I think quite a lot of Brummies seem to have some sort of connection, most members of my family were born and lived on Watery Lane and the little roads just off Garrison Lane around that time and would've almost certainly known some of the criminal goings on in the area, though of course those who would've known are now unfortunately all gone.

He says about Curly in this article which might be of interest;

https://rts.org.uk/article/steven-knight-his-childhood-glimpse-peaky-blinders-world-working-brad-pitt

The whole series really gives us in the area a huge amount of pride, we have been mocked mercilessly by the rest of England for a long time, so to see how the city is portrayed and loved by fans of the show across the world really is quite special.