Once Britain’s ‘hardest man,’ Dave Courtney was a member of the notorious Richardson gang who was stabbed and had his nose bitten off during his criminal career – the loveable rogue took his own life aged 64
A notorious ex- gangster who shot himself in the head had lived a “wicked life” and didn’t want to “waste” his last years being in pain.
Dave Courtney, 64, was a member of the notorious Richardson gang based in south London in the 1960s. Associated with the infamous Kray Firm, it was involved in everything from drug dealing to hijacking, and illegal gambling to gun-running and prostitution.
According to his own testimonies over the years, he had been shot, stabbed, had his nose bitten off then reattached, and killed others in order to stay alive.
Earlier this week, an inquest heard how Courtney took his own life after watching his beloved Charlton Athletic beat Reading 4-1 in League One.
He posted pictures of himself there on social media…but he was dead just a few hours later. He told pals: “I can’t f**k and I can’t fight, so I’m bored and I’m in pain every day.”
Here we take a look back at his life.
‘Camelot Castle’
The 64-year-old converted a former school into a white mansion dubbed “Camelot Castle” and decked it out with guns, swords, suits of armour, images of the late Queen, and a bust of his own head.
It also boasted a nightclub and a sex dungeon – where adult films were shot.
During an interview on the Eventful Entrepreneur podcast, Courtney joked about how he wanted to become a sex symbol, leading him to star in an X-rated production.
The plans were set in motion after becoming friendly with the producer while working in security.
He said at the time: “I was going, ‘Wow man, I’d love to make a blue scene’. He went, ‘You want to make a blue film man? It’s the easiest f***ing thing in the world; Go over there and get an aids test, and in 45 minutes you can come back here and you’ll be s******g whatever bird you want for the next hour and a half.”
He agreed after being promised the movie would only appear on hotel porn channels, so no one he knew would see it.
Until his honeymoon, in a hotel, when his wife saw it.
The pair had eloped spontaneously in the US and happened to stay in the hotel chain that the movie had been sold to.
Courtney added: “I’ve been married for six hours, she’s put on the porn channel – you can laugh – and all of a sudden it went, ‘Dave Courtney English gangster in…’ And I’m trying to dive on to the bed to grab the television control, but the bed’s too big, and it’s a water bed so it’s vibrating.
“And there it is, me, in a blue film on my wedding night in the hotel.”
Criminal career
Courtney, who was born in Bermondsey but lived in Plumstead, was a member of the Richardson Gang.
He wrote six books about his delinquent past and was reportedly the inspiration behind Vinnie Jones’ character Big Chris in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
In 2000 he was cleared by an Old Bailey jury of involvement in a plot to plant cocaine on an innocent woman.
During the trial he was named as a registered police informant using the alias ‘Tommy Mack’.
But he insisted he simply took advantage of the system to disguise a relationship with a corrupt detective.
He referred to himself as Dave Courtney OBE – ‘One Big Ego’ – and had a painted depiction of himself as a knight in Camelot Castle.
Courtney claimed to have organised the security for Reggie Kray’s funeral, among other notorious gangsters, but did not want a big one of his own.
Courtney, who confessed in a video released after his death to murdering a drug-dealing rival and once attacking five Chinese waiters with a meat cleaver, was described by friends as “like an angel”
Alongside his title of “the hardest man in Britain”, he was also known as the “yellow pages of the Underworld”.
Chocolate todger
After Courtney’s death, his most recent girlfriend Angela Hoy, 62, described their first meeting at a ball five years ago, the Guardian reports.
“He came over and I was 57 and I said to him, ‘Mate, unless your c**k’s made of chocolate and spits out money, I’m not interested.’ He laughed and came back an hour later with a hollow Lindt rabbit on his willy and a £20 note hanging off of it.”
Courtney died in October 2023 after admitting his rheumatoid arthritis left him “disguising a lot of pain.”
After filming goodbye videos for his family, Courtney said: “I’m having to hide the fact that I can’t get up and down the stairs and in and out of the car and I’m not enjoying it at the moment,” he said.
“That’s really it. I don’t want to go waste having a wicked life like I’ve had. Absolutely superb.”
For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.