Kenneth Richmond - Wrestler and former Circuit Overseer Dies

by eyeslice 8 Replies latest jw friends

  • eyeslice
    eyeslice

    I was only young but I do remember Ken and his wife (Valentina) being our CO. He was a mountain of a man but it would appear from the bbc obituary he was a man of peace.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/lastword.shtml


    Olympic wrestler and actor who became the last of the men who struck the symbolic J. Arthur Rank movie gong has died aged 80.

    While Ken Richmond was faking the striking of the gong on screen, the real noise came from a percussionist called James Blades hitting a tam tam which was a mere two feet in diameter.

    At 6ft 2in (1.9 m) and 19 stone (120 kg), Richmond was well-suited to his chosen sport of wrestling. He won a bronze medal in the freestyle heavyweight category in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.

    Chris Saunders discusses the varied interests of his close friend Kenneth Richmond with Matthew Bannister.

    Kenneth Richmond was born on July 10 th 1926. He died on August 3rd 2006.

  • snugglebunny
    snugglebunny
  • road to nowhere
    road to nowhere

    I thought he was going to be a tv wrestler

    Another broken promise

  • RubaDub
    RubaDub

    He could have made a lot more money on the tv wrestling tour.

    Come up with a stage name like "Ken Kong" or something.

    Then do the flying drop kicks and other pro wrestling moves.

    Oh well ... RIP Ken, RIP.

    Rub a Dub

  • stan livedeath
    stan livedeath

    they used to stay at my parents house in birmingham (UK) for the circuit visit. i met him a couple of times. like a lot of circuit /district types-they were different out of the public eye. good actors.

  • eyeslice2
    eyeslice2

    Not sure why this thread was dumped up after all this time!

    We were in Birmingham too Stan - I think it was called Mosley congregation then but encompassed Balsall Heath and the Mosley area. Which cong were you in Stan?

  • BluesBrother
    BluesBrother

    I well remember Ken Richmond. His fame as the banged the gong on screen eclipsed his wrestling prowess.

    I worked as an attendant at Twickenham, London, District Convention one year and he was the Overseer of the department, so I had something to do with him . He seemed a decent guy and a good organiser.

    I have not met any C.O’s with his prowess and life experience lately..

  • jookbeard
    jookbeard

    My old man visited his cong in the late 1980's as the visiting speaker , Woking in Surrey, we met briefly, I was always led to believe he was a competition body builder not a wrestler

  • stan livedeath
    stan livedeath

    @eyeslice2

    I was born .1948..in balsall heath road and lived there till i was 9 years old. My mother was doorstepped about that time. Family then moved to the other side of brum..handsworth wood..country side!. A few years later mum started to attend meetings at hockley congregation..later to become winson green. By then i was in west bromwich churchfields cong.

    I remember greek cypriot andrew kafetsis..was cong overseer at hockley. His brother was at sparkhill? I think.

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