The true story behind the Sabini Gang, the London based Italian mobsters that feature in the TV series Peaky Blinders.
The Sabini Gang. To most, it’s a nod to the darkly lit corners of British crime history, immortalized in sleek suits and polished switchblades, more myth than man. But oh, they were very real. Long before Birmingham’s Peaky Blinders flickered onto our screens, swaggering across cobblestone streets in their brash, TV-embellished bravado, the Sabinis ruled the roost in London. They were the kings of Little Italy, queens of racecourse racketeering, and reigning champions of the infamous “Battle of Waterloo” (no, not that Waterloo). Their legacy is rich, bloody, and far more tangled than even the Shelby family’s collective machinations.
The Origins of the Sabini Gang
The Sabinis were London’s answer to America’s Italian mafia, and at their core was Charles “Darby” Sabini, a sharp-witted, ruthless man with an eye for control and a glint for blood. Born to an Italian immigrant family in the midst of Victorian London’s soot-streaked streets, Sabini carved a name for himself by the 1920s as the emperor of an underground empire that stretched from London’s Little Italy to the racetracks of England.
Sabini’s racket was built on razor-sharp organization and a keen understanding of the gaps in the law, where bribes filled pockets as quickly as clenched fists filled eyes. His was an iron hand in a silk glove; if you were wise, you slipped him a pound, maybe two, and he’d see to it your stall wasn’t overturned. If you were foolish, well, he’d overturn more than your stall.
By the early 20th century, Sabini had established himself as the gatekeeper of the bookies on the track. Every bet, every fistful of cash, and every hopeful gambler’s whispered prayer passed under his surveillance.
He wasn’t just running a gang; he was running a business, in every meaning of the word. And The Griffin in Clerkenwell was their headquarters.
A Role in Peaky Blinders
In Peaky Blinders Season 4, the Sabinis made their debut in the series as formidable rivals to Tommy Shelby’s crew, breathing cinematic life into Charles Sabini as a character who crossed swords, or rather brass knuckles, with the Shelbys on their way to dominance. The show’s version paints Sabini, played by Noah Taylor, as a snivelling, shadowy figure, a businessman who lacks Tommy’s flair or fatal charm. The real Sabini, however, was anything but whimpering; he had swagger, Italian fervor, and a penchant for the dramatic that often ended in blood-spattered suits and shattered glass.
The show’s Sabini Gang, as fierce as they seemed on the screen, was a watered-down version of the real one. Peaky Blinders takes certain liberties (as it should) with historical events, melding fiction with fact to create the chaotic battles we see between the gangs. The real Sabini, however, was less inclined to petty duels and more committed to razor-fighting and well-planned ambushes. To him, violence was business, and business was always booming.
The Sabinis weren’t just fighting for turf; they were guarding an empire. This was their territory, after all, and anyone encroaching – like Tommy Shelby and his family – were unwelcome pests. It was a clash of empires, albeit one far removed from polite diplomacy and tea. Instead, it was knives, pistols, and brass knuckles at dawn.
The Battle of Waterloo
And so we come to the infamous “Battle of Waterloo,” where Charles Sabini faced off with fellow crime overlord Billy Kimber. Now, here’s where things get spicy. The year was 1921, the place – Waterloo Station, that quintessentially British heart of orderly chaos. But for Sabini and his gang, it was a battlefield. Sabini’s gang went to blows with Kimber’s Birmingham Boys, a bloody clash that began with sharp tongues and ended with sharper weapons.
It was reportedly one of the bloodiest gang fights to hit London. Sabini’s men fought with an arsenal of knuckledusters, razors, and broken bottles, anything they could fashion into a weapon of crude efficiency. Kimber’s boys gave back in kind, scrapping until the air filled with sweat, blood, and an electric anticipation of victory.
The brawl was only the tip of the iceberg, as both sides would come to launch wave after wave of retaliatory assaults, each one more brutal than the last. This wasn’t just about the control of a few race tracks; it was a matter of pride, of who truly ruled London’s underground world. When the dust settled, Kimber’s Birmingham Boys had taken a beating, but the Sabinis had made their message clear: London was theirs. After the Battle of Waterloo, Sabini’s reputation grew – he wasn’t just a gang leader, he was the king of the London underworld.
The Rise and Fall
With the Kimber gang on their knees, Sabini and his men continued to expand, solidifying their control over London’s racetracks and clubs, moving into the world of protection rackets, illegal gambling, and whatever else could make a profit with a blade or a fist. This was no longer just a family affair; it was a sprawling empire.
But as with most empires, the bigger they get, the more fragile they become. By the late 1930s, cracks had begun to show. The Sabini Gang was facing increased pressure from rivals, not least from Jewish gangs rising in East London. With the police also turning up the heat, their empire began to wobble. And then, with the outbreak of World War II, the Sabini story took a tragic turn. Darby Sabini was arrested and interned as an enemy alien, a twist that seems almost laughable for a man so devoted to his London empire.
While Sabini eventually got out, his hold on London’s criminal underworld had diminished. Other, younger crime families took advantage of his absence, stepping into the void. Soon, the Sabini Gang was a shadow of its former self. By the time Darby Sabini passed away in 1950, his empire had faded, his territory divided among London’s new wave of crime families.
The Legacy
The Sabini Gang remains etched into the annals of British crime history, a cautionary tale of ambition, brutality, and the delicate balance of power. In a way, their legacy is both overshadowed and glorified by Peaky Blinders, which brought Darby Sabini’s name back to the public consciousness. The show romanticized the violence, adding a sepia-toned nostalgia to what was, in reality, a gritty, often brutal existence.
In life, Charles Darby Sabini and his gang lived by a ruthless code, but one that was pragmatic, focused on survival and profit over glory or fame. The Sabinis were businessmen as much as brawlers, and their reign marked a turbulent chapter in London’s underworld. Sabini didn’t have the tragic allure of Tommy Shelby, but his legacy is no less gripping, a relic of a time when crime was calculated, bloody, and perhaps, just a little bit glamorous.