Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past History Information Request Daredevil Curly

I was wondering if anyone could shed some more light on this character. His real name was William Leyland and went by the name of Daredevil Curly. He use to dive 65 feet from a tall tower into a pool of fire in New Brighton in the 1950s and 60s. His last dive was in New Brighton at Whitsun in 1964. He was totally blind following removal of a cerebrol tumour believed to have reoccurred due to the constant impact of the dives.

During his final dive he incurred a fractured scapula and humerus but also hit his head. He died less than 6 months later and on draining the tank months later we found old bicycle frames, planks and bricks in the base.

I would be grateful if you can add more or even pictures!

Found these quotes on the BBC North West wales website. Do they help?

hywel lloyd jones
Does anybody remember Daredevil Curly? He used to come to The Council field most Summers and, after climbing a ladder to what seemed an enormous height, dive into a tank of water that had been set alight. As young lads,we all thought this was fantastic.I hear tell that he met his death by doing the same stunt. The other much anticipated Summer event was the Fair. We used to like to lean on the rails of the Waltzer listening to Connie Francis songs. Happy Days!
Thu Jun 14 09:34:32 2007

Geraint Llandudno
We have a couple of photocopies from a local paper The Llandudno Circular. The first dated 13/08/1955 has a piece about him coming to the council field on August 15th. "See his death defying dive from 80ft into five feet of water and see his sensational fire dive at evening performance." In the following week's Circular there is a picture of him mid dive. No fire.
Wed Jun 20 15:05:18 2007



Lita Leyland
Dare Devil Curly was my father - he dived 65 feet into a six foot tank of flames. His last dive was in New Brighton at Whitsun in 1964. He was totally blind following removal of a cerebrol tumour believed to have reoccurred due to the constant impact of the dives.

During his final dive he incurred a fractured scapula and humerus but also hit his head. He died less than 6 months later and on draining the tank months later we found old bicycle frames, planks and bricks in the base. Thought to have been thrown in by vandals. Thank you to the reader from Llandudno for remembering him!
Tue Mar 25 10:04:19 2008

I came across that site too Capt. I copied and pasted some details from it to in my original post (from Lita Leyland post). Wondered if anyone can add more...

The Llandudno circular must have back copies on microfiche in the local library, you could search for the articles. Sounds like curly got around quite a bit.

And people say modern youths are chuffin mad !

His son Bill Leyland is the owner of Manganese motors. An MOT garage in the old Stone Manganese buildings. A very nice bloke and never rips off any motorist.

His dad died while the kids were quite young. Proud to call Bill a mate.

Thanks Helles yes Bill is a nice block. I was trying to find out what I could for the youngest Leyland (Andy) my husband as he never got to meet him. The kids were very young Andy was just 6 weeks I think