Peaky Blinders: 5 things the TV show gets historically correct

Peaky Blinders is among the most popular television series on BBC. The show tells the story of a Birmingham gang and their exploits. The show is currently on its fifth season, which aired in 2019. There are a few things that the show gets right. Take a look at it below.

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There was actually a Peaky Blinders gang

Also read: How Peaky Blinders Perfectly Displays A Glimpse Of Fascism In 19th Century Britain

The Blinders are not completely a part of Knight’s imagination. In fact, there was a real Peaky blinders gang in the 1800s. The historical gang really did walk the streets of Birmingham.  They also committed a range of violent criminal acts.

Its strong female characters 

The show takes place decades before the women’s liberation movement had taken off. Peaky Blinders shows several outspoken and headstrong female characters like Polly Gray and Jessie Eden. These women, during the 1920s (when the show takes place), talk about social parity and equal rights for men and women.

Billy Kimber’s racecourse rackets

Gangster Billy Kimber serves as one of the main antagonists in Peaky Blinders’ first season, and it may surprise fans that – unlike his made-up rivals, the Shelbys – Kimber was an actual historical figure. Just like in the show, the name of his game was racecourse-related shenanigans. However, it was not Tommy Shelby who killed him. 

The Garrison Pub

As seen from the show, the Garrison looks like a cozy place where one can walk in and have a casual drink. But in reality, the pub was in tandem with the Birmingham lifestyle and culture from the time. The production crew went to great lengths to make it look and feel like Birmingham. 

Winston Churchill, Oswald Mosley and Jessie Eden

Not much is known about Jessie; like many other accredited females of her generation, her story was not documented very well. But we do know that Jessie organised the general strike of 1926, which was dramatized in Season 3. Other historical figures that have appeared on the show are British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Nazi sympathiser Oswald Mosley.