For me, an excellent wrestler. The guy could wrestle but he was so good at winding up the crowd, often before a Big Daddy match at my local venue.
I would put him alongside Sid Cooper in many ways, don't ever remember him not turning up, saw him against various opponents - John Naylor, Vic Faulkner, Steve Grey, Danny Collins, Ian McGregor etc Was he ever given a title shot? Cannot recall him even challenging for one, yet surely he was considered a reliable worker?
Also, watching a bout versus Bobby Ryan, Kent Walton says he was once 16 stone!! Anybody remember him at this weight? Made me think maybe he was heavy during that chain match with Bartelli?
The “almost a gentleman tag” is a variation on HM King Edward V11’s description of the eccentric Earl of Lonsdale (The “Yellow Earl”) of whom he remarked: “ Almost an Emperor, but not quite a gentleman”.