By Ron Historyo
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Ron Historyo Goes On The Trail of Cab Cashford
My latest mystery detective story is about a man we know towards the end of his career that lived in Bolton. Yet look at the bills above and he was the imaginative billing of inventor of the drop kick and from Boston USA.
With promoters billing Cashford of USA against a man called Vic Hessle who they said was from Austria it shows the level of deception is unparalleled and it is a very difficult task to sort fact from fiction. Can there be any truth in these posters?
Could I possibly find the origins of Cab Cashford?
In the 1950’s Cashford had a gymnasium above the Co-op on Bridge Street in Bolton. He had a keen interest in Physical Culture training for both men and women.
His home address was Henry Street, Bolton
This man with impeccable manners, liked by everyone who knew him was a ballroom dance instructor at Bert Mayo Dance school on Bow Street in Bolton. Where could he have had such an upbringing to be such a gentleman and a rugged wrestler?
In 1953 Cashford appeared in the film It’s a Wonderful Life. So technically a movie star too. In 1957 he married Margaret Rose Harran in Bolton, but there were no children.
The bills I have show that by the 1950’s the billing did in fact reflect Bolton, but then again he was Bedford, London or Bristol.
That name Cab, that was another problem. Where could I go next?
Well, knowing a few tools is a handy thing and those bills for 1938 showing USA got me thinking. There is a 1939 register of people, so I thought I would look for any wrestlers called Cashford. Sure enough I found a William Cashford in 1939 at 39 Charlotte Street, St Pancras.
His date of birth was 5th May 1909, single man and a Wrestler (Heavy Worker). Scratching about the archive I then find to match this a bill where the promoter, Ted Beresford, advertised him from London. Sure, this was ten years later in 1949.
The thing to do was to look about 1909 for any William Cashford’s born in England. 5th May 1909 was perfect. William was born a twin with his brother Henry in Newington Workhouse in Southwark. Humble beginnings indeed. Two days later baptised in St Stephens, Walworth. A vital clue also was that the birth was registered as Willie Cashford. (unusual)
It’s a bit strange really, some sort of trouble for the parents or parent and yet just before his second birthday I can find a family on the 1911 census. 100 Cornwall Road, Waterloo, Lambeth. Looks like a big house split into sections for a few families.
Dad was Henry Cashford and mum Ada. They were very much London born people. The twins were there with them. Henry/Harry Cashford was listed as a Motor Driver with a private car. I had to check this because I had not realised that some people had cars as early as 1911, but they had it seems started to filter through in the last few years. You would wonder what the workhouse problem was all about. This family on the face of it looked to be doing o.k.
The first world war came and dad, Harry Cashford, joined the army. Incredibly he was in France and managed almost five years service, coming out the other side decorated with a Victory Medal. The only problem being, what damage had the war done to him?
I can’t answer that one but I had a stroke of luck on my search and it is quite sad really.
In 1920 I found Willie Cashford in an Orphanage. The Orphanage was the Provincial Police Orphanage at Redhill in Surrey. The Institution, run on economic lines was run to give children a grounding in Life and it’s skills. They had been well fed and clothed and the newspaper report I found was a about an awards ceremony for the children.
The children were not sent to an outside school which gave them a better chance of being disease free. The children loved their Superintendent, a Miss Johnson, dearly. The council and several chief constables and benefactors were there. Willie Cashford was awarded a prize for neatness and punctuality.
I cannot say if his brother was in the orphanage with him. He was not mentioned. Money had been raised to considerably expand the orphanage and the new buildings were to be the Victory Memorial School Buildings.
The above explains perhaps the making of a really decent man, but no explanation yet as to the billing of USA. So far I have justified London and Bolton, but there was another thing troubling me and that was some more bills essentially when Cab Cashford was on at Chelmsford after the second world war. To really confuse the issue Cab Cashford was being peddled as from New Zealand. Did the Chelmsford promoter Percy Felton know something that the other promoters did not know?
A wartime bill at Hull was still pushing Cab as American and that had been the way for ten years, but the bill stated that he had joined the British Army. Cab was a PT Instructor in the Royal Engineers. It made me wonder, if Willie Cashford, born London was the right man?
What really bothered me though was that New Zealand thing. So New Zealand, America, whatever, it was time to look at Migration records for Cashford.
In 1923 a Harry Cashford of Clapham Road London went to New Zealand to do farm work. It was April and he went alone. Looked to me like that was Dad.
In May 1924 two 14 year old young men, William and Henry Cashford went out to Wellington with their mother Ada on the Athenic, address at the time Prince Street Deptford. They were had their 15th birthday on the voyage.
Cab Cashford clearly spent some time in New Zealand. Three years later (1927) mother Ada died in Auckland. I can take a guess that the effect that had on young Willie was to take that final step in life to stand on his own two feet.
The next thing I found was his discharge from the Merchant Navy in 1929. Willie Cashford was back in Britain. I had to be absolutely sure that this Merchant Navy man was the same man as Cab Cashford the wrestler. Born London 1909, fair complexion, blue eyes and the vital clue, a hair lip, were on his record. That was the clincher, the hair lip.
So there we are, I have carved out a trail of events that have justified why Cab was billed from London, Bolton and New Zealand.
However I am as sure as I can be that he did not visit America early in life.
I believe he simply looked the part. Handsome swaggering Yank who could wrestle a bit, tough, and specializing in drop kicks. Middle to light heavyweight, never a champ as far as I know , but a popular upper mid card wrestler, sometimes cheered and sometimes jeered. Quite a long career but did not hang about past his mid forties with so many other interests.
I believe his residence in 1965 was The Duke Hotel in Deane Road Bolton, and in 1971 The Lamb Hotel in Blackburn Road Bolton. His date of birth was again confirmed with his death 5th July 1987 registered from Ryecroft Lane, Belmont just outside Bolton.
Ironic that the film he played in was A Wonderful Life. Jack Pye, Bill Garnon and Carl VanWurden were also in that film. This was a man who had a very turbulent beginning , who step by step had to hang in there and better himself. It had been a hard life.
Miss Johnson and the Orphanage must have done a great job.
The earliest I can pick up Cab Cashford wrestling was at the start of 1935 almost as expected in Hammersmith. My earliest bill is one at Penzance where he seems to be working for George Ford but with Atholl Oakeley as referee. Now there is a man with an imagination, more than capable of dreaming up a Yank from Boston with a name like Cab Cashford.
Page added 30/07/2023
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