Sowerbutt's Jewels

The long-retired writer for the East London Pioneer, who still has the notebook from his interview in the early 1960s with Jimmy Sowerbutt, said: "There was a rash of raids on jewellery shops in London after the war. Few had any sensible security until after the event. They were mostly very clinical - the staff were not harmed and specific items were taken. At the same time, a lot of jewellery could be bought at a reasonable price on the black market. You would deduce the insurance companies coughed up after the raids and the shops bought their jewellery back recut and reset.

"I heard a whisper once that Jimmy had one of the best cutters stashed away somewhere, outside the Smoke. He never said a word about any involvement in the jewellery trade."
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Colour-Lemon-Surrender-1940-ebook/dp/B008USR7FA