On May 16, 1855, a train owned by the South Eastern Railway, traveling from London to Folkestone, the perfect crime took place. A group of four men succeeded in robbing the train of £12,000 of gold, weighing two hundred pounds, while it was being transported from London, England to Boulogne, France. The plan was in development for many years by two career criminals, Edward Agar and William Pierce. When the two men first discussed the possibility of robbing the train, they decided it was too risky. Yet, neither man could dismiss the idea of the heist. Later, at a chance meeting by Pierce and Agar, the heist was revisited and the two agreed that it would be possible if they could obtain copies of the safe keys. Realizing they needed help, they recruited two employees of the railroad, James Burgess, a guard, and William George Tester, a clerk. The execution of the crime was near perfect and they were successful in the heist. No arrests were made at the time. Edward Agar was later arrested for check fraud. During Agar's incarceration, Pierce reluctantly promised to take care of Agar's son and the child's mother, Fanny Kay, but did not honor the promise. Upon hearing this, Agar turned witness against Pierce, Burgess and Tester. If not for one broken promise, all involved would have remained at large, save for Edward Agar. The Great Gold Robbery of 1855 was the most brilliant crime to date, and would have remained unsolved but for a broken promise.
             In the late 1840s, William Pierce was working as ticket printer for the South Eastern Railway when he met Edward Agar (Yousof). Both men had committed many petty crimes before they met. In conversation, Edward expressed curiosity about the security and procedures surrounding the transport of gold. Pierce explained to him how the gold shipments were sent. Due to a failed robbery attempt on the Great Western Railway, new heightened security measures were implem...