'Spieler' Neil Calladine tellsof life on the road with thelast fully-travellingWall of Death.


The Wall of Death travelled by Ken Fox and his team is the last in the UK to tour for a full season from Easter to October and still carry the original 1930s name. There is, of course, another show of this type operated by Graham Cripsey from Skegness but this makes only occasional appearances and, anyway, the' Wall of Fear' as he calls it doesn't somehow have the same ring to it!

The Wall with its smart new front ready for customers. Photo Neil Calladine.

There is no doubt that the Wall of Death is the last survivor from the era of travelling shows on the fairgrounds, although it must be said that these days it is mainly to be found at steam rallies, car and motorcycle shows and the like. Before the War there were many Walls of Death travelling, afterwards

gradually dwindling away to the point where for a brief period in the early 1980s it really did appear to have become extinct, with none left. Over exposure may have paid some part in its disappearance but size would also have been a major factor as it is certainly a heavy piece of equipment to erect and dismantle.

Ken Fox's career with the Wall of Death began in 1975 when he started as a ticket collector (the way many Walls of Death careers did) with the Cripsey family on the Pleasure Beach at his home town of Skegness.

[Read the full article in the July 2003 issue]