My first trainer/coach in professional wrestling was Grant Foderingham aka The Black Panther to whom I owe an enormous debt of gratitude. In recent years I have been aware of a professional goalkeeper called Wes Foderingham current plying in he Premiership for Sheffield United. Some years back I asked Grnt but I have forgotten his answer except he is either his son or grandson. Can anyone cast further light on this? Thank you. Eddie Rose

Paul's funeral will take place next Friday 21st July. 12.00 noon at Stockport Cremarorium. Many old colleagues and wrestling fans are expected to attend, RIP old friend. Eddie Rose.

The death has been announced of the Manchester-basd heavyweight Paul Carpentier aged 86. Paul wrestled mainely in the North and Mkidlands and for the Independent promoters. He was a goo looking, well muscled wrestler and a favourite with the fans, He later teamed up with Cowboy Jack Cassidy in promoting and they ran many shows for many years mainly in the Lancshire area. Our condolences to his family. Funeral arrangements yet to be announced. Eddie Rose

Tony Francis was a familiar face around the north of England and especially in Blackpool where he lived. He was a prime mover in all things wrestling;: wrestler and promoter. His wrestling shows included piers and ball rooms, halls and clubs. He employed many Manchester based wrestlers on his shows and he wrestled on many of them himself, He was a pleasant and friendly man but this could change once he got in the ring. He was a hard and skilled wrestler as I know from personal experience having wrestled him about a dozen times over the years. This month is the anniversary of his death. I think of him with a sad smile and remember how much he contributed to wrestling as a wrestler and a promoter but mostly as a kind nd generous man and a good friend. Eddie Rose (Manchester).

Terry was one of the nicest lads you coild hope to meet.I knew him well, living a few hundred yards away from his Fallowfield (Manchester) home and adjacent to the old Main Road football stadium (Manchester City before the move to the Etihad). He sometimes trained at my gym and was quite a gymnast. He is perhaps best remembered for a series of bouts with another Mancunian, Colin Joynson; a fierce rivalry that one. I also remember Terry for some seriously good nights out together in Manchester City Centre where we often bumped into visiting wrestlers. I first met Prince Kumali on such an occasion for example.. Good days (and nights) Terry. Not forgotten. Eddie Rose.

A Near Confrontation with Big Bill Before I became a professional wrestler I was out one evening in city centre Manchester with some friends and we finished up in a club on Oxford Street - the Cabaret Club. We were little boisterous and enjoying ourselves, perhaps a little too loudly. Suddenly this huge man with cauliflower ears approached our table and started to talk quite calmly asking us to tone it down. We noticed he kept winking his right eye at us as he spoke. Was he serious or joking? Fortunately we listened and quietened down. Later, as we left, he approached us again, "Thanks for your cooperation lads." He was still winking and we suddenly realised it was an involuntary affliction and also it was Big Bill Benny. A near brush with danger!

I have jut finished reading Rob Cope's book about Haystacks and I thoroughly recommend it to Heritage members. I knew Haystacks fairly briefly, firstly when he wrestled for Brian Dixon at the start of his career after being introduced to wrestling by Salford's Billy Graham. I found him a bit off-putting at first; monosyllabic and unsmiling and, with that huge physique, a little bit frightening. The book discusses his early life in Ireland, a section dealt with sympathetically and accurately for my own grandparents on my mother's side came from a similar area and backgound to Haystacks. He came over to live in Salford and later Bury, two places with many associations for me including my current home in Holcombe Brook, north Bury. I worked mainly for the Independent promoters and followed his career with Joint Promotions from that aspect. He did well. He used his physique and his character to become a world class "name" without ever becoming a great wrestler. Later, our paths crossed especially when he came to live in Bury. I met him on a number of shows but more importantly I met him socially in and around the town and formed a very different opinion of him. He was much more sociable and had a sense of humour as we chatted about wrestling and opponents and about Ireland. I would not claim to be a close friend but a friendly acquaintance and I was shocked and saddened when he became ill and eventually died. He certainly made a big impression on the wrestling scene and many were saddened at his premature death. Rob Cope's book tells his story sympathetically and gives us an insight into this famous wrestler. Eddie Rose (Manchester)

I've just finished a really interesting wrestling history: THE MAN OF ALL TALENTS by Steven Bell and I would strongly recommend the book to all member of Wrestling Heritage. You will get a picture of an amazing person in Douglas Clark that will grip your attention, a loving look at an era of Rugby League when Huddersfield were the premier team and a vivid picture of the start of professional wrestling in this country when it was first named "All-In Wrestling" meaning a mixture of styles from all over the world. In a way the book "aged" me when I came across names of people, eminent in the 1920 - 30s who I knew quite in the 1960s. Names like George de Relwyskow (Junior) who used to promote at Belle Vue in Manchester and who encouraged me in my early days in wrestling and Jack Pye of Blackpool via Yorkshire. He is my all-time favourite wrestler. Jack was a quiet man with an outrageous ring persona and I enjoyed the honour of being refereed by him in a contest with Jim Moser at the Mecca in Blackpool some fifty years ago. Steven Bell gives an extraordinary account of how our sport originated and developed from almost one hundred years ago into the current format that entertains so many fans today. The book is available from Amazon as well as leading bookshops. Eddie Rose (Manchester).

Good to see a mention of Terry on the site. He was a solid performer and often under-rated. I first met him on the fishing/mail boat from Rothesay to Wemyss Bay that brought wrestlers back to the mainland after the show and the last ferry. He started off under the name McGrail which was the family name and a very close member won the pools - a very substantial sum in those days. Eddie Rose (Manchester)