Long before they became Britain's most notorious gangsters, Ronnie and Reggie Kray were just two young boys enjoying the freedom of the Suffolk countryside.
The infamous East End twins developed a lasting affection for Hadleigh after being evacuated there during the Second World War.
Sent from London to East House, off George Street, the brothers found themselves in surroundings far removed from the crowded streets of Bethnal Green.
Years later, Ronnie would fondly recall their time in Hadleigh during recorded conversations with journalist Robin McGibbon.
He remembered spending his days playing cowboys and Indians, scrumping for apples and tobogganing on Constitution Hill during snowy winters.
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In tapes recorded at Broadmoor, Ronnie Kray remembered his time in Hadleigh.
In the tapes, Ronnie said: "When we was little kids we got evacuated to Suffolk, near Ipswich.
"We went to a Mrs Styles's place in Suffolk – she had a mansion there – and we stayed with her.
"It was the first time we ever went to the country, and we got to like the country."
What appealed was "the quietness, the peacefulness of it, the fresh air, nice scenery, nice countryside - different from London."
"We used to go to a big 'ill called Constitution Hill and used to go sledging there in the winter-time. We had a good time there, you know."
Although the twins eventually returned to the East End with their mother Violet, their Suffolk memories remained.
As their criminal empire grew during the 1950s and 1960s, so too did their ambition to one day return to the county they had come to love.
They fulfilled that dream in 1967 when they bought property in nearby Bildeston, including the large house known as The Brooks, reportedly paying £11,000.
Locals remembered the brothers as generous figures who gave donkey rides to children and handed out money for ice creams, an image starkly different from their fearsome reputation in London.
Today, East House remains one of the more unusual footnotes in Hadleigh's history.
While the Krays' names are forever linked with organised crime, their connection to Suffolk began with a much simpler story: two evacuees who fell in love with the countryside and never forgot it.
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