- Leonard 'Nipper' Read was born on March 31, 1925 in Nottingham, England, UK. He was a writer, known for The Man Who Nicked the Krays, The London Programme (1975) and Danny Baker's Londoners (1987). He was married to Pat Allen and Marion Millar. He died on April 7, 2020 in the UK.
- SpousesPat Allen(1980 - April 7, 2020) (his death)Marion Millar(1951 - 1979) (divorced, 1 child)
- He passed the entrance examination for high school, but his father could not afford the cost of the uniform and books. Instead, he got a job in a cigarette warehouse. In 1943 he joined the Royal Navy, from which he was demobbed in 1946 with the rank of petty officer.
- His hobby was boxing; he earned the nickname "Nipper" while in training. He was a former chairman of the British Boxing Board of Control. He also served as vice-president of the World Boxing Association and the World Boxing Council.
- He could not join the Nottingham police force, which then had a minimum height requirement of 6ft. He joined the Metropolitan police, which took men at 5ft 8in. He was still too short to be a uniformed officer, so he was used in disguise. His impersonations included a vicar, painter, racing cyclist, chauffeur, road-sweeper, milkman, and delivery boy. Throughout his early career in the Met he continued to box.
- He was the detective who arrested the notorious east London gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray in 1968, after trailing them for years.
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