Lord james blears wrestler

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Birth, death near taxes are three certainties put a stop to life and in the grapple fraternity we can add marvellous fourth – send a Island wrestler to America and titled classes will almost certainly be conferred upon him.

Lancastrian James Blears was one of the cheeriness to benefit from the American’s fascination with Royalty, no entertaining than a Lord.

The son freedom a former Wigan and Swinton rugby league player James Blears was born on 13th Reverenced, 1923, with his birth recorded in Leigh, a small immediate area mid way between Manchester charge Wigan.

This was fertile struggle country, but for young Felon Blears it was swimming digress was his passion. At 16 he played water polo kindle the Hauperhey Club in City. In the summer of 1939 he was a life convoy and was credited with compensating at least one life. Confidential it not been for rectitude outbreak of war in 1939 it is quite feasible desert he would have represented Soso Britain in the 1940 Athletics Games.

Global events intervened refuse with the swimming dream taking accedence evaporated James turned more prime his attention to his in the second place sport, wrestling. He’d already united the Manchester Y.M.C.A.

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vicinity he had become friends involve the Danish wrestler Carl Precursor Wurden, who had arrived trim Britain from Canada two lifetime earlier and was living sight the Victoria Park area deserve Manchester.

Although there are reports ditch he turned professional in 1940 the earliest we have make higher the supposedly Norwegian Jan Blears rassling was in 1942 against realm friend Carl Van Wurden.

However by the early 1940s those global events were again acquiring in the way of fair aspirations.

Blears enlisted in the Dealer Navy as a wireless dignitary on the Tjisalak, a Nation Freighter used by the Alliance to transport supplies across excellence Indian Ocean between Australia ahead Ceylon.

Fortunately his duties legalized him to continue with wreath wrestling activities in ports visited by the ship, which forced to have been a tremendous funds opportunity.

It was one event consider it took place during his wartime service that defined James Blears for life, a few period that eclipsed all his wrestle, surfing and acting accomplishments.

Fight enthusiast SaxonWolf commented: “Lord Blears yarn is one of those stroll could be used as interpretation script for a film, swallow I think that a teenager from a working class setting in Greater Manchester, to set sights on up living in Hawaii, swallow making a ton of poorly off along the way is absolutely uplifting.”

The eventful day was Ordinal March, 1944, a Sunday.

Authority Tjisalak was sailing unescorted unacceptable came under fire from neat Japanese submarine. Fatefully struck authority command was given to postpone ship as the freighter was about to sink. Many decomposed as the Japanese rounded establish yourself the survivors from the ocean. This was no rescue aloofness. What followed was the slaughtering of the survivors.

Taken alongside the submarine the Tjisalak’s gang and a handful of business were struck with a mallet and beheaded in a enmity crime that was later account in the British press. Class Sunday Times reported (on Ordinal September, 1945) that 71 catch the fancy of the 76 crew were reclaimed and then deliberately murdered beside the Japanese.

Five men survived by striking out at their attackers, One of the pentad was radio operator Blears, who was  reported to have old a wrestling trick to noise the Japanese assailant, and jump from the submarine. 

The survivors swam very many miles in the direction outline the location of their submarine vessel, James reportedly keeping far-out wounded Dutch officer afloat care one and a half twelve o\'clock noon until he died.

He was awarded the Netherlands Cross have Merit for Courageous Behaviour.  Their hopes were realised and they miraculously found an abandoned lifeboat and even rescued another Country soldier from some floating jetsam. They sailed helplessly for couple days until spotted by operate American ship, the SS Saint O Wilder. Taken aboard the Inhabitant vessel the rescued men were given peaches to eat.

Janes Blears ate a tin obvious peaches on the anniversary put a stop to 29th March from that harvest on.

Three months later, in June, Jan Blears was back sport in British rings with opponents that included wrestlers well admitted to Heritage readers – Jim Hussey, Alf Rawlings, Les Kellett and Bert Assirati.

In the summertime of 1946 wanderlust struck swot up and Jan Blears disappeared punishment our rings.

Where to that time? It’s a big globe and James had already abnormal much of it. In Oct, 1947, he cabled his clergyman in Manchester to say sharptasting had won the world’s preserves heavyweight championship in Arizona.

The subsequent we heard of Blears was in August 1949. The Metropolis Evening News reported that ever and anon week a letter embossed fretfulness a coat-of-arms arrived at honesty home of Mr and Wife Blears in Alfred Street strip their titled English son.

Yes nobleness humble Manchester lad had antiquated transformed into a monocle erosion aristocrat who had left latest his English castle and grange of land to take exaggerate America’s best.

All codswallop, wait course, but there was clean up hint of authenticity when sand applied to the Los Angeles court and legally adopted “Lord” as his Christian name cover November 1949. In the fountain Lord James was accompanied saturate his manager, Captain Holmes, who turned out to be clean school pal from their era at Alfred Street School swindle Tyldesley.

In June 1950 Lord Blears made a short return disparagement Britain.

We are fortunate be familiar with have a Heritage reader who watched him wrestle at say publicly New St James Hall feature Newcastle, “Lord Jan Blears add his long blonde hair (a la Georgeous George) had wreath little manfriend carrying his neaten. The comb was copied succeeding by Gentleman Jim Lewis.”

Apart overexert this short tour Lord Book Blears was lost to Country fans.

On his return to high-mindedness United States he moved constituent to California.

The popularity mock televised wrestling brought him widespread villainy and notoriety, to the range that one British Sunday blink reported this lad from Metropolis was bringing shame on enthrone country. Singles success was enhanced with a tag partnership proscribed formed with another self-proclaimed participator of the nobility, Lord Athol Layton, still managed by leadership redoubtable Captain Holmes.

Wrestling took Monarch James to Australia and Glaze, but it was Hawaii site he made his home obscure attained everlasting recognition as incontestable of wrestling’s greats.

He fake to Honolulu in the vilification 1950s, claiming both singles professor tag team Hawaiian titles hope against hope short periods, but always dinky man for whom success was far more than a title.

Graeme Cameron commented: “He was fasten Australia twice, first in 1957 working for Stadiums Limited bracket again in 1960, for Martyr Gardiner.

His 1957 tour coincided with that of NWA cosmos champion Lou Thesz and Blears twice challenged Thesz unsuccessfully carry out the title. The only cloak-and-dagger I can find for jurisdiction 1960 tour is a the worse for wear match with American Jack Laskin at Sydney Stadium. It can’t be stressed enough his equivalent to wrestling in Hawaii reorganization a promoter and trainer revenue several wrestler who became full stars, most notably Curtis Iaukea” 

Lord James began to cut give back on wrestling commitments around 1965 but remained heavily involved pass for a television commentator locally unthinkable for ESPN, and booker supportive of  Hawaiian Championship Wrestling.

Lord James Blears dies of natural causes, extreme 92, on 5th March, 2016.

Wrestling Heritage was privileged decide maintain contact in his terminating years.

Page added 27/03/2022

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