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Remembering the terrifying Whirl of Death at Codonas in Aberdeen

Swansea strongman Jack Lemm performed his amazing feats at shows around the country including Codona's Aberdeen and Aikey Brae in Buchan
Swansea strongman Jack Lemm performed his amazing feats at shows around the country including Codona's Aberdeen and Aikey Brae in Buchan

From the dockyards of Swansea emerged a man so strong he could lift a motorbike on his neck and whirl it round on a chain, complete with two riders.

In the early half of the 20th century, showman Jack Lemm (1888-1980) was a household name.

Welsh strongman Jack Lemm.  Supplied by Steven Blockley.

As the strongman star of fairgrounds and music hall, he was famed for his feats of strength, wrestling and his dangerous headline act, The Whirl of Death.

Between 1928 and 1936 he was a frequent visitor to Aberdeen as a friend of the Codona family.

Records show he first appeared with his strongman show at Kittybrewster mart, and he’s known to have appeared at the Aikey Brae fair in Buchan too.

Show-goers had their hearts in their mouths watching his Whirl of Death act.

Strongman Jack Lemm’s Whirl of Death. Supplied by Steven Blockley.

Riding the bike were his two teenage daughters, Winnie and Lily performing the perilous stunt with complete trust in their great ox of a father, and he in them.

The motorbike was lighter than standard and specially adapted, but nevertheless it was an extremely dangerous feat of strength, relying on split second timing.

At a given moment, Lily would leap onto Jack’s back, leaving Winnie hunched over the motorbike and her father whirling the bike and the sisters around from his neck.

The sisters needed to know exactly when to release the catches to free the bike when Jack returned it to the ground after a couple of circuits, or he could have ended up under its wheels.

Showman now almost forgotten

Times and entertainment trends change, however, and now the once-famous showman is almost forgotten.

But for one Glaswegian, however, the story of Jack Lemm, the Welsh Hercules, has special meaning.

Steven Blockley co-wrote a book about his great-grandfather, famous strongman Jack Lemm.

Steven Blockley is Winnie’s grandson, and always thought that his great-grandfather deserved to be better known.

“I never actually met Jack,” he said. “I grew up listening to my uncles and aunts telling fascinating stories about all his incredible achievements and I always knew I wanted to write a book to bring them to a wider audience.

“As I dug further into his past, however, even I was surprised by what I found.

Family first

“Jack lived through some harsh years – he was on HMS Lion at the Battle of Jutland in World War 1 and was a survivor of the Swansea Blitz in the Second World War – but his focus was always to put family first and to provide for everyone at home, even if doing so took him away from them.”

Jack married Gladys around 1922, and worshipped the ground she walked on.

They had 13 children not all of whom survived.

Jack trained his six sons in boxing, and some of his daughters joined him in his fairground work.

Jack Lemm’s wife Gladys. He adored her to the end of his days. Supplied by Steven Blockley.

With co-author David Thacker, Steven has written The Welsh Hercules, a fictionalised portrayal of Jack’s extraordinary life.

David said:  “Jack came from a Greek family and his given surname was actually Lamnea.

“His exploits on stage and at fairs all over the UK, including here in Glasgow, were not always popular, especially with his authoritarian father.

“A lot of the tension in our book comes from that relationship, of a son trying to live up to the ideals of his father.”

Seen here in 1968, Jack Lemm, the Welsh Hercules was still immensely strong aged 80. Supplied by Steven Blockley.

Jack’s phenomenal strength endured with him to the end.

He seems to have been born strong, honing his muscles as a ship’s stoker and docker, and keeping to a strict training regime, including fasting one day a week.

Steven said: “He had a gym in his garden.

“No-one could bench-press like him.

“While we were writing the book, I turned 60.

“At that age, Jack was still doing 40 shows a day at the fairgrounds and even after he retired, he was helping roadworkers outside his house to fix the roads!

“Age really was just a number for him and I think that’s a great attitude to have.”

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