Colin Wheeler Remembers…….The Strong Man

My next visit was to see Samson Brown, the strong man, who performed amazing feats of strength.  To publicize the show he pulled one of Regent Motorway’s coaches down Grove Street with his teeth and allowed Brown’s Coal Merchants lorry loaded with half a ton of coal to ride over his chest on Market Place.  He bent a strip of iron between his teeth into an ornamental shape and passed it around the audience and the last one to examine it was allowed to keep it as a souvenir, on the night we were there this was kept by Ralph Manning who was the licensee of the Plumbers Arms in Walford Street and so it was put on permanent display in the bar. He allowed a member of the audience to break a slab of concrete on the chest with a sledgehammer, and also allowed members of the audience to come up on stage and play tug of war with the rope looped around his neck.  Samson looped a towel around his fist and drove a 6 inch nail through a 2 inch plank of wood, for many years my late father never stopped relating how unbelievable it was that he was he was able to withdraw the nail, it wasn’t until many years later that I became more aware of the working of the entertainment business that I realized the plank may have been balsa wood.  He then threw out a challenge to any man in the audience to come up on stage and from a standing position punch him in the chest and if he could be knocked to the floor he would pay £5 (two weeks wages at the time).  Against all rules of the theatre, Bill Brough, who was employed as the fly man came down from above the stage and threw him a punch, although it didn’t floor him hit brought him down on one knee. Afterwards, Samson’s assistant came to Bill backstage, pressed a 10 shilling note in his hand and said Samson said don’t come up again” I should mention that Samson Brown was a Hungarian who spoke no English and he had a very presentable young man who stood on the left hand corner of the stage and commentated and translated during his performance. One of the things he said and remains clearly in my mind is that Samson attributes his enormous strength to the fact that he never goes out with ladies, in my childish mind I thought what on earth has that got to do with it?