STAINFORTHONLINE - Key Persons
Jack Pye left his home town of Wigan to find work at Hatfield Colliery. For a while he lived in Stanley Gardens, before becoming one of the world's most famous wrestlers!
I first heard of Jack Pye in 1972 when I was 15 years old, whilst attending an interview at Armthorpe's Markham colliery for a job at Hatfield Main. Surprisingly, being a child in the 60's and a witness to the wonders of that particular decade, as well as being a devoted fan of Saturday tea-time wrestling on ITV, I had never heard of Jack Pye before.
I remember how, as a child, I would hurry home with my elder brothers from wherever we had been playing or creating mischief, so that we would be in time to catch the Saturday afternoon wrestling programme. Saturday wrestling was one of those "couldn't miss" events, along with "Top Cat" and "The Champions" of course, so I was very familiar with the big names of the late 60's and early 70's. Mick MacManus, Jackie Pallo, Masambula, Honey Boy Zimba, Steve Logan, the Royals, and so many more of these colourful, and sometimes flamboyant characters, (I just remembered Adrian Street and the other guy who would perform ballet moves while delivering a boot to someone's head!), would grace our black and white Bush TV's screen. Those Saturday tea-time "grunt and groan" sessions were popular all over the country and everybody had their own favourite or someone they loved to hate. A "Royals Brothers v Steve Logan & Mick MacManus" tag event was one of those moments that would have every young lad everywhere sitting on the edge of their seats. They were wonderful showmen performing in great times.
In the early 1970's I was fortunate enough to see several of these great stars, when they appeared in an open-air event at Stainforth Gala.
The wrestling was a one-off event, but it was one which I remember very well. The ring had been built on the school field during the last week of term, before school broke up for the six week long summer holidays. The kids had climbed all over the partly constructed ring at every opportunity, despite receiving warnings from the teachers to keep off. It had been made out of thick wooden spars and loads of plywood sheeting, and was sited approximately where the new Longtoft Hall has recently been constructed. There were lots of plywood off-cuts laying around, and more than a few kids were crowned by flying bits of ply which were being thrown like rocks skimming a river into the playground full of running, jumping and leaping kids.
Jack Pye was a particularly skilled exponent of the art of catch wrestling, attaining the title of British Amateur Champion whilst still a coal miner and under the age of 21. He was an imposing figure, standing over six feet tall and weighing over 228 pounds, with a neck and shoulders like a prize bull.
This was a trait which ran in the Pye family, for he had six brothers, who were similarly built and most of whom were also enthusiasts of the pugilistic arts. In those early days Jack and his brothers trained regularly at a gym in Moorends near Thorne, as well as at the Pye's home in Stanley Gardens. Steve Nesbitt, now in his 80s and who lived near the Pyes in Stanley Gardens, told me that the Pye house was always busy with the comings and goings of young lads who joined the Pyes for sparring and training sessions. (A recording of the interview with Steve Nesbitt will eventually be available on the Stainforth Voice Archive site.)
Harry became a middle weight boxer, whilst Tommy became the light-heavy-weight wrestling champion of Great Britain and Frank "Bully Pye" the lightweight champion of Great Britain. (There will be more about the rest of the Pye family in a following article).
In 1923, shortly before arriving in Stainforth, Jack fought and lost to Jim Londos for the World Amateur Wrestling Championship. This didn't deter him though, and he carried on with his vigorous training routine, even while toiling in the coal mine.
According to Joe Pye, Jack's nephew, who still lives local to Stainforth, Jack's prowess in the ring became known to Lord Derby*, and it was he who, along with the influence of Athol Oakley and Jack Smith, persuaded Jack to turn professional in 1929.
I haven't been able to find any evidence to support this claim, but Lord Derby was well known to have been a keen sports enthusiast, and when he took up permanent residence in Lancashire after the conservative defeat of 1924, he would undoubtedly have become aware of Jack's talents.
On December 9th 1985 Jack Pye passed away in Blackpool's Victoria Hospital, where he had been admitted three weeks earlier after taking ill at the nursing home.
Robert Moir Lechmere Anderson Much loved Physician of this parish died 17th September 1969 age 81 years
George Porter was born in Stainforth on the 6th December 1920. He went on to receive a Knighthood and win the Nobel prize for Chemistry
George Porter was born in Stainforth on the 6th December 1920. The son of Methodist lay preacher and local builder Mr. John S. Porter, George attended primary school at Stainforth, and at the age of 11 went to Thorne Grammar School. According to an article in the Doncaster Evening Post (31/10/1967), there's a well thumbed record card in a filing cabinet at Thorne Grammar School, headed, "George Porter, Sharlston, Oldfield Lane, Stainforth.". Whilst he attended Thorne Grammar School, his family moved from Oldfeild Lane to East Lane, where George became a firm friend of Dr. Robert M. L. Anderson who lived next door. George and Robert cycled the three miles to school at Thorne together every day.
In 1938 he went, as Ackroyd Scholar, to Leeds University. It was at Leeds where his interest in physical chemistry and chemical kinetics grew, his inspiration coming from the teaching of M.G. Evans.
He later became an Officer in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Special Branch, where he was trained in electronics and pulse techniques concerning radar operation.
In 1945, he went to work in Cambridge as a postgraduate research student with Professor R.G.W. Norrish, where he studied free radicals produced in gaseous photochemical reactions. An idea occurred to him that the use of short pulses of light would enable him to study the behavior of free radicals, which later led to the construction of an apparatus to aid his studies in 1947.
On the 25th August 1949 he married Stella Jean Brooke, with whom he had two sons, John and Andrew.
He continued to collaborate with Norrish until he left Cambridge in 1954.
His later work was mainly concerned with showing how the flash-photolysis method could be extended and applied to many diverse problems of physics, chemistry and biology. He made contributions to other techniques, including that of radical trapping and matrix stabilisation.
For a short while he worked at the British Rayon Research Association, where he addressed the problems of dye fading and the phototendering of fabrics.