Stylish and dark, the BBC series Peaky Blinders follows life in the dark backstreets of post-World War I Birmingham and the gradual rise of Thomas Shelby and his gang of outlaws. But few people know that behind the fictional characters of the series there are stories just as exciting, bloody and intriguing as those shown on television. Unlike Shelby, his nemesis, London gangster Billy Kimber, is a real person, perhaps a living also in Birmingham. The shrewd mind, charisma and diplomatic talents of this formidable fighter allowed him to become the leader of the famous “Birmingham Gang”, which brought terror to the racecourses of England. “Brawlers”, “thugs”, “hooligans”, “rippers” or even just “guys” - all these epithets appeared in the press at various times to refer to organized crime in Great Britain at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. But none of them became as popular and household names as Billy Kimber's Peaky Blinders. And here is their true story.