W: Walton - Wasburg
Wrestling Heritage A-Z
Steve’s interest in animals was connected to his wrestling activities. Steve was employed as the dolphin trainer at Don Robinson’s Marineland in Scarborough. One of Robinson’s many business interests was as a major independent wrestling promoter in the 1960s and 1970s. Forty years later Steve described himself then, and still, as part of the Don Robinson family, as his friendship with Robinson and colleagues endured for decades.
Although soccer was his first sporting love, he had a trial for Leeds United, Steve developed an interest in wrestling whilst working for Robinson in the company of wrestlers Klondyke Bill and Toma Hansom. Steve trained with them and eventually became a part time wrestler on 1970s independent shows, mainly working for Don Robinson. He was certainly handily placed to fill the place of a missing wrestler on a Robinson show.
From Scarborough Steve moved as head trainer of dolphins at Windsor Safari Park and yet this was only the start of his incredible story. Following work in many animal parks Steve worked self employed as an animal adviser, travelling the world and setting up animal health and breeding programmes.
Wherever he travelled Steve always returned home to Scarborough where he remained in touch with, and supported, Toma Hansom (until his death), Don Robinson, and the other north east lads. Until the outbreak of Covid 19 earlier this year he was still travelling the world sharing his internationally acclaimed knowledge of marine wildlife.
Steve Walton died 13th December, 2020, aged 66.
The iconic Max Ward brought a touch of American style razamatazz as the referee wearing his trademark striped shirt. In 2012 Wrestling Heritage named him the Number 1 Wrestling Official of the Heritage for refereeing duties in which he remained unobtrusive, allowed the wrestlers retain centre stage whilst also enhancing the overall performance.
Yet Max Ward ‘s contribution to wrestling went back much further. Before his unmistakable refereeing style was unleashed on the unsuspecting public by promoter Paul Lincoln Max Ward was a heavyweight wrestler working throughout Britain and travelling to Sweden, Germany and France. We can trace him back to wrestling in 1943 whilst he was serving in the R.A.F. and reported in November by the Hull Daily Mail to have beaten Manuel Trudeau by two faills to one at Madeley Street Baths. By then he was in his early twenties, having been born in Bristol on 23rd July, 1920
A 1950s resident of Halesowen, seven miles from Birmingham on the edge of the industrial heartland Max had the geographical legitimacy for his billing as Midlands Heavyweight Champion, but we have yet to find any reference to any championship matches.
Max continued wrestling until the early 1960s, mainly for Paul Lincoln, one of the main independent promoters. In the early 1960s the bumps were beginning to take their toll on Max's body and he turned referee for Paul Lincoln Management, a role at which he excelled. From time to time Max would be called back to wrestling duties to settle a score with a wrestling villain. In 1963, by which time he was a regular Lincoln referee he said, in Birmingham’s Sports Argus, that he was challenging Dr Death, “I have stood enough of foreign wrestlers coming to Birmingham and taking liberties with me …. I will show how an old-timer deals with masked Americans.” Fans still enjoyed Max back in the ring in the 1970s for a series of referee versus wrestler matches, in which he faced Cyanide Sid Cooper.
Wrestling enthusiast Ballymoss told us: “When Max worked for Paul Lincoln I believe it was part of the show for him to become fully involved and he filled this role brilliantly, particularly when involved with some one like Docker Don Stedman. If he had disqualifed Don or some other top notch heel he often wrote down their name on a notepad and informed them in grave tones that they would be reported to the British Wrestling Federation - hilarious stuff; action which could see the disqalified wrestler demand a re-match, a much needed ingredient with the paucity of wrestlers in the Paul Lincoln stable.”
With the 1966 merger of Paul Lincoln Management and Dale Martin Promotions Max became a popular tv referee and, around 1967 or 1968, became one of the regular referees at the Royal Albert Hall.
Max Ward died in 2002, aged 83, and just two weeks after receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Wrestlers Reunion.
Born in Chatham on 15th December, 1918, Bill Warner became interested in wrestling and joined the Luton Amateur Wrestling Club when he was sixteen years old. At the outbreak of war Bill was working as a bricklayer and enlisted with the Royal West Kents as soon as the conflict began. In 1940 he was captured by the Germans. He endured the prisoner of war camp for five years, weighing just seven stones when the camp was liberated, a story re-told many years later on BBC Radio Kent. On his return to the United Kingdom Bill pursued his career as a professional wrestler. Our last recorded match/ We have found him wrestling from 1947 onwards, opponents including Sonny Wallis, Charlie Fisher and Jack Beaumont. Our last sighting of Bill was in 1951. His interest in wrestling continued, opening a gymnasium in Gillingham, with Alan Kitto and Tony Bates amongst his proteges. Bill Warner died in May, 2001, aged 82.
Page revised 29/06/2020 revision of Max Ward entry
28/05/2020 Minor revision to Bill Warner entry
7/6/2019: Addition of The Warlord