Sad news as we hear of the death of another wrestler from the 1960s. Admittedly not a well known name Fazal Ilahi worked mainly for the independents though we have at least one outing on a Norman Morrell bill.
The saddest aspect of his death is the link to his previous work with Asbestos.
Born in Pakistan in 1932 Fazal Ilahi was in his mid twenties when he came to Britain in the 1950s and settled in Bradford. He took up work as a spinner and weaver at British Belting and Asbestos in Cleckheaton.
One of his interests was wrestling and by 1959 was wrestling professionally part time. Contact with the Crabtree family brought him his early matches for independent promoters Max Crabtree, Norman Berry and Jack Taylor. Our last sighting of Fazal Ilahi was at the end of 1962. A father of seven children Fazal also enjoyed walking and was very active in his local community and known for his charity work, mostly through connections with his local mosques.
Fazal Ilahi died in November, 2019. The cause of death was mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused by asbestos exposure.