PA
Ronald Arthur "Ronnie" Biggs played a minor role in the robbery, but his life as a fugitive after escaping from prison gained him notoriety. He was given a 30-year sentence in 1964, but he escaped after 15 months by fleeing over the walls of London's Wandsworth prison in April 1965.
After having plastic surgery, he lived as a fugitive for 36 years in first Australia then Brazil, where he fathered a son Michael.
His health deteriorated in 2001 and he returned to the UK voluntarily where he was sent back to prison.
He was finally freed in 2009 on "compassionate grounds" by then Justice Secretary Jack Straw who said he was not expected to recover.
He remains in a nursing home in north London.
Some of Ronnie Biggs best quotes: