Serial killer Robert Maudsley turns 72 today and Britain’s longest serving prisoner is known by a secret nickname to his loved ones which is less infamous than ‘Hannibal the Cannibal’
Robert Maudsley’s nephew has revealed the lesser known nickname the serial killer goes by – and said he is nothing like you would expect on prison visits. Britain’s longest serving inmate, infamously dubbed Hannibal the Cannibal, turns 72 today and he recently moved to Whitemoor prison after spending four decades in Wakefield. Nephew Gavin has now provided a telling insight into his uncle’s character.
Maudsley, whose childhood was filled with despicable abuse, was once considered to be the most dangerous lag in Britain having slaughtered two prisoners inside Wakefield. This was after he had already tortured a patient to death inside Broadmoor having been first caged for killing builder John Farrell in 1974 when he was 21.
He has since spent most of his life in a solitary cell after his own wave of vigilante justice – and Gavin spoke to Behind the Bars TV host Ricky Killeen about visiting him inside ‘Monster Mansion’ Wakefield.
Gavin and his father, who are both extremely close with Maudsley, were allocated two hour long visits to the killer in the underbelly of the notorious prison.
Before going to his cell, they usually picked him up sausage rolls, chocolate bars and his favourite banana milkshake from the canteen. They saw Maudsley through a hatch cut out of the wall with bars, meaning a handshake is the only physical contact they could have.
And giving an insight into what these moments are like, Gavin said: “The medical book said he shouldn’t even be able to have a conversation after spending that many years in solitary and it couldn’t be further from the truth.
“We have such a laugh on his visits because you know yourself, once you are in prison, you accept you’re there, no point crying about it on your visit. That is when you are going to have a little bit of a laugh and a joke with your family and enjoy it.”
He added: “He is such a funny guy, honestly, if you were to sit down and have a conversation, and you were to find out that this is the guy who spent 40 odd years in solitary…”
Gavin said the visits were like “going back in time” because all of Maudsley’s memories of the outside world are from the 60s and 70s, having spent so long behind bars. He hopes his uncle will be able to return to Wakefield but acknowledged that it was likely a “difficult” ask.
Reports suggested he was moved after so long following a disagreement with staff over “privileges” before he underwent a hunger strike for up to five weeks. As a result, he is now on a specialist wing in 125 miles away Cambridgeshire, with his family back in Merseyside having not yet had the opportunity to visit him.
Maudsley adopted the chilling cannibal moniker after rumours spread about him eating the brains of one of his four victims. And despite this being disproven, it stuck. However, Gavin has since spoke about what his real nickname is.
He said: “Wolfie. He hasn’t got (long hair) now but for many years he didn’t shave or have his hair cut and he was referred to as Wolfie. He still signs off a lot of his letters to me ‘best wishes, Wolfie’ because he had long hair (points down to his arms), big beard, and stuff like that.”
Gavin, who is from Merseyside, also said his infamous uncle still has his Scouse accent, and starts most of his letters to him with the phrase, ‘Now then Gav.’”