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Untamed
Kid Callon was a man with a story to tell. He was born Derek Anthony Callon in Keighley on 26th January, 1926. Troubled by school bullies young Derek was taught to box by his father, a former bare knuckles fighter, whilst he was still at school. When he left school Derek started work in the local metal works, which was on full production as part of the war effort. In 1944, aged 18, he was conscripted into the Royal Army Service Corps and within a short time he was posted to Singapore, a hotbed of professional wrestling in the 1940s.
It was in Singapore that Derek, immediately re-named Kid Callon, began to make his mark in the wrestling world. We can find no evidence of Derek wrestling prior to joining the services and so his debut appears to be on December 24th, 1945, at the Great World Stadium in Singapore against Malayan Nar Singh. He was back just one week later facing another British serviceman, Johnny Peters of Brighton.
British and Asian servicemen created a small roster to entertain their fans at the weekly show in Singapore and Malaya. Kid Callon was there wrestling with Johnny Peters, Jim Mellor, Con Balassis, Jeff Conda and Dara Singh. Renowned for his rough tactics inside the ring he soon earned the nickname of the “Untamed White Savage.”
In 1948 Derek returned to Britain where he continued his wrestling career and played rugby league for Keighley. We found him from 1948 to 1952 wrestling the likes of Bob McDonald, Larry Laycock and Alf Cadman in northern England and Scotland.
Derek Callon died on 1st July, 2008, aged 82, but his remarkable life, more so for his exploits outside the ring, live on in the book that celebrates his life, “The Untamed White Savage,” written by his son Derek. Now out of print second hand copies are often available at Amazon and Abe Books.
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