SHEFFIELD, Mass. — Join the Bidwell House Museum on May 21 at 4 p.m. for a talk about the Thieves of Threadneedle Street and learn how two Bidwell brothers perpetrated one of the biggest forgeries in the Bank of England's history. 

 

According to a press release, in 2008, as the world's economies were collapsing, writer Nicholas Booth wondered when the first ever global economic collapse had taken place. It was 1873, and for the author himself, so began a journey which led to his unearthing the true story surrounding something known as "The Great Forgeries Upon The Bank of England." Had the perpetrators been successful, they would have got away with daylight robbery – removing $8 million in today's money by forging documents and impersonating respectable people.

 

At the heart of the story are a branch of the Bidwell family who claimed they could trace their lineage back to the Pilgrim Fathers. And while the two brothers, Austin and George, claimed they were "innocents abroad," they were actually career criminals who had carried out crimes all over the United States. 

 

Booth will tell the full story of the Bidwell brothers and his research in writing "The Thieves of Threadneedle Street," the first full chronicle of an international caper. 

 

Nicholas Booth is a writer and broadcaster who lives in Cheshire, England. After working in newspapers and television, he wrote the book "Zigzag," about the double agent Eddie Chapman, and followed that with "The Thieves of Threadneedle Street."

 

The lecture will be held via Zoom. Registration via the Museum event page is required, https://www.bidwellhousemuseum.org/event/the-thieves-of-threadneedle-street-with-nicholas-booth/

 

Details for how to access the event will be sent via email a few days in advance.