Go back to the glory days of television and the Corn Exchange in Kings Lynn and you will find the main promoter Dale Martins. On occasion Wrestling was not exclusive to them and the Independents were also on.
But I have found it was not always this way. In May 1945 with the war not yet over Arthur Wright of Manchester applied to the council to promote wrestling. They asked to see his plans.
The following year wrestling began , but it was not the Wryton name on the bills. The wrestlers though had a Wryton look. I believe this was to be the first two bills of regular wrestling in Kings Lynn. I have a whole host of them and they seems to have eluded the Plunkett Index.
Jack Hewitson , local man and I believe a boxing promoter was certainly the front of this effort. A couple of years on from here Jack owned the Diamond Jubilee Pub in Gaywood Road Lynn. You could get your tickets there. Jack Hewitt crops up on a Kings Lynn Forum here.
https://www.kingslynn-forums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8868
Don't write Wryton off yet and I have more to come on Kings Lynn , but enjoy the start. Wonder if our Norfolk Snake can add.
This topic has now been given a permanent home on Wrestling Heritage.
https://wrestlingheritage.co.uk/rons-wrestling-rambles/
Please continue to post comments here.
As a follow up to my previous post regarding the tiff between Jack Hewitson and Peterborough promoter Fred Holdich. It seems that in January 1954 Holdich was promoting at the Corn Exchange (not the Drill Hall), previous post now edited
But if the waters couldn't get muddier the names on the posters in 1952 were not Holdich or Hewitson, but Wryton and DaleMartin (in conjunction with Maurice Letchford).
So the Peterborough turf wars had started prior to 1954.
1952, of course, was the start of Joint Promotions, but Dale Martin didn't come on board until 1953. Holdich's Peterborough Promotions took over the Corn Exchange in 1953. Holdich said he got his wrestlers from Dale Martin, and the use of Logan, Pallo, McManus, Marino would support this.
All clear, until 8th January 1954 when the Peterborough Evening Telegraph reports that the lease to run wrestling at the Corn Exchange (where Holdich is running his Dale Martin backed shows) will end at midnight that night for the current leaseholder, Wryton Promotions!
Holdich then moved to the Elwes Hall in February 1954. This was an unpopular venue, seems to have been used only once.
Holdich had hopes to resume at the Drill Hall in the winter of 1954 (with Dale Martin men) but Hewitson unexpectedly moved in with his own show - now independent because (and I'm guessing here) in the intervening months since Dale Martin joined Joint it had been agreed that Peterborough would be Dale Martin territory.
A comprehensive piece of Kings Lynn wrestling history Ron. You're right about Jack Hewitson promoting boxing, but unlike most he started off as a wrestling promoter and not the other way round.
Looks like something happened in 1954 when he promoted his last show in Kings Lynn. Whether he jumped or if he was pushed we will probably never know.
In November of that year he had a bit of a tiff with Fred Holdich who ran Peterborough Promotions. Holdich promoted at Peterborough Corn Exchange. He said he was told the Drill Hall was unavailable only to find that it had been hired to Jack Hewitson, who was planning to put on fortnightly shows. Holdich got his wrestlers through an arrangement with Dale Martin Promotions and claimed Hewitson used wrestlers through an arrangement with Wryton Promotions. Holdich said this broke Joint Promotion rules about not encroaching on another member's territory and reported Hewitson to Dale Martin Promotions. Joint Promotions put out a statement that they had no connection with the wrestlers on Hewitson's Peterborough show. And they were right, because the Peterborough show was nothing like the Kings Lynn shows.
Hewitson also put out a statement saying he had no connection with Wryton Promotions, which considering the wrestlers he was using at Kings Lynn beggars belief (and Stan Rylands was his referee). So jumped or pushed? I'm inclined to think pushed - Wryton were ready and willing to take the profits for themselves.
From 1958 the Corn Exchange was home to Dale Martins right into the 1990's with as I said early in the thread a few shows from the opposition. A couple of note here.
Below some Dales shows with quality overseas visitors.
When Wryton took over some of the bills had the name of the man in charge. John D Beaumont.
Wryton ran until the end of spring in 1958. Found a trilogy of bills that excited me to do with masked men. If you look carefully at the bills you can identify who they were. Count Bartelli spoke fondly in his book about Billy Riley being the Original Dark Owl and that the mantle was passed to son Ernie Riley.
In the past we have debated that The Ghoul worked for Morrell and a copycat Le Ghoul did some Relwykow shows at Hull and also some of the Manchester Clubs. I think the MO here gives a clue to the copycat. In stead of The Mask we have a Le Mask and it may be in both cases the same man doing to copy work.
Le Mask , it is revealed in March was unmasked by The Dark Owl. Of course Le Mask was Bill Coverdale. But by March the victor was reveal to be not Dark Owl but Riley , almost certainly meaning that in the middle , Dark Owl had been unmasked by Bartelli. Great Wryton fun and without write ups in the paper what a proof.
Kings Lynn has to be Wrytons furthest outpost at over 160 miles. Can one assume that it was a difficult venture. In the Autumn Dale Martins took over. One snip of info is that the ring got left in Kings Lynn but Dales did not have it. It was donated to Friars Amateur Boxing Club. Dales was to bring in a whole new fresh Roster.
Bang on Bernard , and it proved that the formation of Joint Promotions worked. Not quite sure how or why Hewitson was accepted , wonder if he was co-operating with Wryton , after all he got Bartelli over to Norfolk. It was a noticeable change in 1953.
There were plenty of guys about who seemed to fit in like Jim Smith at Portsmouth and Frank Woodhouse at Derby and free reign to Riley and Atherton etc. Dick Rogers at belle Vue and Altrincham survived. I don't think I will ever understand it all.
Would like to add finally that The corn Exchange did have some pre war wrestling and qualifies for one of the longest venues.
Look at this huge and pretty much un-interrupted span.
Re the bills for All Star in 1953, at Corn Exchange, most of those men look like Morrell's boys to me.
My story continues with some more bills 1950 and 1951
Next 1952 and 1953 , and in 1953 , after the formation of Joint promotions , you can spot the difference of the influx of Norman Morrell workers. It's a much better mix.
Finally after 8 years Jack Hewitson finished from what I can see with six shows in 1954. Tickets still at the Diamond Jubilee. No sign on the 27th March that this was the final show , but the last I could find. Hewitson by 1960 was in poor health and completely finished all his activities. An ex RAF man also saw the end of his very old pub , demolished that year , so maybe most locals don't remember it.
But in the autumn of 1954 look who had taken over the Corn exchange. WRYTON
I got to thinking this was before the formation of Joint promotions. I think we could say that Morrell had a stable , but I am not so sure about other areas. At this time William Bankier was still a big promoter and had good access to both Wigan and Manchester Wrestlers. Had Wryton been beaten to it by Hewitson . Who knows. By 1949 it did not stop Bartelli working for him. Here is 1947 , a couple of examples.
You can see above Hewitson's address above and also the local Fish Market was connected. I think the wrestlers were free agents. 1948 next.
Above , Hewitson has changed address to the Diamond Jubilee and below Bartelli working a long way from home in 1949. Sorry I can't tell you if he unmasked the Masked Marvel. The upshot is that Hewitson was making a go of it seasonally with shows from October to April.