Aubrey Coleman

Aubrey Coleman was a fine catch-as-catch-can (freestyle) and Greco Roman wrestler. He finished joint fifth in the freestyle middleweight class at the 1908 London Olympics and the following year beat the Northern Counties champion, T. Mitchell from Bradford, to win the British heavyweight title. A storekeeper, Coleman served as a sergeant with the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) in World War I. He was mentioned in dispatches several times, and received the Victory and British medals.

After the hostilities, Coleman turned professional and used the name “Bull Coleman”, so called because he weighed around 15 stone (95kg) and adopted an aggressive bull-like style of fighting. He went on to win seven more British titles as a professional. After ending his wrestling career, Coleman worked as a sports secretary and physical training instructor, and ran his own gymnasium where he coached his son Vic, who started wrestling at the age of eight. At the age of 15, Vic became the youngest professional wrestler in the country, fighting under the name of “Young Bull”. He went on to become the 1951 British Empire middleweight champion. Vic also featured in many movies and television programmes as a stuntman and, most famously, in the advertisement for Cadbury’s Milk Tray chocolates that featured the slogan “All because the lady loves Milk Tray”.