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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: cleaner1947 on Thursday 30 June 16 21:55 BST (UK)
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DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY INFO ON HEADLEYS FAMOUS SHOWS INCLUDINY YOUNG SAMSON THE BRITISH GOLIATH THANKS
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Previous post:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=703125.0
N.B. Please don't use all capitals? :D
That's internet etiquette for shouting!
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sorry i am a little short sighted it helps me see what i am writing :)
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According to National Archives, Cumbria archives at Barrow have a postcard showing him.
I'm not finding much on the British Newspaper Archive. British Goliath returns articles about the ship which was sunk in the Dardenelles, and Young Samson has been the name of more than one racehorse.
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The person most likely had a condition called "acromegaly" or more specifically called "acromegaly gigantism".
Acromegaly is a very rare condition affecting only a dozen or so people per million population per year. It's a condition where the pituitary gland has a tumour which causes an excess of Growth Hormone.
The first sign of it is usually when the size of hands and feet increase in adulthood.
The pituitary gland is a little tiny gland which meets up where the ears and top of the nose are, about the size of a cashew nut).
If you know of anybody who's feet have increased in size in adulthood then it's well worth referring them to the doctor. The condition can now be controlled to a point of remission (which is pretty much a cure).
If the condition is left uncontrolled and if it started before full adulthood it will result in gigantism. As the condition suggest, it results in them becoming a "giant" compared to the people around them.
Thankfully it's now detected by medical practitioners before people become a circus attraction for their affliction. Apart from the size aspects it usually results in quite an early death if untreated - mainly due to the effect on the heart (say in their late 40s or early 50s).
You may be able to get more details from the Pituitary Foundation (http://www.pituitary.org.uk/) too. They may have recorde of the person and any newspaper clippings too.
All the best,
Trystan
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Postcard showing Young Samson the British Goliath at Headley's Famous Shows:
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/523054a5-842d-43b6-9a59-648de52d5627
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thank you i have seen that link but cant see pic .He was strongman named GEORGE ROBINSON born in BURY LANCS .He was married to my gran for a short time then up and left but don't know why.Aim just intrigued as to what happend to him. Gran never did say why he left .
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I didn't expect that you would see the picture. I put the link on so that
you could contact the people and ask if you could get a copy. There would
probably be a small charge of course. Good luck ;D ;D
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So if you go to that page that tomkin gave you, and make a note of the reference on that page:
Title: Postcard showing Young Samson the British Goliath at Headley's Famous Shows.
Reference: BDSo 44/14
Then press the "See Contact Details (http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/a/A13532041)" button on the page.
It will give you the contact details for Cumbria Archive and Local Studies Centre, Barrow
It gives you their opening hours, address, email address and phone number.
If you contact them and ask if it's possible to see a copy of that postcard then I'm sure they will be more than happy to help you.
Also, if you can give us as much information as you know about GEORGE ROBINSON then we might be able to find some information for you ourselves.
For example, date of birth, date of death, and baptism dates, marriages, and where he might have been. We're in Bury ourselves, and I'd be more than happy to go down the records office in Bury if you let me know what I should be asking or looking for.
For the post card though, you'll need to contact Cumbria Archive and Local Studies Centre, Barrow using the details above.
Let's keep looking :)
Trystan
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thank you Tristan George robinson was born 1894 in bk smith st bury .he married my gran Jane bailey in1919 march first and left we think in 1925 .we know he worked the fairgrounds and was a strong man. i have been told he pulled some sort of lorry through bury town in the 1920s thanks
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When you say he was born in "bk smith st bury", have you abbreviated that? There's a Smith Street in Bury there might have been a "Back Smith Street" at one time but I can't seem to see it now.
I'd imagine there would be a newspaper archive of him so I searched the "British Newspaper Archive" to see if I could find anything.
There appear to be quite a few results for the word "Samson" in the 1920s when I searched just for the North West:
www.rootschat.com/links/01hzs
and
www.rootschat.com/links/01hzt
and searching for "Samson" and "Strongest" in the North West:
www.rootschat.com/links/01hzw/
You may be able to see these results if you go to your local library or if you have a subscription with The British Newspaper Archive. I can't see if this is your man or not as I can't read the articles either.
Have you spelled "Headleys" right? It doesn't come up with anything at that time:
www.rootschat.com/links/01hzu
But we can search just for the word "circus" in the North West giving a healthy number of search results on there:
www.rootschat.com/links/01hzv
I wonder if anybody else on here can draw some light on this too and give us some ideas?
Trystan
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Extract from my previous link:-
"Postcard showing Young Samson the British Goliath at Headley's Famous Shows."
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Tomkin,
:)
Thank you, yes I'd seen that but we would expect a newspaper article about Headleys I'd have thought if it was famous? :-[
Have you spelled "Headleys" right? It doesn't come up with anything at that time:
www.rootschat.com/links/01hzu
No mention at all of Headleys Famous Shows in any newspapers in the North West for the whole of the 1920s
Could it have been part of another show or name perhaps too?
Is it the wrong era?
Trystan
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Hi Trystan,
I've tried a few variations of the name, but nothing works.
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Thanks :)
I wonder what we're missing?
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sorry i am a little short sighted it helps me see what i am writing :)
e
You can increase or decrease the size of the text on screen by pressing the control key and using the mouse wheel to enlarge or reduce the letters.
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" I wonder what we're missing? "
In my case, it's brain cells. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Me too I think. :) :)
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Re the British Goliath George Robinson
This post was up some time ago George was my dad's uncle and I have probably the same photo you have,dad always said he went to America but not much information on him
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Some information here:
https://www.geni.com/people/George-Robinson/6000000008508135672
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Thanks very much for info very interesting didn't know George had children dad never said,and it is the same photo of George
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GEORGE ROBINSON MARRIED MY GRAN JANE BAILEY ABOUT 1922 BUT LEFT AROUND 1925 WE THINK HE WENT USA .
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Do you have any further information? A middle initial for George? An exact birth date for either of the pair? Did George have any profession other than strongman? Did they have any known relatives or friends in the United States?
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Sorry I haven't got any information dad passed away last year but I can contact my auntie and see if she can shed any light on this ,thanks
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Acromegaly does increase height ,foot and hand size,jaw development .
However sufferers are often very tall but not muscular ,plus the condition has other effects eg eg blood sugar levels .I think also it affects the sex hormones.
If you can bring to mind the statue of Akhenaten ,he was also rather effeminate- round tummy and well developed “ chest” .
Not sure if someone with the condition would be really strong .
Correct me if I am wrong .
Viktoria.
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I don't think there's any reason to think that this person had acromegaly; that was mere speculation on Trystan's part. The photograph of the 'Young Samson' does not suggest that he had any unusual characteristics other than bulging biceps and a fondness for chains.
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I have not seen the photograph .
As I said however ,it is unlikely that someone with acromegaly would be strong , rather the opposite.
I was describing a condition that did not match the speculation as the post was about a very strong muscular man, so unlikely to be acromegaly .
So why was there need for your post ?
Viktoria.
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...other than bulging biceps and a fondness for chains.
Sounds like one of Blanche's quips on the "Golden Girls". ;) ;D
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This advert in the Walsall Observer, and South Staffordshire Chronicle 13 August 1927 shows he was still in England in 1927.
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Hi, i am a descendant of George Robinson AKA Samson the British Goliath.
My mum did our family history and we believe he boarded a ship to America and no one heard anything from him since. We've searched ship records and can't find him in any records so we presume he used a false name.
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Found this https://www.oldtimestrongmanblog.com/blog/2023/09/young-samson-the-british-goliath/#close