Rip Bill Clarke

First time I saw Bill Clarke was at Dudley Town Hall when I thought i was going to see my hero Kendo Nagasaki......he was a poor imitation and I later saw him in The Saracens Head with his opponent Ron Clarke, next time I saw him was the same venue v Billy Jordan (later to become Lucky Gordon).

Eventually George Gillett and Kendo with the help of legal representation chased Bill Clarke around the Lincolnshire area until he was given a writ at ringside at Downham Market as he was appearing as Kendo Nagasaki on Terry Goodrums show. The poster for the show was used in court and I still have a copy of it.

Kendo was also helped by a well known heavyweight wrestler on the night they served the writ.

Both Clarke and Goodrum went to prison for a while and deservedly so after simply grabbing a name that had taken a while to build...they protested that they did not know that Peter Thornley had legally resistered this name.

Here's a complete history of Clarke on TV by the way:

YEAR__TV CHANNEL_BILLED AS____OPPONENT/TAG PARTNERS_____OUTCOME

1982___ITV_________King Kendo____Battle Royal won by Big Daddy_____Eliminated

1982___ITV_________Red Devil_____with Ripper Raven _______________Lost

________________________________vs Big Daddy & Steve Logan

1984___ITV_________King Kendo____Marty Jones____________________Lost

1986___Screensport__King Kendo____Tony St Clair___________________ Lost

1986___ITV_________Bill Clarke_____with Lee McConnon______________Lost

________________________________ vs Scrubber Daly & Mal Kirk

1986___ITV_________King Kendo____Romany Riley___________________Draw

1987___ITV_________King Kendo____Battle Royal won by Giant Haystacks_Eliminated

1987___S4C________King Kendo____Kung Fu________________________Won

1987___S4C________King Kendo____with Barcud Du __________________Lost

________________________________vs Kung Fu & El Bandito

1987___ITV_________King Kendo____with The Spoiler__________________Lost

________________________________ vs Big Daddy & Andy Blair

1988___ITV_________King Kendo____Battle Royal won by Giant Haystacks_Eliminated

Something unusual I've noticed about this bout - KK actually stays mostly clean all the way through and actually gets a smattering of applause from the crowd.

I'm still wondering does Howard know what name Brian Frost wrestled under when he wasn't King Kendo in place of Bill when when Bill was working away as a H.G.V. driver. Regards Les 💪

Thanks for that Howard.

I was trained by Dick Harrison. He told me he was Ron Clarke in the Lincolnshire Poachers and also worked as Marcel Carpentier for a number of years. Sapper James.

RIP Bill.

The Boston Standard has an article Remembering Boston Wrestler Big Bill Clark

I wonder if anyone can help me here . If Marcel Carpentier who Graham Brook mentions , was Bill Clarke's cousin Mr Brian Frost. Who sometimes wrestled with the bonnet as King Kendo!!! Also If Dick Harrison one of Bills cousins who sometimes wrestled as King Kendo? Or am I completely wrong. It would be nice to know or am I completely full of SH one T !!!. 💪 regards Les..

Update - said prat deleted his comments after I made a similar call for help on the Have A Good Week FB group

Has any kind soul got any cuttings about the court case? I only ask because some complete prat on a youtube video comments board is calling me all sorts for mentioning how Clarke and Goodrum ended up in the pokey for contempt of court and I can't really be bothered to go trawling through archives for the sake of some troll.

As Big Bill Clarke he never really did it for me. But really found a niche as King Kendo. I expect it was a gimmick that was imposed on him. Another who would do anything to help the game.

A bad week R.I.P. Bill

Sad news . 10th October was not a good day. I remember Bill on the opposition in the late 1960s at the time he was a Lincolnshire Poacher. Also a promoter in the east of England.