About the Recipe
The Forty Elephants were an all-female gang based in South London, most active from the late 19th century into the 1950s, notorious for their organised shoplifting sprees. Operating out of Elephant and Castle, they built a feared reputation across London, using ingenuity, speed, and violence to maintain control and protect their patch.
Victims: High end department stores - organised theft ring.
Perpetrator(s): All-female gang; figures include leaders Mary Carr and later Alice Diamond.
Incident details: Sophisticated shoplifting ring originating around Elephant & Castle; active late 19th century to 1950s, allied with Elephant & Castle Mob.
Outcome: Disbanded; many members arrested across decades.
Location/Date: Elephant & Castle and West End; c. late 1800s–1950s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty_Elephants
https://www.dannydutch.com/post/meet-the-forty-elephants-the-all-girl-gang-from-london
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QZEnyZyYo4
https://crimereads.com/diamond-annie-forty-thieves/
https://discover.hubpages.com/politics/The-Most-Notorious-All-Women-Criminal-Gang-in-History
https://londondarktourist.com/female-gangsters-forty-elephants/
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2023/the-queens-of-the-forties-1683/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqCgpFluo-Q
https://www.ranker.com/list/diamond-annie-and-the-forty-elephants/genevieve-carlton