Great Train Robbery (1963) in the capture of Roy James, Ronald Biggs, Jimmy Hussey and John Daly. The trial of the robbers began at Aylesbury Assizes, Buckinghamshire, on 20 January 1964. Because it would be necessary to accommodate a large number of lawyers and journalists, the existing court was deemed too small and so the offices of Aylesbury Rural District Council were specially converted for the event. The defendants were brought to the court each day from Aylesbury Prison in a compartmentalised van, out of view of the large crowd of spectators. Mr Justice Edmund Davies presided over the trial, which lasted 51 days
The Great Train Robbery (novel) did not want to be constrained by what actually happened. The true story of the robbery can be found David C. Hanrahan's book "The First Great Train Robbery". The "New York Times" called it "Mr Crichton's best thriller to date". The "Los Angeles Times" described it as "marvellous fun". The book was one of the biggest best selling novels in the US in 1975. Three audiobook versions have been released: The novel was later made into a 1979 film entitled "The First Great Train Robbery" directed by Crichton starring Sean Connery as Pierce, Donald Sutherland as Agar and Lesley-Anne Down