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Pink in Peckham
The man we remember as Len Britton was born in Peckham on 15th September, 1920. The name on the birth certificate was Leonard Bert Law, the second son of Charles and Winifred. Father Charles was a professional pianist, which Len took up as a hobby.
As the Second World War came to a close Len Law turned professional wrestler and chose the ring name Len Britton. He was following in the footsteps of his older brother, who had been wrestling for about eight years. With a thorough grounding at the John Ruskin Amateur Wrestling Club, alongside renowned amateur Stan Bissell.
In one of his earliest matches we found Len wrestling “The College Boy.” No one mentioned that the two were brothers. In the 1940s we find Len working across the south of England against the likes of Jack Dale, Stan , Count Bartelli and Kid Pittman. By 1949 Len is off travelling and wrestled in Spain. He was to become one of the stalwarts who, as wrestler and promoter helped get the post war UK wrestling business back onto its feet.
Len worked part time as a wrestler. In 1939 he had been working as a builders labourer.Following the war he worked in his brother’s hardware shop and later at Waxed Papers in Nunhead Road, Peckham.
With a reputation as a great joker one of the stories we have been told of Len was the time he went into a transport cafe dressed as a vicar and commanded to lorry drivers to moderate their language.
A popular wrestler Len faced many of the well known names over the years, working mainly, but not exclusively for the independent promoters. As the years passed he developed from a middleweight to a heavyweight and his initial straight, clean-cut style became more colourful and extrovert.
In October, 1950 the Western Daily Press reported: “Best bout of the evening was the meeting between Len Britton and the Italian Joe D’Orazio, a ju-jitsu expert who wrestled in his bare feet. Both men were fast and exceedingly clever, with many holds at their command.”
Fellow wrestler Dwight J Ingleburgh told us that Len was a great showman and a good promoter to work for, “He promoted at Dulwich Baths. He knew how to sell it and it was always a sellout. I walked down the aisle with a spotlight on me to the tune of Dragnet and got a great ovation. Len followed shortly afterwards to the tune of Sweet and Lovely. He was dressed in pink, carrying a pink parasol and leading a poodle. The crowd loved it. As a promoter he always paid well. A great guy. unforgettable.”
Page added 15/05/2025
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