Nancy Barkley landed a third of the £1million prize pot and says she wants people to remember her brother David Whitby, not the violent robbers who stole the equivalent of £50million
The sister of a Great Train Robbery victim has scooped a fortune on the Postcode Lottery – more than six decades after her late brother was beaten during Britain’s most infamous heist.
Nancy Barkley, 80, landed a third of the £1million prize pot – and now plans to move out of her rented home for one of her own with husband, Colin. The former factory worker says she could not help thinking of her late brother David Whitby – the train fireman attacked by the notorious gang behind the 1963 robbery.
Nancy, of Crewe, Cheshire, said: “Everyone all knew the robbers’ names but now people remember my brother David as well. And maybe he’s looking down on us today.”
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The great-gran added: “This is just unbelievable. I never expected anything like that amount. I thought £1,000 … anything over that is a bonus. This is a blooming big bonus!”
Nancy and two neighbours shared £1million when their CW1 postcode landed the lottery’s weekly Millionaire Street prize on Saturday May 9. Each ticket was worth £333,333. Behind the feel-good windfall is an extraordinary link to one of Britain’s most infamous crimes.
Brother David, then 25, was the fireman – or driver’s mate – aboard the Glasgow to London Royal Mail train targeted by the Great Train Robbery gang on August 8, 1963. The robbery became one of the most shocking crimes in British history after 15 men escaped with £2.6million – worth more than £50million today.
While the gang, including Ronnie Biggs, became infamous around the world, Nancy says the real victims were forgotten. Recalling the terrifying night, she said: “They [the robbers] changed the signals, so the train stopped. David got out and went down to the signal box to find out why. He then went to ring the signal box man, but they’d cut the wires.”
Nancy said her brother then unknowingly walked straight into the gang. She explained: “He was walking back towards the train and saw a fellow standing there.
“David said, ‘You alright mate?’ because he thought he was a railway worker. But he was one of the robbers. He grabbed David, pushed him down the bank and started punching him.”
Nancy said the gang then attacked driver Jack Mills, then 57, after he tried to resist them: “They dragged Jack off the train and handcuffed him to David. One of the robbers stood over them and warned them some of the gang were ‘right b*****ds’.”
Driver Jack suffered severe head injuries during the raid and never fully recovered. He died in 1970 aged 65. David died just two years after Jack in 1972 at just 34 years old from a heart attack.
Nancy believes both men paid a terrible price for the trauma they suffered. Yet she says history focused almost entirely on the robbers themselves: “They spent 50 years glamourising them. It was all Ronnie Biggs this and Ronnie Biggs that. They made films about them and turned them into celebrities.”
She even remembers seeing singer Phil Collins star in the 1988 movie, Buster, in which he played one of the gang members, Buster Edwards, adding: “Nobody talked about the victims. David and Jack both died within years of the robbery and people just forgot about them.”
Recognition finally came decades later after railway officials organised a memorial service honouring the two men. A plaque was later installed at Crewe Railway Station, and roads were named after both men. Nancy said: “There’s a Jack Mills Way and a David Whitby Way now. Every time we drive down there, I say, ‘Hello David’.”
Husband Colin, 69, admitted he secretly put the Postcode Lottery ticket in Nancy’s name because he believed she was luckier than him. He joked: “I told her she was the lucky one. Looks like I was right.”
Nancy, who worked as a cutter for Chester Barrie – a clothing factory which made designer men’s clothes worn by Royals, football and F1 stars – now plans to buy their very own home. She said: “We only rent so this changes everything. We can buy the bungalow that we’ve always wanted.”
The couple only moved back to Crewe recently after retiring to Wales several years ago. But worsening health problems forced them closer to family.
Nancy revealed she battled breast cancer two years ago and underwent a lumpectomy. Although doctors successfully removed the cancer, she later became seriously ill after suffering an infection and digestive complications. She said: “At one point I went a whole month hardly eating or drinking. I ended up in hospital on drips and intravenous antibiotics.”
But Nancy says she is finally recovering and hopes to enjoy spending their winnings. The couple have already begun sharing the news with their family – although one of their four daughters initially thought the photos were fake. Colin laughed: “She saw the picture with the cheque and said, ‘It’s AI’. I had to convince her it was real.”
The family already has a history of luck in competitions. Back in 1995, Colin entered a Daily Mirror contest and won a luxury cruise aboard the famous P&O liner SS Canberra.
Nancy said: “We’d never been abroad before. We went to Spain, Egypt, Israel, Cyprus and Gibraltar,” adding: “We even had our own butler.”
Despite their latest windfall, the pair insist they will not become extravagant. Nancy said: “We’re not flashy people. We don’t drink and we’re happy with simple things. We like going out for lunch and little trips away.”
Instead, the biggest joy for Nancy is being able to help her close-knit family including their daughters, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
May has already become a huge month for celebrations, with several birthdays falling within weeks of the win. Nancy smiled: “One daughter turned 60 last week, another had her birthday today and my birthday is next week. May must be our lucky month.”
