"Bully Boy" Ian Muir was a brilliant "heel" who always gave an excellent display of villiany. Wrestling enthusiasts knew what was coming when Ian Muir entered the wrestling ring and they were never disappointed. I particularly enjoyed his look of incredulity when he was invaribly disaqualified which usually happened whenever I saw him. He will be remembered fondly.

I always thought George Drake was a cut above the usual American wrestlers that visited the UK during the 1960's. He mostly played the heel. but was far from devoid of wrestliing skills and his bouts always provided excellent entertainment. It was sad he died so young.

I have very fond memories of Ed who was a stalwart of the Paul Lincoln promotions during the early to mid 1960's. I am not certain what the Gori stood for but Ed was often billed as the fighting ex lumberjack from Canada and on the several occasions i saw him was always a very effective "heel". In fact so good he was the regular tag partner of Lincoln in his Dr Death guise. Taking into account Lincoln had a small stable of regular wrestlers and his shows were not televised it was an admirable achievement they were so successful. They had style, glamour and were expertly marketed. Ed Mangotich was a major contributor to their success.

Fred was a top "heel" and a very tough character indeed who also possessed abundant wrestling skill.I was fortunate to see him live around 60 years ago at the Wimbledon Palais and Camberwell Baths and he always provided wrestling patrons with marvellous entertainment and for some reason was underused by promoters.He is very fondly remembered.

I was surprised and delighted that Adrian received a full page obitury in The Times. It was an excellent summary of his fascinating life and so well deserved.

Max Ward pitted againt Syd Cooper was quite a regular occurance but earlier in the 1960's I saw Max take on "Docker" Don Steadman who was an extremely powerful "heel" at the Brixton Granada. It was probably fortunate for Max that Don Steadman was disqualified. Max was also brought in to challenge Dr Death (Paul Lincoln) which confirms my favourite referee was game for a challenge.

Professional wrestling on television was terminated by Greg Dyke, an ardent Labour supporter at the time.Of course he blamed dealing viewing figures but along with many other media figures probably had a distaste for wrestling which after all was entertainment not sport.The "toff" persona as identified notably by Lord Bertie and Alan Garfield was used by promoters very lucratively in the 1950's up to the mid 60's when it became a trifle dated. Anglo Italian's point concerning masked wrestlers is certainly valid.

The so called Swinging Sixties was evolving, although for the majority of the population this was this was far from the case with the country slowly recovering from the effect of the Second World War and the grim austerity of the 1940's and 1950's.With his "toff" persona Lord Bertie would have definitely not appealed to the media types with their liberal leaning and their growing influence on television,Lord Bertie would have been regarded as a malignant being.Of course this is only conjecture but as he only wrestled for the independents he never had the chance to appear on television.If Lord Bertie assisted by Ponsonby had appeared on TV I personally believed he would have proved a great success with viewers eager to witness his comeuppance.

The only occasion I saw Lord Bertie live was at a packed to capacity Acton Town Hall where "his lordship" was assisted by his valet Ponsonby. Whether he was the original Ponsonby I have no idea, but he fulfilled his role admirably using every trick imaginable to foil Lord Bertie's opponent. This duo made the atmosphere electric but had to remain with the independents as back in the 1960's this image would have never been allowed on mainstream television.Even nearly 60 years ago it may have been regarded as a trifle dated but for sheer entertainment there have been few to match the wonderful Lord Bertie Topham.

Only conjecture but Billy Torontos may have appealed to Dale Martin as he was an American and subsequently billed as the Chicago Tornado. In the early 1960's several American wrestlers visited the UK, many but not all "heels" and drew good crowds, particularly if they had been seen on television.This was good news for wrestling promoters and they were authentic American. Torontos was different and perhaps his antics initially sustained some interest but after a while rather grated and became predictable and frankly boring. I agree how he lasted so long and for some time was often top of the bill, remains a mystery.

I was a regular at the Dominion Southall in the early to mid 1960's and remember witnessing the worst mismatch I ever saw when the top of the bill pitched Billy Torontos against the best heavyweight I had seen George Gordienko. This venue staged ten minute rounds and in the opener Billy did his familiar wild dervish act which did not go down well with the audience and with Gordienko who made little effort to catch him. In the second round this nonsense was terminated by George who knocked out Torontos and ended this ridiculous "contest". I can understand Dale Martin not wanting to match Gordienko with Syed Saif Shah, the local favourite who was also on the bill, and I believe unbeaten in all his matches at Southall but Frank Hurley and Seamus Donlevy were also appearing and although well removed from the class of George Gordienko would have certainly proved better opponents than the hapless Billy Torontos.

A contest between Geoff Portz and Albert Wall at the Lime Street Baths around 1964. It featured two excellent wrestlers at their brilliant best and ended in a well deserved draw. It was the one bout I witnessed that literally had the whole audience enthralled.

I lived in West London during the mid 1960's and Spencer Churchill from Kew was a favourite with the fans at the Hammersmith Commodore and the Lime Grove Baths in Shepherds Bush.He was always well received and is fondly remembered for the skill and ability he showed.

What a shame he was not used by Joint Promotions. When I saw him back in the early 1960's at Acton Town Hall the venue was packed to near full capacity.The reason -The audience had come to see the irrepressible Lord Bertie and Ponsonby.

Fascinating to see Lord Bertie Topham on a Norman Morrell bill.This must have been a rare occasion and prompts the question why was his lordship not used more. For sheer entertainment he had few equals and if ever allowed on television would have been a star attraction. Another mystery ?

Al was born to be a wrestler as his father was the noted heavyweight Don Mendoza.

I was a regular at Camberwell Baths during this period and Alan Garfield was ideally suited to this venue which in those pre gentrification days attracted a mainly working class audience. From the moment he made his entrance his "toff" persona incurred the wrath of Camberwell patrons and an opponent like Steve Veidor even more. As usual he engaged in verbal banter with ref Joe D'Orazio and MC Bobby Palmer and on this occasion I believe the great man actually won and was not disqualified.The brilliant Alan Garfield was in my view unique and fully deserves the adulation he receives from this site.

For a man of his size he was remarkably agile and if he desired was able to wrestle with skill. I saw him live a couple of times and he attracted a near full house on each occasion. I guess this was the reason promoters were happy to use him and his "heel" status guaranteed an exciting contest with the audience satisfied at witnessing this unusual character.

Peter Rann against Joe Murphy may have been some contest as there always appeared to be some genuine "needle' between these two very tough individuals.

George Gordienko was the best wrestler I ever saw live-really magnificent.