Alice Diamond

What makes the Forty Elephants fascinating is that contemporary policing at the time simply didn't expect men in silk stockings to be capable of high-profile crime, so they were let slip.

The gang's early leaders, first Mary Carr, later Alice Diamond, forged a hierarchy that looked almost like a corporation more than a criminal mob.

Carr established the name Forty Thieves from the number of women who initially banded together.

But as their influence grew, it was colloquially renamed after Elephant and Castle, the street where they were based.

Alice Diamond took the reins in the 1920s and brought a new flair.

She pushed her girls to dress like film stars, think furs, pearls, and hats that hid pockets.

Her strategy was simple.