Sidney nicked World Cup for a thrill in spur of the moment - not for money but because it was so easy
Nephew tells how mastermind behind heist wrongfooted cops for decades
THE identity of the man who stole the World Cup in 1966 can be revealed today for the first time.
Sidney Cugullere nicked the Jules Rimet trophy in London – three months before England were due to host the competition.
It led to one of the biggest manhunts in Scotland Yard’s history but Cugullere, then 40, was never caught and his identity has remained a secret for 52 years.
Now, with the 2018 World Cup just 22 days away, a probe by our sister paper the Mirror has uncovered the story of one of the world’s most notorious thefts.
Three independent sources with knowledge of th e crim e, including his nephew Gary, have told how the former borstal boy stole the trophy with the help of his brother, Gary’s dad Reg.
Dubbed “Mr Crafty”, Cugullere had tried to extort a ransom of £15,000 for it with the help of pal Ted Betchley but the plan went wrong after his friend was arrested.
When mongrel dog Pickles and his owner found the cup in a south London street, the theft became a bigger story than that year’s general election.
But armed robber Cugellere watched the drama unfold from his home in the city’s Walworth and died of cancer in 2005, aged 79, having never been caught.
Gary told us: “Sidney just nicked it for the thrill – not for financial gain but just because it was so easy.”
Another source said: “Many a time, Sid would say he was the first Englishman to lift the World Cup and that he did it before Bobby Moore.”
Cugullere, who was jailed for more than 25 years for other offences, took the Greek goddess figurine on Sunday, March 20, 1966, from the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster.
It was insured for £30,000 and was being exhibited in a glass cabinet by the world famous Stanley Gibbons stamp company.
Sir Stanley Rous, the English president of Fifa, had agreed to it being released from the FA headquarters on the condition it was watched 24 hours a day.
One source said Cugullere first told him how he had pulled off the burglary in the 80s. He had driven the mile to Westminster from his home, after hearing the cup was on display, to case out the security.
The source said: “Sid said there were those door handles you get on schools, the large metal ones, and he realised he could unscrew them and get in.”
They had been holding a wooden bar across the rear doors, which were removed, allowing Cugullere to get in to the room housing the trophy cabinet.
The insider said: “He said he couldn’t believe it when he saw it was just in a wooden cabinet with a glass front, with a chain and a little Woolworths padlock on it and no security watching it.
“He cut the chain and in
seconds got the cabinet open. When he got it out, he braced himself to lift it, expecting it to be very heavy, but said it was so light it was untrue.” Cugullere put it in his bag and walked out. Gary says his dad told him he was in the Methodist Central Hall when Cugullere took the cup but did not see him take it.
He said: “On the street after coming out of the doors, Sid lifted his jacket and said, ‘‘ere you are Reg, look at this’.
“My dad went: “F ****** hell, Sid, what the f*** do you think we are going to do with that?”
It emerged that security guards had gone for a coffee when the cup was stolen.
Scotland Yard were alerted and rewards totalling £5500 were soon offered for the safe return of the cup.
Betchley, 46, was caught after trying to collect a “ransom” for the trophy and was eventually jailed for two years.
Cugullere started to panic within days of the theft and hid the World Cup in Reg’s wife’s dad’s coal shed.
Seven days after the crime, David Corbett had taken out his cross-bred collie Pickles when he spotted the cup. It earned him the cash reward.
Moore went on to lift the trophy after England beat Germany in the final.
Gary said: “It’s the crime of the century and my dad and uncle will be remembered as the people who stole the World Cup.”
My dad said, ‘What the f*** are we going to do with that? GARY CUGULLERE ON DAD’S REACTION