A POPULAR Bradford professional wrestler "who had 20 years of glory" has died at the age of 81.

Alfred Francis Bardouille, also known as Elhanan to his family and Alan to friends, lost his fight against Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. He died peacefully at Bradford Royal Infirmary on September 10.

His body will be flown to the Caribbean island of Nevis after a funeral at Our Lady of Lourdes & St William R C Church on Friday, October 8, at 11.30am.

Alfred arrived in England as a teenager in 1956 from Dominica to join his father and served his apprenticeship as a welder. He trained as an engineer and worked for Rolls Royce as a chief inspector.

At age 25 he married his beloved wife, Gloria. They had one son Carl and three daughters, Lucillia, Joycelyn and Claudia.

In 1966 Alfred arrived on the professional wrestling scene.

In a tribute, his family said: "His charisma, made him very popular with the ladies and his wrestling moves had a twist of elegance. Wrestling took him all over England, the Albert Hall, abroad and appearing on Saturday afternoon on the small screen.

"Alfred relished in the entertainment, and sharpened his interactions with the public and even made guest appearances with sports persons such as Tessa Sanderson, Duncan Goodhew and Daley Thompson.

"Towards the end of the 1980s Alfred hung up his boots once they took wrestling off television. He had 20 years of glory."

Alfred’s next adventure was as a publican at the Brownroyd, New Mills Dam and the Springcliff Pub

His family said customers were entertained by his charm, wit and his comic personality.

His last job was teaching doctors and nurses physical restraining methods to manage in physical assault situations.

After officially retiring from work, Alfred expanded his athletic endeavour until he was 75. He was a personal trainer and conducted classes at Thornton Recreation Centre such as Spinning, Alan’s Absolute Abs Class, Pilates and Body Pump. He also completed the 13-mile Great North run three years in a row and raised nearly £45,000 for the Macmillan Cancer Support.

In 2009 he was honoured by the Bradford Council for his work for the local community.

Alfred also had an ear for music and at one time played saxophone in a seven-piece all-West Indian Blues band, known as the Ravenso formed by his brother, Fitzroy..

Alfred, who lived in Allerton, continued to support and attend wrestling federation events and was given an award of excellence for 25 years of service to the sport.

His family said: "He would brag he didn’t show the visible signs of ageing of his peers and still remained to be….The Kid."

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for donations to be made to Macmillan Cancer Support.