The Stately Home Raiders & The £80 Million Heist / The Johnson Gang

A gang of masked men used stolen 4x4s fitted with scaffolding poles to ram-raid some of the most historic stately homes across the country, then vanished into the night. Antiques worth tens of millions were stolen from Waddesdon Manor, home to the Rothschild collection. But one detail set this case apart: a convicted thief turned up at Lord Rothschild's door, still wearing his probation tag, and offered to recover the stolen collection himself…

*** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED *** 

This episode was researched and written by Eileen Macfarlane.

Script editing, additional writing, illustrations and production direction by Rosanna Fitton.

Audio editing by Joel Porter at Dot Dot Dot Productions.

Narration, additional audio editing and mixing, and script editing by Benjamin Fitton.

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More information and episode references can be found on our website https://theywalkamonguspodcast.com

SOCIAL MEDIA: https://linktr.ee/TheyWalkAmongUs

MUSIC: 

Distances by Salon Dijon 

Innovation Age by Cody Martin 

Pandoras Box by Cody Martin 

Life in Binary by Falls 

Ripley by Falls 

In The Shadow Of The Monolith by Phillip Mount 

Driven To The Edge by Salon Dijon 

Rising Tide by Salon Dijon 

Stolen Moments by Salon Dijon 

Harvester by Wicked Cinema 

Lurk by Wicked Cinema 

No Escape by Wicked Cinema 

Mission Objective by Wicked Cinema 

Reconciliation by Wicked Cinema 

Rogue Asset by Wicked Cinema 

Shifter by Wicked Cinema 

Shroud by Wicked Cinema 

REFERENCES: 

DOCUMENTS

R v Johnson and Others [2009] EWCA Crim 649

R v Paul Smith [2022] EWCA Crim 176

R v O, J and S [2008] EWCA Crim 463

NEWSBANK

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), August 7, 2008

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), August 8, 2008

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), August 9, 2008

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), August 14, 2008

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), August 16, 2008

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), October 3, 2008

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), April 4, 2009

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), July 24, 2009:

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), December 15, 2009

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), December 17, 2009

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), March 11, 2010

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), April 6, 2010

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), April 28, 2010

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), April 29, 2010

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), May 1, 2010

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), July 9, 2010

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), April 5, 2011

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), August 10, 2011

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), May 18, 2012

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), October 29, 2016

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), December 16, 2021

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), April 3, 2025

Hull Daily Mail (England), January 27, 2000

Aldershot News & Mail - StarCourier (England), June 12, 2003

Daily Telegraph, The (London, England), November 17, 2003

Evening Mail (Birmingham, England), June 9, 2004

Guardian, The (London, England), August 28, 2004

Western Daily Press (Bristol, England), August 31, 2004

Daily Telegraph, The (London, England), May 12, 2005

Birmingham Post, The (England), October 17, 2006

Oxfordshire County Publications (England), October 17, 2006

Reading Post (England), August 8, 2008

Shropshire Star: Web Edition Articles (England), July 2, 2009

Evening Standard (London, England), October 10, 2006

Birmingham Post, The (England), October 11, 2006

Guardian, The (London, England), October 11, 2006

Evening Standard (London, England), August 6, 2008

Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, The (England), August 6, 2008

Birmingham Post, The (England), August 7, 2008

Daily Mail (London, England), August 7, 2008

Daily Telegraph, The (London, England), August 7, 2008

Gloucester Citizen, The (England), August 7, 2008

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), August 7, 2008

Guardian, The (London, England), August 7, 2008

Sun, The (London, England), August 7, 2008

Times, The (London, England), August 7, 2008

Independent on Sunday, The (London, England), August 10, 2008

Cotswold Journal (Evesham, England), June 25, 2009

Daily Telegraph, The (London, England), June 25, 2009

Swindon Advertiser (England), December 17, 2009

Western Daily Press (Bristol, England), April 28, 2010

Yorkshire Post (England), January 26, 2012

MailOnline (London, England), August 17, 2019

Swindon Advertiser (England), June 19, 2020

Daily Telegraph, The (London, England), April 25, 2022

Wiltshire County Publications (England), June 22, 2004

Daily Mail (London, England), October 11, 2006

Times, The (London, England), October 11, 2006

Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, The (England), August 7, 2008

Associated Press Archive, June 11, 2003

Times, The (London, England), June 11, 2003

Daily Telegraph, The (London, England), November 17, 2003

Independent, The (London, England), June 11, 2003

Times, The (London, England), June 12, 2003

Gloucestershire Echo (Cheltenham, England), August 7, 2008

Bracknell Forest Standard (England), August 24, 2011

Western Daily Press (Bristol, England), March 6, 2007

Times, The (London, England), March 7, 2007

Sunday Times, The (London, England), April 27, 2003

ONLINE

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/yourtown/oxford/19259728.burglar-killed-car-crash-way-rob-antiques-shop/

https://waddesdon.org.uk/your-visit/house/the-rothschilds-at-waddesdon/ 

https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/18782775.judge-gabriel-hutton-dies-aged-88-home/

https://waddesdon.org.uk/?srsltid=AfmBOopWyEWYrEltStme8-hwGnuYLYPrzUs7wGaMQjxVgbr79V5lPq1K

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1446911/Thieves-are-targeting-stately-homes.html

https://waddesdon.org.uk/blog/stolen-gold-box-returned-to-waddesdon/?srsltid=AfmBOoqmNn84Ae2XVvUMCsubfNfRRAhBOlJIsQEMZG_wid4Kv3rgwZk1

https://waddesdon.org.uk/about-us/governance/gold-box-theft/

https://images.waddesdon.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/List-of-stolen-boxes-for-website-updated-March-2022.pdf?_gl=1*1e47ltd*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3NzI1MzY2MTMuQ2p3S0NBaUFxcHJOQmhCNkVpd0FNZTN5aGtXU3R2dzVobVNBbVdYRi1UUTlwTGxxMWt3QkVMdmFUSHZfZXF5bWtSTVB3bjNSNDVfTjFCb0NfLTRRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_au*MTI3NzMxMjM1MS4xNzcyNTM1NjQ0*_ga*MTI1Mzg0ODgwNC4xNzcyNTM1NjQ0*_ga_KY53H4QKHT*czE3NzI1MzU2NDMkbzEkZzEkdDE3NzI1MzgxMjAkajI4JGwwJGgw

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7545370.stm

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/aug/07/ukcrime

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/uk_news/7304501.stm

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-16747451

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-53120728

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2510711/Gipsy-gang-jailed-for-Britains-biggest-robbery.html

https://www.buckinghamshirelive.com/news/buckinghamshire-news/three-jailed-after-boarstall-crash-5358207

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/apr/24/arts.ukcrime

https://www.thedicamillo.com/house/ramsbury-manor/