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Biography
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Jim was born in Farnworth in January 1918 and attended St Peters Primary School and Queen Street School. On leaving school he joined a local gym and became proficient in wrestling, gymnastics and weightlifting. In 1937 Jim won his first weightlifting championship becoming Lancashire champion. When World War broke out he joined a local army unit but was taken prisoner by the Japanese and forced to work on the infamous 'death railway'. After the War he trained hard to get fit and in October 1946 he qualified to take part in the World Championship in Paris. In 1948 Jim won a bronze medal at the London Olympics and won gold at 1950 Empire Games (now the Commonwealth Games) in New Zealand and again four years later in Canada. After retiring form competitive weightlifting Jim ran a number of gyms in Farnworth and ran courses for Manchester Council for physical training for businessmen and to train prospective youth leaders.
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