IT HAS TAKEN a while, infact it has taken nearly fifty years but Thurrock businessman, Eddie Blundell has put pen to paper and published his autobiography.
The books is called Top Drawer Villain.. It is what it says on the label.
Published by Pomegranate Press , and written by veteran author, Johnnie Johnson, it is a fascinating insight into East London life in the sixties and seventies.
The book begins with Eddie detailing how his parents moved from Spain to London and eventually settled in South Ockendon.
School life is brief but not brief enough to reveal that Eddie had a grasp of the maths and that forensic eye for detail that served him very well and has not left him.
There is then the rise and rise of Eddie’s business empire through a number of commercial ventures. Many will remember the ice cream trade but it appears to be the nouse to invest in property that is key.
Naturally, you will have to read the book to find out more but the core of the book is the Ice Cream Wars which ended with the infamous shoot out in Ilford High Street.
There is also reference to ‘The Twins”, infact there is more than a reference, there is perhaps an explanation as to their fall which many criminologists may have missed; a chilling meeting with serial killer John Childs and a number of very exotic characters indeed.
And there is also the little matter of a disagreement with the Hells Angels at the Weeley Rock Festival.
You will see from the interview that there is not a lot of love lost between Eddie and the police.
The police Eddie is referring to is the one which, in 1972, the newly head of the Met Police, Sir Robert Marks was referring to when he said: “A good police force is one that catches more crooks than it employs”.
As we said, if you click on the links, you can find details of where to by the book. The family have been very pleased with the response with orders from far and wide.
If you want to purchase the book, click on the Pomegranate link.
