Big Harry Monk, in the words of Al Marshall:

I first met Big Harry (Andy) at a wrestling show in the late 1980s. He and his lovely wife Julie were sitting down and the seat next to them was empty.
I said, "Is this anyone's seat?"
"No Al", said Andy.
I thought, "Bloody Hell, he knows me. No-one knows who I am".
We got talking, and he told me he'd seen me on a few shows in and around Wakefield in the 1970s. And, he had loved wrestling since he was a boy - that sounds just like me.
He said he would love to be a wrestler.
I said, "What's stopping you?"
"I don't know how to get into it".
"Look at you", I said, "6ft3ins and 20 stone; you're halfway there with your size and enthusiasm. I will help you"
A few weeks later, I went to his house. We pulled back all the furniture and had a good old wrestle. I had him in a headscissors, at which point the window cleaner suddenly appeared on his ladder at the window. He took one look at us and promptly buggered off! Andy says that, to this day, he still hasn't been back for his money.
I then took him to my old pal Little Prince's gym, and Prince and his brother put him through it a few times.
Then I took him to Dave Bedford's gym on Dave's farm. Dave and I had wrestled as Pros a few times, and were amateurs together in Leeds. Dave trained Andy well, along with some other wrestlers. Under the gym, Dave had just housed his new herd of Guernsey cows - "Good milkers", said Dave. One night the lads were all training, when Dave heard a noise. "Bloody fox is after my hens", and as he dashed out to investigate, he shouted, "No body slams, it will upset the cows". Tarzan Boy Darren, being the lad he is, said, "Come on boys, let's do bodyslams" and the cows duly went mad. Dave came back in, red-faced and shotgun in hand, and said, "Who's been doing bodyslams?", and they all pointed at each other, but they're still here to tell the tale.
Big Harry went on to do some refereeing and some wrestling for one or two small promoters, plenty for Tarzan Boy Darren, and a lot for my old pal the late Bobby Barron in Blackpool, going on with the likes of Ian McGregor, Marty Jones, PN News (an American wrestler - see below*) and the one and only Scrubber Daly. Harry was about to be signed up by Max Crabtree, when one night as he was wrestling Gonk the Clown his arm was pulled over the ropes so hard that it was badly damaged and he had to go to hospital. He needed several operations, because a cancer had formed in it. The doctors in Leeds did a great job and managed to save his arm but, unfortunately, that was the end of his promising wrestling career.
Harry is now fit and well, and still loves his wrestling. He's very busy driving his juggernaut up and down the roads of the UK.
Harry (Andy) and I are very good pals to this day.

Al Marshall, December 2010.

Around 1991

At Prince's Gym, Leeds

The Executioner around 1994

Mid 90s publicity

(i, ii) Mid 90's against Mike DeMain at Kingsley.
(iii) Against Mike DeMain and Al Diamond at Hemsworth. Harry's partner was King Ben. Referee: Terry McQueen.
(iv) At Rothwell; Tarzan Boy and Ritchie Brooks vs the Two Harrys - Monk and Prentice. Ref: Jack Carrington.

Von Zuppi, The Baron and The Executioner vs Gonk, Ritchie and Darren at Rothwell mid 90's

Al Marshall with The Executioner, and with referee Harry Monk.

(i) With Ritchie and Frankie Sloane at Garforth mid 90's. (ii) Rumble at Wakefield. Harry's two 'mates' Barry Douglas and Tiger McGuigan putting him over the top.

(i) The Two Harrys. (ii) Gonk gets his 'comeuppance'. (iii) With Al Marshall, who whispered just before this was taken, "About time you bloody won one!"

(iii) About to be KO'd by PN News. Bobby Baron is the referee; he brought Vincento Castelino's (the original Quasimodo) bell, seen on the timekeeper's table

Comments by Harry Monk:
(ii) Late 90's - by this time 22½ stone. The promoter said "Get a full face mask we'll call you Vadar, no one will know the difference".
(iii) About to get a thick one in the earhole from Danny Collins (and to think 10 mins earlier we'd just been talking about his new Golf GTi in the dressing room).
(iv) About to get my regular Saturday night splash from Scrubber Daly. Ref: my good mate Jack Land aka Karl Von Krammer. one night the ring gave way and we both lay there in a hammock, we couldn't move and I got the giggles and all I could hear was Al Marshall shouting, "Don't laugh, you'll give the game away"

Harry at the reunions with Al Marshall, Richie Brooks and Al, Tarzan Boy Darren

And some more words from Harry:

I wrestled Paul (PN News)* three times, once at Leeds and twice at Blackpool. I remember for the Leeds show I had to go down to Mansfield and pick Paul up where he had done the first half for Dixon. I only had a 2 down hatchback at the time and with Paul's 34 stone and my 20 stone we couldn't close the doors when we were sat side by side. So my wife had to drive us to Leeds with me in the back, and every time she changed gear, Paul had to move his leg.

That car took some hammer. Once, coming back from Blackpool, I was driving (20 stone), Darren was in the front (18 stone), Drew MacDonald was in the back (24 stone) with Ritchie (15 stone) and Blue Buchanon (14 stone), with Tracy Kemp laying across their knees - the exhaust was scraping on the road! I bought the car brand new and traded it in after 20,000 miles. I can imagine the salesman telling the next customer that the car had one careful owner. I often saw that car running around Wakefield for a few years, and smiled to myself as it passed.

Harry Monk, December 2010.


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