This film is part of Free

Wall of Death

Anglia Television report on Cindy Willis, a seventeen year old who rides a motorbike around the Wall of Death at the fair by Southend Pier.

Non-Fiction 1963 8 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for East Anglian Film Archive

Overview

Southend can boast that in the summer of 1929, the UK’s first Wall of Death was unveiled at the Kursaal, one of the world's first amusement parks which now offers a bowling alley, a casino and other amusements. The film includes an interview with George 'Tornado' Smith, the owner and creator of the Wall of Death, who became synonymous with the sideshow at the Kursaal, and even performed with his tame lioness, Briton in a sidecar after she grew too big to ride on the handlebars.