Havelock Bank Robbery

31 August 1961 was the pay day of three local mining companies, and therefore a day in which the Havelock branch of Toronto-Dominion Bank would have more money than usual.[1]

During the early morning of the 31st August, four men entered the basement window of the Toronto-Dominion Bank in the small town of Havelock, Ontario, while another waited in the get-away car.[1] The assailants waited for staff to arrive, and once they did at 9:15am, the armed robbers politely demanded bank worker William Lindup to open the safe and put the contents into a duffel bag, fleeing minutes later with $230,000 of cash plus bank bonds.[1][2] The five robbers were armed with revolvers and an M1 carbine semi-automatic rifle.[2]

As they waited, the neighbouring butcher spotted their Buick vehicle, felt it was suspicious and noted down the license plate.[1]

The robbers fled the scene in their vehicle, their escape was initially blocked by a bulldozer.[1] Police chased them along rural roads on the Canadian Shield, and again their escape was delayed when a car with a punctured tire blocked a single-lane road.[1][3] After hitting a rock and abandoning their vehicles,[4] the robbers exchanged gunfire with the police and escaped into the wilderness east of the Crowe River.[3][1]

The Ontario Provincial Police launched a search of the area, involving 75 officers, and captured the suspects on the 3 and 4 September[2] near Ontario Highway 62.[3][5] Yvon Lalonde and one other robber were spotted on 3 September by lumber mill operator Martin Murphy, and Lalonde was arrested by police hours later.[2] On 4 September, three suspects were found by Frederick Andrews of Stirling, one of many civilians who were helping the police with the search.[1] Police constable John Martin then arrested three men, before they were taken to Millbridge.[2] The were held initially in Peterborough County jail,[3][5] later transferring them to Whitby jail.[1]

One of the robbers died of a heart attack while in custody.[6] The remaining four were found guilty after nine days of trial starting in January 1962.[6]

As of 2014, The Royal Canadian Mint stated that none of the money was found in circulation.[3] According to the The Toronto Star, the robbery "was considered one of the biggest bank robberies in Canadian history."[1]

Despite two years of planning, the series of delays in their escape resulted in them becoming known as the "bad luck bank robbers".[1]

All five robbers, known as the Red Hood Gang,[7] were French-Canadians from Montreal, Quebec.[8][6] Jean Claude Lalonde, Yvon Lalone, Roger Poirier, and Roger Martel were found guilty, Hermyle Lalonde died before the trial.[9]

The robbery was the subject of the 2006 book Bad Luck Bank Robbers, by Grace Barker, and a 2014 play produced by the 4th Line Theatre also called Bad Luck Bank Robbers.[3][10] The play was written by Alex Poch-Goldin and directed by Kim Blackwell.[11]

The township of Wollaston, Ontario, changed the name of the street where the robbers abandoned their vehicle to Bank Robbers Lane.[4]

• List of bank robbers and robberies
• Virginiatown bank robbery

• Trent Valley Archives - Clive Naismith fonds