Terry "Lucky Tel" Hogan

Who was Terry "Lucky Tel" Hogan?

Terry "Lucky Tel" Hogan was a British professional criminal and prominent figure in the London underworld in the 1950s and 60s.

Hogan was born in 1931 and grew up in Fulham. In his early twenties, employed by Billy Hill, he took part in the Eastcastle Street mailbag robbery in which £287,000 was stolen from a Post Office van on its way across the West End from Paddington station. The crime was regarded so seriously that then prime minister Winston Churchill received daily updates on the investigation and Parliament demanded an explanation from the Postmaster General, Herbrand Sackville, as to how it had been allowed to happen.

Hogan had been responsible for getting into the cab of the mail van during the Eastcastle street robbery and, according to notorious thief George "Taters" Chatham, "was fortunate in that he never got caught”.

In 1957 Hogan was arrested, together with Bruce Reynolds, for assault and robbery of a bookmaker returning from White City greyhounds with £500. The police stated their belief that the intent of the cosh attack was grievous bodily harm and not robbery. Hogan was sentenced to 2½ years and Reynolds received a year longer.