Wrestling Heritage

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In all honesty Gypsy Dean was a fairly undistinguished wrestler of the 1930s, turning professionally to the sport when he had reached his mid thirties. By then he had already become known around London as a part time boxer. By day Gypsy Dean, otherwise Bob Bulbrook, was a labourer who laid gas pipes Later he turned his attention to wrestling and could name Vic Coleman among his opponents, with our last sighting being a wrestling in mud match in 1938. No, it wasn’t his wrestling or boxing abilities that brought him to our attention.

Robert Bulbrook was born in Southwark, London in 1898, the third child of Alfred and Elizabeth Bulbrook. He left school at twelve years old and in the 1911 census was listed with an occupation of milk boy. Shortly afterwards he worked as a Chain Horse Boy, looking after and leading horses that pulled wagons, trams or barges. In 1924 he went on to work in the the gas industry for the South Metropolitan Gas Company, starting out as a labourer laying gas pipes. In the First World War he served in the East Surrey Regiment.

It was in the realm of politics that Robert Bulbrook became a nationally known figure. In 1931 he stood as a Labour candidate in the Goldsmith Ward of Camberwell Borough Council. By then he had been promoted and listed his occupation as a Trench Inspector.

In the 1939 Register, which was a snapshot of the civilian population of England and Wales recorded on 29th September, he was recorded as married to Florence and an A.R.P. Warden enforcing the blackout.

Despite his working class credentials he was destined to join the Conservative Party. In 1949 Robert Bulbrook, the gas worker from the Old Kent Road, received a standing ovation at the Conservative Party Conference after giving a rousing oration against nationalisation. Following this success he was invited to speak at Conservative Party gatherings.

In March 1952 he was selected as Prospective Conservative candidate for Noorth Kensington. The election was not to be called until 1955 and during those intervening years he became well known travelling and speaking all over the country, “The Working Man Conservative” as he was styled.

The General Election of 1955 in North Kensington was a straight fight between Labour and Conservative with Bob losing to the Labour incumbent.

George Rogers	Labour	20,226
Robert Bulbrook	Conservative	17,283

He returned to the fray in the 1959 General Election, It was a four horse race that included Oswald Moseley, who by now having lost most of his pre war support stood in the 1959 election in the wake of the Notting Hill Riots, standing on an anti-immigration platform, calling for forced repatriation of Caribbean immigrants. Bob Bulbrook drastically cut the Labour majority once more but again had to settle for second place.

George Rogers	Labour	14,925
Robert Bulbrook	Conservative	14,048
Michael Louis Hydleman	Liberal	3,118
Oswald Mosley	Union Movement	2,821

Just four months later Bob Bulbrook was dead. Robert Walter Bulbrook, alias Gypsy Dean was born on 24^th January, 1898 and died on 11^th February, 1960.

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