Peaky Blinders, a drama series created by Steven Knight, is loosely based on a true event but has been significantly dramatized for dramatic effect. The Shelby family, a group of outlaws who join Birmingham’s elite society in the 1920s, is the main subject of the BBC-Netflix crime drama. However, the real-life counterparts of Peaky Blinders lived in Birmingham in a completely different era.
Peaky Blinders: The Real Story
Birmingham historian Carl Chinn claimed, “The actual Peaky Blinders are not merely a gang from the 1920s. The guys who belonged to several backstreet gangs in Birmingham around the start of the 20th century and the 1890s are the true Peaky Blinders, but their roots go far deeper.
The actual Peaky Blinders were unrelated, much younger, and poorer than the fictional Thomas Shelby and his wealthy family and friends. This wandering crew of uniformed thieves started extorting company owners and pickpocketing locals in the 1880s after being born out of poverty in working-class Britain.
But there was a lengthy history of gangs before The Peaky Blinders.
After the Great Famine of 1845, Birmingham’s Irish population nearly doubled by 1851. The gangs emerged in response to anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiments that treated them as second-class citizens and relegated them to inner-city areas where water, drainage, and sanitation were lacking.
The Irish created “slogging” groups to defend themselves and frequently attacked the authorities who searched their betting shops. The Peaky Blinders, who existed until the 1910s or 1920s, replaced the slogging gangs in the 1880s or 1890s with younger generations. The gang, mostly made up of individuals aged 12 to 30, became a significant issue for Birmingham police enforcement.
The situation was made worse by constant hate speech by protestant preachers like William Murphy, who informed their audience that the Irish were cannibals and that their religious leaders were pickpockets and liars. 100,000 people entered the streets in June 1867 with the intent to demolish Irish houses. The police were indifferent and took the side of the aggressors.
Was Peaky Blinders A Real-life Story?
A picture of Arthur and Thomas Shelby from Peaky Blinders standing next to a vehicle in contrast to the Shelby family and their many associates, several gangs made up the real-life Peaky Blinders, as was already mentioned.
Nevertheless, a small number of the gang’s members gained some popularity in Birmingham for their illegal activities. Tommy Shelby is most likely modeled on Kevin Mooney, sometimes known as Thomas Gilbert, even though he was famous for frequently changing his last name. Thomas Gilbert served as the gang’s leader at its height of power. It’s not quite as shocking in real life as in the television program, but the crimes committed by the Peaky Blinders were real.
Harry Fowles, commonly known as “Baby-faced Harry,” was caught stealing a bicycle; Stephen McNickle, another gang member, was also arrested for the same offense. Henry Lightfoot was the first to be referred to as a Peaky Blinder. Later, Henry enlisted in the military, a topic Peaky Blinders deals with in Tommy’s character.
Earnest Haynes, Stephen McNickle, and Billy Kimber are additional actual characters from Peaky Blinders. After being arrested for a home invasion, Haynes spent a month in jail. One of the few real-life figures in Peaky Blinders’ first few seasons is Billy Kimber, who actor Charlie Creed-Miles portray. Billy founded the Birmingham Boys after running with the Peaky Blinders. In the television show, Tommy’s opponent is Kimber, and in 1910, the Birmingham Boys defeated the Peaky Blinders gang.
What Characters & Events Were Real?
The Shelby family from Peaky Blinders isn’t based on a real-life family, but the setting they live in is a copy of 1920s Birmingham society. For instance, the movie star Charlie Chaplin makes an appearance in Peaky Blinders season 2, which fits as the real-life Charlie Chaplin was raised as a Gypsy.
The Peaky Blinders achieved their peak decades earlier, and the real Chaplin would have known this for sure. Because Shelby’s influence extends to Hollywood, Chaplin gives the series a luxurious edge. Another cheeky line is added to this in Peaky Blinders season 6 when Lizzie Shelby (Natasha O’Keefe) commands a bunch of children to focus on the movie projector because it was a Charlie Chaplin gift.
Even though the real-life Peaky Blinders did not greatly influence Birmingham society, the television show offers some interesting revisionist history. It suggests what might have happened if a Peaky Blinder from the 1890s had served in World War I and later interacted with real historical figures like Chaplin, Kimber, Sabini, Mosley, Churchill, and Chang.
Peaky Blinders’ Impact
The BBC-Netflix series stays close to the real-life Peaky Blinders gang’s spirit while making adjustments to their background, methods of operation, and motivations. Chaplin would have been a young child in the 1890s, and Georges Méliès, a cinema pioneer, had just begun his filmmaking career. Additionally, World War I wouldn’t start for around 20 years, so the real-life Peaky Blinders would have mainly been worried about surviving in Birmingham.
Summing Up
Here in the above-mentioned post, we discussed the story of real Peaky Blinders, who they are, and whether their stories are true. We mentioned all the details about their life story. Stay tuned for more such intriguing posts!
Also read: Peaky Blinders Season 6 Release Date, Plot and All Details
