(i) At a fairground in the west country, Bobby England far right (other wrestlers unknown). The photo appeared in "Worlds Fair" magazine c. 1971/2. Booth owner was Mickey Keily.
    (ii) In Tonbridge, possibly the town carnival. The ring failed to turn up, but the canvas did - the ground was very hard! Wrestlers: George Blewdon, and Bobby England (mid air)
        (iii) A show in Horley, Surrey in 1972. The wrestler on the canvas is Ray Luxford, about to receive punishment from Bobby England

Bobby's story, in his own words:

My interest in Professional Wrestling started when I was a young lad. My father used to take me along to the Assembly Hall in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, to watch the Pro Wrestlers in action. Little did I know that within a few years I would be taking part in wrestling shows myself.

It all started when I decided that I would join a club to generally keep fit. The Teen & Twenty Club in nearby Tonbridge had a dedicated weightlifting room and, thinking that weightlifting would be a great way to keep fit, I joined the club, and soon became friendly with the regulars. Every Wednesday evening, after an hour or so on the weights, my friends would leave the room. I thought that they were going upstairs to the coffee bar. One evening I decided to join them, as I thought, for a drink. I followed them upstairs, and found that it was not the coffee bar that they were visiting; it was the main activity hall. On the floor was spread what looked like carpet underlay, with a canvas on top. My friends started a routine of warm up break falls, wrestling holds, and throws. It became clear to me that my friends were Pro wrestlers that were using the weights as a warm up to their wrestling training. My friends' names: George Blewdon, Vince Randell, and Barry Bridges. After a few weeks of watching their activities, I was invited to join them on the mat.

After about eighteen months of training, my friends thought that I was ready for my first show. This took place at the 6 in 1 Club at Tonbridge. The door was now opened for me to work for many of the Kent promoters. It was at these shows, that I met Mel Stuart, Baz Riley, Tony Bates, Al Kitto, Karl Heinz, Billy La-Rue, Danny Lynch, and many others. During a training session at the club, some visitors arrived to watch the training session. One of these visitors was John Harris. John asked Vince Randell and me if we would like to take part in one or two shows that he was arranging. We agreed, and it was at these shows that we met Leon Fortuna, Chris Bailey, Robby Baron and several others.

I then moved house to the south coast, and joined the Brighton wrestlers at their training sessions meeting Ray Luxford, Johnny Winters, and his brother Ricky, The Kid, Duke Cordell, and many more. It was at this time that I was also introduced to Rik Sands. The training sessions were run by Reg Cooper (Barry Cooper`s father). I completed many shows for Winshaw Promotions, Commonwealth Wrestling Alliance, etc. I teamed up with Pat Tullett and "The Lawmen" tag team was formed.

Promotion at work brought an end to my wrestling activities after around ten very enjoyable years.

Finally, I would like to thank all of the named persons for the advice, support and friendship that I was given during my days in the ring.

Bobby England, January 2011.


Some of Bobby's collection of wrestling posters, including his first professional bout against Sabu Perera of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and as part of a tag team "The Lawmen".


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