The real Peaky Blinders: Birmingham's most notorious gang
What do you know about the Peaky Blinders in real life? The truth is quite different to the popular TV crime drama, as a new Sky HISTORY series reveals.
Image: Shutterstock.com
Who were the Peaky Blinders? If you’re a longtime fan of the hit TV series Peaky Blinders, you might think you already know the answer to that question.
The crime drama aired for six seasons between 2013 and 2022, with a film — The Immortal Man — now on the way. Cillian Murphy stars as gang leader Thomas Shelby, while other regular cast members have included Sam Neill, Tom Hardy and the late Helen McCrory.
The Peaky Blinders in real life were indeed fearsome gangsters roaming the streets of Birmingham and leaving terror in their wake. However, watching Sky HISTORY’s Original Gangsters With Sean Bean, you could be surprised how much these Peaky Blinders still differ from their familiar fictionalised counterparts.
When were the real Peaky Blinders active?
If you’ve been watching Peaky Blinders since the very first season, you’ll know it all starts shortly after World War I. Shelby himself is revealed to have fought in the war. The series opens in 1919, with Shelby now running a criminal enterprise in Birmingham.
Later seasons of Peaky Blinders take the narrative right through the 1920s and into the early 1930s. We see the influence of Shelby’s criminal activities extending well beyond Birmingham and even reaching overseas. The upcoming film is said to take place during World War II.
The real Peaky Blinders, however, were long defunct by the 1940s. In fact, they weren’t even on the scene in the 1920s. Evidence suggests that they first emerged in Birmingham as far back as the 1890s. By the 1920s, they had retreated to the West Midlands countryside, having been usurped in the city itself by a rival gang, the Birmingham Boys.
Why were they called the Peaky Blinders?
If you were to judge from the programme of the same name, you’d think it was because they hid razor blades in their flat caps. The Peaky Blinders in the series are seen attacking their victims with these blades to ‘blind’ them.
There’s no doubt that the Peaky Blinders in real life, like those in the series, had a fine sense of sartorial elegance. We see it in many headshots of them that have survived. Members of the actual gang wore tailored jackets, buttoned waistcoats, bell-bottomed trousers and, yes, those trademark flat caps.
However, what they likely didn’t do is have those razor blades sewn into the caps. How do we know? Well, razor blades were an expensive, luxury item in England during the Peaky Blinders’ heyday. They also would have been impractical to use in combat if kept firmly attached to the caps.
Given all these factors, it’s likely that the ‘Peaky Blinders’ moniker was derived instead from the peaks on the caps. The cap was customarily worn in such a way that the peak would cover one of the eyes, partially ‘blinding’ the wearer.
What crimes did the actual Peaky Blinders commit?
In the popular series, the Peaky Blinders are portrayed as having truly international ambitions. Conversely, there’s no sign that the Peaky Blinders in real life set their own heights anywhere near this high.
Instead, they appear to have kept their focus much closer to home. The actual crimes, too, were of a lower level, ranging from robbery to racketeering and illegal bookmaking. They did, however, pick fights in attempts to expand their territory.
What motivated the Peaky Blinders in real life? Financial concerns were paramount. During the reign of Queen Victoria, the chasm between rich and poor widened. The welfare state was still decades away from being introduced, and many young adults resorted to nefarious means of making ends meet.
Would you have feared the Peaky Blinders in real life?
In a word, yes. Unlike the fictionalised Peaky Blinders, they weren’t really a singular, organised gang. Instead, the term ‘Peaky Blinders’ was used rather loosely in reference to criminals exhibiting the Blinders’ typical style and behaviour.
Despite these caveats, the Peaky Blinders are still regarded as one of history’s most dangerous British crime gangs. They weren’t above springing seemingly spontaneous, unprovoked physical attacks on the police, other gang members and ordinary, innocent civilians.
Over time, an increasingly stringent approach to policing left the Peaky Blinders with fewer opportunities to practically pursue crime. Hence, the prominence of the Peaky Blinders went on to fade significantly within a few decades.
Want a closer look at the historical context of the Peaky Blinders in real life? We’ve got more shows on this topic lined up. For timely updates about what’s on the way, subscribe to the Sky HISTORY Newsletter.
