These are our shorter biographical portraits which we would like to extend if you can provide information or memories.
Duncan Faichney
A newcomer to the professional welterweight ranks in the mid sixties whose initial promise failed to materialise. Maybe his heart was always in the Highland Games wrestling where he started out. This meant Duncan was a late starter in the professional ranks, nearing thirty years old, having been born in Bridge of Allan in 1937.
Faichney trained at the Barbush Amateur Wrestling Club, Dunblane, before making his professional debut against fellow Scot, Bill Ross, and beating him by the odd fall. Duncan’s wrestling was restricted mostly to Scotland which must have limited his potential national fame.
Frequent opponents included fellow Scots Bill Ross, Jim Elder and Jim McKenzie in addition to marauding visitors from the south such as Peter Preston and Mick McMichael.
After retiring from wrestling Duncan worked as a postman, finally retiring in 2002.
Baron Faieta (Also known as Ed Gardenia)
His long, curly hair was the source of the self styled Baron Gardenia’s strength according to the wrestling publicity machine; an angle that seemed reminiscent of one first used over 2,000 years earlier.The Italian-American heavyweight visited Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. He arrived in Europe having already built up an international reputation throughout North America and the Pacific in the 1940s and 1950s. A flamboyant character he contrasted sharply with the more monochrome domestic talent with whom fans were more familiar. Unsurprisingly, a villain of the ring who did little to endear himself as he handed out flowers to the ungrateful lady fans on the way to the ring. Following a successful international wrestling career Gardenia went on to work in films.
Peter Falcon (Roy Harley)
Heritage member Wrestlefan brought to our attention Gloucestershire’s Roy Harley, who started wrestling in the mid 1960s and wrestled as Peter Falcon in the West Country. Roy was a well respected trainer of young wrestlers and NagaskisNo1Fan told us that Danny Collins, Richie Brooks, Jeff Kerry, Peter Bainbridge and Peter Collins had all benefited from his knowledge. Roy also promoted wrestling, and as late as 2015 we found him promoting a charity wrestling show. We discovered that in 2012 Roy started a business called Stunt Stage, training stunt actors for work in films. We would like to know more
Farmer’s Boy
A name most notably associated with Harry Fields, and prior to that his older brother George Broadfield, who later tool the name The Farmer. Others using the name Farmer’s Boy were Gordon Renton, Pete Ross and Greg Valentine, all of whom can be found in the A-Z.
Paul Farrell
Low key northern wrestler, billed from Salford or Wigan, in supporting matches in northern England between 1935 and 1940.
Micky Fear
Wolverhampton middleweight worked for the independent promoters in the 1960s and 1970s.
Le Femme Fatale
There was mystery in wrestling. More mystery in masked wrestlers. Real mystery in this alleged female French wrestler for Spartan Promotions. She was a fella! Mossblown gym trained Harry McMorland.
Rod Fenton
Bearded Canadian Rod Fenton was a skilful, fast moving exponent of the drop kick in the days when the move was sufficiently novel to excite the fans. He came to Britain in 1938, already with a few years experience in North American rings as both a wrestler and matchmaker. He was destined to become a major promoter in Arizona and Canada. In 1938 he was said to have taken part in over four hundred contests. Reports suggest that although Rod was a technically able wrestler who could wrestle as well as the next man he was not averse to turning rough (and seems to have been a bit of a villain back home in North America). Newpapers reported his match with Barnsley’s Bert Mansfield was “A typical All-In contest” with Mansfield winning by two submissions to one. The description of Rod Fenton at Preston is worth a mention. “Direct from the Canadian backwoods. The most sensational wrestler to appear in Great Britain. He is the most discussed wrestler at the moment. Don’t fail to see Lumber Jack.”
Carl Ferdinand
Billed as German, and may have been, but his many appearances over a six year period suggests Carl Ferdinand was domiciled in Britain. He was a prolific worker around Britain between 1932 and 1938, often advertised as a heavyweight but weighing only around 13 stones. Played a supporting role to the big names though did sometimes get into the limelight fighting the likes of Jack Pye and Atholl Oakeley.
Roy Fields
Emerged on to the British wrestling scene in 1936, a burly sixteen stone heavyweight who stood 6’3” tall. We would like to learn more about this wrestler who met some class opposition, and apparently troubled them all. Although little is known about him he was no third rater and regularly topped bills against opponents that included Dave Armstrong, Douglas Clark, Bert Mansfield, and an unsuccessful bid for the European Championship against Max Krauser at Chesterfield in August, 1937. His origins remain clouded in mystery billed from Brixton, Grimsby, USA, Australia and New Zealand, heavyweight Champion no less! Last sighted in August, 1939.
Bob Fife
Known as a Canadian (because that’s where he lived) Bob Fife was born in Scotland. His birth name was Archie Smith, born in Leven, a seaside town in Fife in the east Central Lowlands of Scotland, on 29th June, 1900. When he was thirteen years old Bob’s family emigrated to Canada, settling in Ontario. He enlisted in the Army during the First World War and it was around this time that he became interested in wrestling. On leaving the army Archie gained work with Canadian railways and joined a local amateur wrestling club in Hamilton. It was here that he befriended another Brit who had also moved to Canada, Alfred Hodgson.
In 1927 Archie Smith turned professional, choosing to adopt the name of Bob Fife, in reference to his home county in Scotland. At the beginning of 1933 Bob and his friend, now wrestling professionally as Jack Wentworth, made the decision to travel to Britain, where professional wrestling was booming. Unable to afford the tickets the two men arranged to work their passage to Southampton. Harold Angus, Jack Dale,George Gregory and Jack Atherton all went down to Bob on occasions. He was to remain a stalwart of the British scene, wrestling throughout the country, until the outbreaks of World War 2. Bob returned to Canada where he continued his wrestling career as a referee.
Adrian Finch
Adrian Finch was one of a multitude of young wrestlers to make his debut in the late 1970s, and continued wrestling well beyond the Heritage years. Was a frequent worker during the 1980s, partially due to an availabilty to appear as a last minute substitute, possibly helped by his day job as a coach driver. . Was chosen as the opponent for Danny Collins when Danny made his professional debut. Adrian remained in the business for near twenty years, evolving in the 1990s into Macho Man Adrian Finch.
Gerry Finch
Andover’s Gerry Finch was the brother of Adrian Finch. He too started in the 1980s and worked into the mid 1990s, mostly for Joint Promotions.
George Finnie (George Finney)
Portsmouth’s George Finnie served in the Royal Navy in the early 1930s aboard HMS Neptune, whose eventual fate was to be sunk in a minefield off the coast of Tripoli in 1941. George began wrestling professionally in 1932, mainly around Portsmouth to begin with, but by the mid 1930s was a busy worker who was travelling further afield. to northern England and Scotland. At some time, and records of his contests suggest it may have been during the war, George moved to Newcastle Upon Tyne, and during the war could be seen frequently at the New St James Hall, Newcastle. Opponents included northern heavyweights Ray St Bernard, Dave Armstrong, Tony Baer and Jack Atherton. George continued wrestling following the war, finally retiring in 1950, following which he joined the Probation Service and moved to Lincolnshire.
Bert Fisher
Although Combat magazine of July 1948 listed Bert as one of the wrestling Fisher brothers we can find no evidence of Bert’s wrestling career. We include him here for completeness of the seven siblings. Herbert Fisher was born in 1906, the second son of Charles and Susan. In the 1950s Bert emigrated to Australia, returning for short visits in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Don Fisher
Unrelated to the famous London fighting family Don Fisher came from mining country, the village of South Elmsall near Barnsley. Don’s first sporting love as a teenager was boxing and it was this sport that took him along to Charlie Glover’s Junction Gymnasium.
Charlie’s gym trained both boxers and wrestlers, amongst them Jon Paul, Dwight J Ingleburgh, Karl Von Kramer, Stoker Brooks and Gordon Kilmartin.
Gordon and Don were already friends and Gordon encouraged Don to train with the wrestlers. Don did well with the wrestlers and enjoyed training with them. He received further encouragement from physiotherapist Gil Harrison, who went on to become a military historian and writer.
In the 1960s Don wrestled for the independent promoters, mostly around the north of England.
Eddie Fisher
Another of the seven Fisher boys, Eddie was born on 17th July, 1916, wrestling by the mid 1930s and very active during the second half of the decade. In 1939 he was working as a welder at the Isle of Dogs dry dock, repairing ships during the Second World War.
Eric King Fisher
Eric Fisher was not part of the London family, he was a Yorkshireman. Eric came from Dewsbury and was a professional wrestler from 1932, with our earliest record being a two falls to nil loss to Sam Rabin. Things certainly improved for Eric and he became an accomplished professional who it was said was a close match for George Gregory in October, 1935. Eric tussled with the best; opponents including Harrry Brooks, Billy Riley, Cab Cashford and Harry Pye. He was an ex Guardsman, the promoters claimed, and who are we to doubt them? One newspaper reported Eric with a permanent scowl, and no reluctance to break the rules. Eric wrestled throughout the country and was a regular name on the posters throughout the 1930s, finally disappearing in 1946.
Len Fisher
Born in 1904 Len was the eldest of the Fisher brothers and boxed under the name Len Sparks before becoming a professional wrestler. Injuries sustained whilst boxing dogged his wrestling career. Middleweight Len was wrestling by 1933 but seems to have done little following the war. Away from the ring he worked as a butcher. He was serving as a referee by 1948 and was third man at Leyton Baths in the early 1960s.
Norman Fisher
Often named as one of the Fighting Fishers we were surprised to find no record of Norman’s wrestling career. That puzzle was solved when we heard on good authority (from Norman’s son) that Norman did not wrestle although he often accompanied his brothers to their matches.
Norman Fisher was born in Poplar, London, on 24th August, 1922. On leaving school Norman began working in a wireless shop where he was still working, aged 17 years at the outbreak of war.
When war broke out he joined his six older brothers repairing war ships in the dry dock at the Isle of Dogs. He went on to become the youngest qualified welder in the graving dock working on Lord Mountbatten’s ship “The Kelly” amongst others.
Stan Fisher
Another of the fighting Fishers Stanley was born in 1910. In 1939 he was working as a weighbridge clerk but with the outbreak of war he joined the army and served in the Grenadier Guards. He sustained injuries in a training accident which forced early retirement from wrestling. Stan went on to become a pub landlord in Essex.
Jim Fitzmaurice
The diminutive Irishman could certainly fly around the ring, making him an immediate attraction when he made his debut in the spring of 1967. With a background in weightlifting and judo he had an unorthodox style and was a very strong man for his size, delighting fans as he got the better of heavier men. Born in Ireland Jim moved to England, living in Burton upon Trent and later London, learning to wrestle at the YMCA Club on Tottenham Court Road. For a while he formed a tag partnership with Iron Jaw Joe Murphy, The Shamrocks, which failed to catch the imagination of the paying fans. Jim wrestled mostly in the south of England for Dale Martin Promotions until moving to the independents in the early 1980s.
Tim Fitzmaurice
“The Kerry Leprechaun” popular Irish lightweight Tim Fitzmaurice was the younger brother of Jim Fitzmaurice. He was a regular worker in the south of England during the 1970s and 1980s, sometimes tagging with brother Jim. Tim Fitzmaurice passed away in Janaury 2009.
Page reviewed 15/05/2023
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