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Belgian Walter Magnee brought a dash of international flavour to the British wrestling scene between 1932 and 1934. By then he was in his forties and may have brought a wealth of experience of which we have no knowledge.
Walter was born in Liege, Belgium in 1889. When he moved to Britain we don’t know, but Walter and his brother, Lambert, were certainly living in Britain in June, 1916, with references to his prowess as a boxer and wrestler. He told the press that his intention was to revive professional wrestling in Britain. When told that wrestling was particularly strong in Lancashire and Yorkshire he moved north. With insufficient local wrestlers interested in taking up his offers of professional work Walter gave up on his ambitions.
During the 1930s Walter was an advocate of introducing Continental style tournaments with up to sixty wrestlers based in one town for up to six weeks.
Although billed as Belgian heavyweight champion Walter was not a big winner by any means; he was often in opposition to top rated opponents such as Jack Pye, Half Nelson Keyes and Karl Pojello. A wrestling oddity occurred in 1934 when newspapers reported a contest between Black Mask and Walter Magnee. In the third round the masked man voluntarily removed the mask to reveal himself as W.A.Ord, apparently “well known in Nottingham.” The now de-masked Black Mask won the contest, reportedly his first professional contest, in the fourth round.
In 1939, prior to the outbreak of war, Walter was living in Camden and recorded his occupation as a tool maker. In February, 1940 he was granted naturalisation as a British citizen.
Walter appeared in numerous minor film role and was and adviser in The Night and the City (1950), Tales from Soho (1956), BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950) and Television World Theatre (1957)
Walthere Hubert Marie Magnee was born in Liege on 20th June, 1889 and died on 22nd March, 1974 in Leigh-on-Sea.
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