Fairground Motorcycle Wall of Death

[Treetotal]

Hi Rosie...this might be of interest:

http://archiveshub.ac.uk/features/fairsandcircus.shtml

Carol

[noble1945]

My uncle Bert Hughes used to do the wall of death at battersea funfair London this was around the mid 50's I can remember once the door was shut the bike would slowly be taken around the lower parts untl speed was got up and then taken right to the top in some cases without hands or the legs drawn up to the handle bars to steer it while no hands great stuff

[Finley 1]

When I was a mad teenager, I actually was a passenger on the wall of death.
I had to sit    in front   of the rider and lay my head on his shoulder.

Scary but exhilarating

xin   

[youngtug]

lay my head on his shoulder.
xin   

Mmm

 http://youtu.be/Rua8kasBG8Q

[Finley 1]

Oh my that brings back memories,  I wish I was there again

xin

[stevew101]

You may be interested in this.  The Wall of death visited Stotfold in May 2010, so at least one is still travelling.  They used Harley Davidson motor bikes and also a car.

Steve

[t mo]

hi all
check out TORNADO SMITH he rode the wall in the 30,s and onwards at the kursaal in southend
with his lioness in a sidecar his parents ran the white heart pub in boxford Suffolk where the lioness is buried in the car park , I remember seeing my first wall there in the late fifties they had 2 sets of rollers outside with a couple of bsa,a on which they did high speed runs on to encourage the crowd to go inside the bikes they used were mostly 1930.s indian scouts and what a spectacle the sound and bouncing of the wall I can still feel it now leaning over the edge with the bikes roaring round inches from the top with just a couple of strands of wire to stop them coming over if anything went wrong .
do a google search for tornado smith you won,t be disappointed promise .
regards
trevor

[youngtug]

http://www.rippin-kitten.com/2013/07/19/beyond-the-lion-drome/

[vintagewallofdeath]

My uncle Bert Hughes used to do the wall of death at battersea funfair London this was around the mid 50's I can remember once the door was shut the bike would slowly be taken around the lower parts untl speed was got up and then taken right to the top in some cases without hands or the legs drawn up to the handle bars to steer it while no hands great stuff

For Information on Wall of Death and to see a riders register go www.vintagewallofdeath.co.uk and contact the administrator. Even when names are not currently on the register there are files on riders including  for example Bert Hughes