed a healthy disdain and distrust of authority. Employing streetwise skills and ingenuity, he embarked on an adventurous life of crime and excitement. He was soon spotted and recruited by a gang of professional armed robbers to take part in plundering banks and security vans across London and the south-east of England, quickly earning a reputation as "one of the best armed robbers and money-getters in London". While at the peak of his notoriety and success, however, he was faced with a quadruple nightmare: a long prison sentence, a gangland murder investigation, cancer of the throat and a severe stroke that left him in a wheelchair. Yet, bullheaded and intransigent to the last, he somehow managed to pull himself back from the abyss. This book not only provides an eye-opener about crime, criminals, the justice system and prison, but also the health-care system and the problems associated with being a severely disabled person. It is the warts-and-all story of one of the great oaks of East End folklore and, above all, a story of immense human suffering and endurance that can only demand respect.