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Roy Bradley was the name Leicestershire’s Roy Malins chose as his ring name back in the late 1940s when he started wrestling.
Roy Samuel Malins was born in December, 1921 (records vary as to whether it was Christmas Eve or Christmas Day), the son of Frederick and Winifred.. After leaving school he followed in his father’s footsteps and trained as an engineer. Football or wrestling? Which sporting interest Roy was to pursue was in the balance for a time as Roy was signed by Mansfield Town as a left back in 1947.
The wrestling won out and by December 1949 the name Roy Bradley was on the posters. In 1950 we find him wrestling Val Cerino, Larry Laycock, Norman Thomas and making a debut at his local Cossington Street Baths against Alf Cadman
Ib common with most professional wrestlers Roy had to share his love of wrestling with that of earning an honest crust, which he did at machine tool manufacturers, Jones and Shipman, in Leicester. In 1979 Roy was presented with a Silver Jubilee Medal by the Queen for his services to industry.
In the late 1960s Roy was one of the multitude of wrestlers to pull on a mask and adopt the persona of Doctor Death,
Between wrestling and the day job Roy somehow found time to work for the charity Campaign to Protect Rural England and was a volunteer social worker caring for the elderly.
Roy Malins died suddenly on September 5th 2007 aged 86 years.
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