Born in 1905 in the town of Glenboig, Johnny Ramensky was the child of poor Lithuanian immigrants. He lost his father at an early age and moved with his mother into the notoriously tough Gorbals neighbourhood of Glasgow.
Entering a Life of Crime
The Gorbals was a cesspool of poverty and overcrowded tenement housing. It was also a place with very high crime rates.
Writing in the Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser Maurice Coyne notes that Ramensky “soon fell into a life of crime and it wasn’t long before he found himself imprisoned – something he would get rather used to – when he was sent to Borstal (a prison for young offenders) at the age of 18.”
A small man with great strength and a gymnastic ability the young Ramensky began to hone his skills as a break-and-enter expert and a safe-cracker.
Criminal Code of Morality
In a BBC profile of Ramensky, Eilidh McLaughlin writes that “He had a strong code of ethics and when caught, would freely confess to his wrong-doings, and even alerted authorities to possible unexploded gelignite in order that it be disposed of safely.”
Because he never offered violent resistance when caught, he earned a certain respect from police who called him “Gentleman (or Gentle) Johnny.”
He made it a point of honour to only steal from businesses and banks, never from people’s homes.
Johnny Ramensky Goes to War
According to The Daily Record, Ramensky “was once regarded as the best safecracker in the world.” It was this skill that, in 1941, brought him to the attention of Britain’s War Office, where it was thought he might be of greater use that sitting in a cell at Peterhead Prison.
The BBC reports that, “He joined the commandos and promised to stay on the straight and narrow whilst in uniform. He had a successful and diverse career in the army which even involved parachuting behind enemy lines.”
In one escapade in Rome he is said to have opened 12 safes (some accounts say 14) in foreign embassies in a single afternoon. For his war service, Johnny Ramensky was awarded the high honour of the Military Medal.
Return to Crime
With peacetime, Ramensky went back to his old craft. By 1947 he was serving a five-year sentence for safe-blowing. Over the next 25 years he was in and out of prison – more in than out – and always for blowing open safes and taking the money he found inside.
Many newspapers wanted him to tell them his story and he turned them all down. In rejecting one offer he wrote that, “I am a crook, always have been, and there is no turning back.
“My heart is in the game and I would not have it otherwise…
“I know from experience that money, even big money, makes no difference to my mode of life.
“The game is what matters.”
And, he went on with the game until 1970 when he was badly injured in falling from the roof of a business he was trying to break into. While in prison for that crime he died of a stroke in 1972.
Sources
- “The Life and Crimes of ‘Gentleman’ Johnny Ramensky.” Maurice Coyne, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser, February 16, 2011.
- “Scotland’s Safecracker: Johnny Ramensky.” Eilidh McLaughlin, BBC Scotland, March 29, 2011.
- “The Amazing Life of Notorious Scots Criminal ‘Gentle’ Johnny Ramensky.” Tom Hamilton, The Daily Record, November 13, 2010.
- “Famous Scots: Johnny Ramensky. (1905-1972).” Ramparts Scotland, undated.
- “Johnny Ramensky: Cracking Criminal.” The Scotsman, November 14, 2010.
Rupert Taylor - Rupert Taylor is the editor of a magazine that provides background to current events.
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