Bermondsey wrestler

[spongebob]

Trying to find some background on a relative in my tree, his name was THOMAS WILLIAM WHEELER and he was born in 1896 in Bermondsey. I have his marriage cert from May 7th 1916 where he is 21 and a soldier. He lives on Bermondsey Wall.

In particular, there is a story in the family that he might have been a wrestler later in life, and had the nickname "The Bermondsey Brawler". Does anyone know anything about wrestling in London in the early 1900s? Any clues where to look - were there any local Bermondsey papers of the time that might have stories. Was his wrestling pro/amateur or indeed was it illegal backstreet wrestling?

[Plummiegirl]

The main local newspaper for this area was and is The South London Press.  Their offices and their archives are kept at thier head office in Streatham.  Non on-line and you have to visit yourself if you want to do any reasearch.

You could try the local family history society.  Not too sure what they are called but they meet once a week at the John Harvard Library in the Borough High Street. 

Just google Southwark Family History Society.

Does the UK wrestling "board" have a website and if so do they have an archive of their own?