A LIFE in the professional wrestling ring was almost inevitable for Bol-ton brothers Bert Royal and Vic Faulkner.

Their father, Lewis Faulkner – whose ring name was Vic Hessle - was one of the greatest wrestlers of the 1930s, and the boys inherited his physical prowess.

Bert’s first triumph came in 1963, when he was 32, and he won the British Middleweight Championship.

He had other successes as a solo wrestler but real fame came when he teamed up with his brother. Their tag team fought in many memo-rable matches and, more often than not, they emerged victorious.

READ MORE: Bolton Olympic Wrestling Club, still thriving after decades

Vic Faulkner, who died last year at the age of 73, lived in Harwood. He was European Middleweight Wrestling Champion between 1966 and 1973 and British Welterweight Wrestling Champion between 1973 and 1977.

The tag team he formed with his brother saw the siblings performing in such venues as The Royal Albert Hall and The Liverpool Palace, as well as in wrestling halls up and down the country.

During their wrestling heyday, the brothers met many of the top stars and celebrities of the era, including The Beatles, Adam Faith and Sandie Shaw.

Vic went to St Peter and Paul’s RC School and Lord’s Commercial In-stitute, before becoming a professional wrestler aged just 17.

READ MORE: Tragic death toll of wrestlers

His career saw him travel the world, taking part in bouts in countries such as France, Italy and Kenya.

He spent a lot of time in London during his wrestling days, but always lived in Bolton where he was born and bred.

After retiring from his wrestling career, he and his family moved to the Harwood area.

Vic later worked for Thwaites Brewery, where he was also very suc-cessful, being named top area manager on several occasions.

READ MORE: British wrestlers versus the Americans

ANOTHER famous Bolton professional wrestler was Keith Williamson.

At the age of 15, he joined the Bolton Amateur Wrestling Club where he, like many others, spent many hours learning the business before swapping the amateur mats for the bright lights of the professional ring aged 18, in 1954.

Fighting under the name Keith Martinelli, he fought many bouts at the Wryton Stadium Bolton and travelled all over the world working for ma-jor promoters.

He quickly developed a reputation for being a “solid hard wrestler” who had no time for opponents who could not pull their weight in the ring.

He was given the nickname Bloodboots and some wrestlers would drive to a show, see they were up against him and then drive away without entering the venue.

One even faked a heart attack to avoid getting to grips with him!

Mr Williamson was also an accomplished sign-writer, becoming an apprentice after he left school and painting thousands of business signs across Bolton.

He retired from professional wrestling in 1991 though he continued to keep fit by weight-lifting with his sons and grandsons in his gym.

He died last year, aged 80, and was cremated with a copy of The Bol-ton News placed in his coffin, having become an avid reader in his later years.