MUST READ: Joburg’s most notorious criminals, The Foster Gang
JOHANNESBURG – The year was 1914 and, like any newborn city, Jozi had its own hardened criminals – The Foster Gang – who caused chaos on the streets between July and September of that year.
The gang consisted of leader William Robert Clem Foster, his wife Peggy, and John Maxim and Carl Mezar. As a group, they terrorised the streets of Johannesburg by committing a series of robberies and murders before taking their lives after a stand-off with police.
Reports from africacrime-mystery.co.za state that the gang was formed a few months after Foster escaped from Pretoria Prison where he had been sentenced to 12 years of hard labour for robbing a local shop.
The gang’s first robbery took place at the Boksburg North branch of the National Bank. The second happened a few weeks later when they robbed the Roodepoort Post Office which was shortly followed by a robbery at a post office in Vrededorp.
It was reported that the gang was hiding out in a small cottage on the corner of Bob Street and South Road in Regents Park when a local resident recognised them and called the police. When a policeman went to investigate, he decided to try and arrest the group on the spot instead of calling for back-up. He confronted the gang and was shot dead by Foster, which sparked a manhunt.
During their spate of crimes, the gang was responsible for nine deaths, many of them policemen, giving rise to one of the most intensive manhunts the police had yet undertaken.
The gang found refuge in a cave in Kensington Hills which Foster had found as a child. Articles on joburg.org.za claim that roadblocks were put in place and sniffer dogs eventually located where the notorious gang was hiding out. Foster’s wife was not with the gang when they hid in the cave.
During the standoff, Foster asked the police to bring Peggy to the cave so that he could speak with her before turning himself in. However, after she entered, the gang all committed suicide by shooting themselves to avoid being arrested.
According to BoksburgHistory.com, the Foster gang found their final resting places in Braamfontein Cemetery. Foster was buried in the same grave as his wife. Mezar’s grave is nearby and can be found next to the 1922 Miners’ Strike graves. Maxin was buried in the general section of the cemetery. A number of the Foster Gang’s victims were also buried at there.
Victims of the Foster Gang included a barman, Alex Charlson, who tried to help a night clerk who witnessed the gang’s first burglary.
Sergeant Neil McCloud was shot trying to arrest John Maxim after a robbery at Big Bottle store in Doornfontein. Sergeant Robert Mansfield was found shot dead on the same day as McCloud. Reports indicated that Mansfield was investigating noises in a building where the gang was planning a robbery.
Detective Sergeant Charles Mynott was shot while investigating the cottage where the gang had taken up residence, and an unnamed detective who allowed Peggy Foster to enter the cave after being requested by her husband was reportedly racked by guilt and later committed suicide.Dr Gerald Grace was rushing to answer an urgent call and failed to stop at a roadblock. The police, thinking he was a member of the Foster Gang, fired at the car, killing him and wounding his wife.
General Jacobus Hercules de la Rey was shot dead when he ordered his chauffeur to drive through a roadblock. He was also mistaken for a member of the Foster Gang.
Read more about the historic graves at Braamfontein cemetery. (IMBED – )
Details: joburg.org
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