Practice Makes Perfect

Emerging in 1872 from his last spell in prison, Charles Peace, though only 40, had white hair and a deeply wrinkled face. When appropriate he made much of this, walking like a bent, frail old man though he was fit, remarkably strong and exceedingly agile. This was the peak of his criminal profession; his robberies were neat, methodical, silent and

very numerous - often several in one night.

He could climb walls and drainpipes, leap from roof to roof, squeeze between bars that larger men would never consider, and find keys in trouser pockets while the owner slept close by. He knew how to tame and then dope a watch dog, and his ability to alter his own features made him hard to recognise.

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