Hello friends, I hope you're all keeping well. I first uploaded this video yesterday, although a technical problem (a section was missing for some reason!) meant I had to remove it pretty much immediately! If you left a comment on that first upload, please accept my sincere apologies- I did see your kind words and also responded, although as the original video has now gone you may not see my replies. Anyway, hope you enjoy this video about the Irish legends, Mike Meaney and Butty Sugrue! ☘️ Stay well.
Mike wanted to be a professional boxer…however as his chin is the size of jay Leno’s he decided to try his luck at being buried alive. Great story as usual and proper insane!
Thank you so much Mary, that means a lot to me. I did try to contact your family through Facebook when I was making the video, but I imagine the message wasn't received. Thanks again; really happy you've seen it 🙂Stay well.
Hi Mary I was with my son Robert when he did this video. It was my idea as I lived in Kilburn and my dad took me to visit your dad in Malvern Mews. Ironic as Malvern Mews is the same initials as your dad who is a legend.
@Mary Meaney we're second cousins then. Your dad and mine were first cousins. We were living in Kilburn then, but moved to Dollis Hill soon after. My dad was called Tom Martin. He died a long time back. His mum was called Nora Meaney before she married my grandfather. She must have been your grandads sister.
Fascinating story. I doubt anyone here across the pond would remember Bill White, much less Mike Meaney.. Thanks for the tale, Rob. Entertaining as always!
I was 6 years old when this happened but I don’t remember it on the news. Absolutely fascinating, please write a book about quirky London I would certainly buy it.
Great story and I well remember following this in the press and on tv at the time. My father's first wife's father was a grave digger in Cork city. Part of his job was clearing out the old graves which always attracted interest. Two old ladies approached him one day and asked what did the corpses look like after being buried so long? He replied 'A lot better looking than you two'. He collapsed and died on St Patrick's Day, 1957 while at work and fell into.....a grave.
I love your videos. They set me off in all sorts of different directions memory-wise. The mention of Percy Street set me thinking of an old girlfriend of mine called Vivien who, back in 1978, was the object of desire for at least two of Spandau Ballet who lived down the road from her. On reflection and a bit of looking on street view I realised it wasn't Percy Street at all... It was Great Percy Street 😁 Mention of the Admiral Nelson also reminded me that the band I was in around that time was the last band to play at the Lord Nelson in Holloway Road, a major venue on the so-called pub rock scene which thrived until Albion took over the agency booking for all the venues and you couldn't get a gig anymore based on giving the landlord a tape...Sad, Don't quote me on Albion. The agency that killed it for lots of bands might have been called something else. I'm typing too much to avoid thinking about being buried alive. Stone me! What a way to make a name for yourself eh? Great work, as ever. Thanks very much.
Would love a video on the story behind London Bridge being sold to the American. How did they disassemble, transport, and rebuild it? Why did Britain sell it? Did he get tower bridge and London Bridge mixed up? 😂 Learned about this fact a month ago and still baffled at the concept of a country selling a bridge from its capital to a man. Great video too! Thanks Rob.
It must have been a horror when they were dismantling London Bridge and found 80 people entombed in the foundation of the bridge! Those 80 people were victims of a macabre ritual known as "immurement", a type of imprisonment or human sacrifice in which people were placed in enclosed spaces with the openings walled off. Immuring living people in this manner was thought to help a building or bridge remain standing.
Strange how there was a bit of a craze of bring buried alive at that time. I was a bit young for this one but I do remember seeing David Blaine in his glass box by the Thames, not as bad as being buried alive but not too dissimilar either. Great stuff by the way, it's a good story and very well told.
Ha ha! Great comment mccstuff ;-) Yes, I remember the David Blaine stunt too- at the time I was working as a teaching assistant in a secondary school, and I remember a bunch of lads saying they were going to go and see the box one weekend (it was beside Tower Bridge if I remember?) and throw pukka pies at it- I kid you not! I guess they thought David Blaine was hungry and it would be fun to tease him with food! Anyway; thanks again for reminding me of that, and also for the kind words- much appreciated! Stay well my friend.
Another absolutely fascinating tale, Rob, well-researched and well-told, with some great archive footage and photography. I had heard of the famous Butty Sugrue, from my days as a young news reporter on the Acton Gazette, but I wasn't aware of his links with The King's Head, next door to our editorial office, and Paul Kelly, one of our good sources of news. Maybe I was too busy writing up Townswomen's Guild reports and chasing fire engines! Of course, today's news is soon history and I'm afraid Mike Meaney's name was barely a whisper around the newsroom, all the editorial staff from 1967-68 having moved on by the time I arrived in 1970. Thanks again for a fascinating story!
Really enjoyed reading this Richard- one of my favourite comments by far. A fantastic insight. Thank you so much for sharing your memories, and thank you too for the kind words. Much appreciated. Stay well sir.
Only just seen this as I was scouring UA-cam. I remember this well. I was an 8 year old at the time and lived in Exeter Court right opposite The Admiral Nelson. I went to school with, and was a friend of, Michael Sugrue who was/is Butty Sugrue’s son. My Dad took me down to Malvern Mews which was just down the road, to see Mike Meaney in his coffin. I remember vividly looking down the tube at his bearded face and shouting “hello” and he replied a greeting back to me 😎. There was a Catholic Nun there just beside me and she shouted down the pipe, “how will you have Mass while you’re down there Mick ?” and Mick bluntly replied … f**k off!. I can still see the grin on my Dads face to this day. As I lived opposite the pub, we didn’t go to see him being dug up as we knew we would get a better view of him being brought back to The Admiral Nelson from our flats. There were so many people ! We saw Mick’s coffin being brought into the pub from the lorry and then he was presented from an upper floor window of the pub, sunglasses still on, sat on the window sill with his legs sticking out and him waving. God, that seems so long ago yet… just like yesterday. Thank you for sparking the memory 😎
Hey Rob. I wondered what happened. It went into error as i watched. It just after you posted. Then i couldnt comment came back and it was down. Great story and well researched. Love how your dad got to see some of it. Brilliant memories for him for sure.
Great story and must admit to having never heard of this tale even though I was born in London in the early 60's. I wonder what gave you the idea to tell this story? Cheers for another good one. I always look forward to your posts.
Good grief!!!!!! People do some seriously bizarre things 🤫 your film takes me back to the old Rock and Roll years series, super stuff. A mixture of history, news and music.....perfect! 💕
I remember going with a school friend who lived in Malvern Mews. I can recall having to look down a long pipe to see him in his coffin. It was many moons ago and I was only 11 years old so do not recall too many of the details but he was the talk of the area at that time.
Hi Rob Once again a great post, I was aware of this story having heard it from my father who frequented all of butty's pubs , but have never heard the whole story in such great detail, I really enjoyed the tale. As always another great post All the best
Thank you so much Mike; really appreciate your kind words. Great to hear your Dad drank in Butty's pubs! I wonder if he ever saw his displays of strength? Stay well :-)
@@Robslondon Hi Rob Yes my father used to tell me about butty lifting the large 22 gallon beer barrels above his head , and he also used to tear telephone directories in half He must have been a very strong man Regards Mike
Great video Rob. It's probably my warped mind, but my thought when they dug him up was that the smell (even with the lime) must've been horrendous after 61 days of being down there eating scrambled egg for breakfast!
Very interesting video, quite a few hours of research and record chasing . Not something I would do myself , I only want to be inside of one of those boxes once not make a habit of it. Good start for the new year
Stunts like being buried alive were common in the 1960's. It was a time of unprecedented affluence for the Working Man. Add to that the excessive amount of freedom granted to individuals in places like the UK and America, and what you get is people with nothing better to do with their leisure time than to undertake moronic stunts like this one or to become a member of the air head audience who actually worship such fools.
Another excellent wander through the weird and wonderful stories of London.👍 really admire your research which always results in interesting vids. Keep safe and well. C.
Although only 8 years old I remember this very well. Going to Malvern mews and watching folks shouting messages of support down the tube. Remember the day vividly when the coffin was hoisted up through the Nelson Hundreds of people were in the street. We lived in Carlton Vale it was all very bizarre to an 8 year old. I remember thinking why would anyone want to be buried alive. I remember seeing Butty Sugrue he was a very stout man. I’m not sure if the validity of this but I remember hearing as a child that Butty had suggest his own son was able to tear a telephone book in half ( not sure of his age) but he wasn’t able to do it and Butty was pretty miffed by that. Loved Kilburn growing up.
Hi Linda, thanks so much for your wonderful comment- what great memories! Yes, when I was researching this video, I found an article in which Butty talked about his son (who was then just a baby); he said he planned to send him to Ireland to be raised in a way that would make him into a strong man... I think the plan mainly involved putting him on a diet of raw meat! Sounded more like one of his publicity stunts. Thanks again for sharing your memories and stay well.
Hello friends, I hope you're all keeping well. I first uploaded this video yesterday, although a technical problem (a section was missing for some reason!) meant I had to remove it pretty much immediately! If you left a comment on that first upload, please accept my sincere apologies- I did see your kind words and also responded, although as the original video has now gone you may not see my replies. Anyway, hope you enjoy this video about the Irish legends, Mike Meaney and Butty Sugrue! ☘️ Stay well.
Mike wanted to be a professional boxer…however as his chin is the size of jay Leno’s he decided to try his luck at being buried alive. Great story as usual and proper insane!
😂
Thank you for sharing another great and interesting video. I will always like it. 👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much Sharon ☺️ Stay well.
This is my dad Mick Meaney. He would have liked this video, thanks
Thank you so much Mary, that means a lot to me.
I did try to contact your family through Facebook when I was making the video, but I imagine the message wasn't received.
Thanks again; really happy you've seen it 🙂Stay well.
Hi Mary I was with my son Robert when he did this video. It was my idea as I lived in Kilburn and my dad took me to visit your dad in Malvern Mews. Ironic as Malvern Mews is the same initials as your dad who is a legend.
@Mary Meaney we're second cousins then. Your dad and mine were first cousins. We were living in Kilburn then, but moved to Dollis Hill soon after. My dad was called Tom Martin. He died a long time back. His mum was called Nora Meaney before she married my grandfather. She must have been your grandads sister.
Amazed by your knowledge and old times images 👏🏻
Thank you 😊
I love Kilburn... never a dull moment LOL
🤣
Love the background music of "Leaning on the everlasting arms"!!!
Thank you :-)
Great to see a video about Kilburn, my old stomping ground
Cheers Richard! 😉
This story, of which I'd never heard, was very entertaining. Fair play to you, Mike Meaney!
Thanks Laura 😊
Fascinating story. I doubt anyone here across the pond would remember Bill White, much less Mike Meaney..
Thanks for the tale, Rob. Entertaining as always!
Thank you so much 😊
What a bonkers story! And how cool is it that your dad was there. And Diana Doors as well! Great video. Thank you
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it 😉 Stay well
Brilliantly told story, Thanks.
Much appreciated Paul, thank you.
Very good Robert
Cheers Kev! ;-) Hope you're keeping well.
Always interesting, unusual and thought provoking!
Thanks so much Tricia! 😊
Hay Rob,great vid,i especially like the'then and now'pictures.
Thanks.
Much appreciated Mike; cheers.
I was 6 years old when this happened but I don’t remember it on the news. Absolutely fascinating, please write a book about quirky London I would certainly buy it.
Thank you so much Kerry ☺️
Love the 'tone' of your videos .... very well done! 👍🏼👍🏼
Really appreciate that Martin; thank you 😊
Great story and I well remember following this in the press and on tv at the time. My father's first wife's father was a grave digger in Cork city. Part of his job was clearing out the old graves which always attracted interest. Two old ladies approached him one day and asked what did the corpses look like after being buried so long? He replied 'A lot better looking than you two'. He collapsed and died on St Patrick's Day, 1957 while at work and fell into.....a grave.
Ha ha! Great comment Liam!
What a fantastic and most enjoyable documentary. first class research as always, hats off to you my man.
Thank you so much The Wrecker; very much appreciated. Stay well.
Kilburn innit 😄 Interesting stuff. Thanks 😗
Best place in London.
😁 Cheers Basil! 😉
I love your videos. They set me off in all sorts of different directions memory-wise.
The mention of Percy Street set me thinking of an old girlfriend of mine called Vivien who, back in 1978, was the object of desire for at least two of Spandau Ballet who lived down the road from her. On reflection and a bit of looking on street view I realised it wasn't Percy Street at all... It was Great Percy Street 😁
Mention of the Admiral Nelson also reminded me that the band I was in around that time was the last band to play at the Lord Nelson in Holloway Road, a major venue on the so-called pub rock scene which thrived until Albion took over the agency booking for all the venues and you couldn't get a gig anymore based on giving the landlord a tape...Sad,
Don't quote me on Albion. The agency that killed it for lots of bands might have been called something else.
I'm typing too much to avoid thinking about being buried alive. Stone me! What a way to make a name for yourself eh?
Great work, as ever. Thanks very much.
Thanks so much Paul; really enjoyed reading your thoughts. I know Great Percy Street; might be worth a video! Stay well.
Would love a video on the story behind London Bridge being sold to the American.
How did they disassemble, transport, and rebuild it?
Why did Britain sell it?
Did he get tower bridge and London Bridge mixed up? 😂
Learned about this fact a month ago and still baffled at the concept of a country selling a bridge from its capital to a man.
Great video too! Thanks Rob.
Thank you so much for the kind words Chevy. I’m very tempted to to a video on the sale of London Bridge… so stay tuned 😉 Thanks again and stay well.
It must have been a horror when they were dismantling London Bridge and found 80 people entombed in the foundation of the bridge! Those 80 people were victims of a macabre ritual known as "immurement", a type of imprisonment or human sacrifice in which people were placed in enclosed spaces with the openings walled off. Immuring living people in this manner was thought to help a building or bridge remain standing.
Strange how there was a bit of a craze of bring buried alive at that time. I was a bit young for this one but I do remember seeing David Blaine in his glass box by the Thames, not as bad as being buried alive but not too dissimilar either. Great stuff by the way, it's a good story and very well told.
Ha ha! Great comment mccstuff ;-)
Yes, I remember the David Blaine stunt too- at the time I was working as a teaching assistant in a secondary school, and I remember a bunch of lads saying they were going to go and see the box one weekend (it was beside Tower Bridge if I remember?) and throw pukka pies at it- I kid you not! I guess they thought David Blaine was hungry and it would be fun to tease him with food!
Anyway; thanks again for reminding me of that, and also for the kind words- much appreciated! Stay well my friend.
Bonkers absolutely bonkers!😊thank you for sharing! Sending Many Blessings to you 🌟🙏🙏🙏
😂Thanks so much Rosemary!
Great stuff Robert. I didn't know about this.
Thanks so much; great to see you here! I love your Twitter feed 😉
@@Robslondon thank you.
This was great Rob - how funny that there was competitive alive burying at the time!
Thanks so much; and yes it’s crazy isn’t it?! Stay well 😉
Another great video, and the first time I have liked the same video twice ! :)
Ha ha! Thanks Stephen ;-)
Another absolutely fascinating tale, Rob, well-researched and well-told, with some great archive footage and photography. I had heard of the famous Butty Sugrue, from my days as a young news reporter on the Acton Gazette, but I wasn't aware of his links with The King's Head, next door to our editorial office, and Paul Kelly, one of our good sources of news. Maybe I was too busy writing up Townswomen's Guild reports and chasing fire engines! Of course, today's news is soon history and I'm afraid Mike Meaney's name was barely a whisper around the newsroom, all the editorial staff from 1967-68 having moved on by the time I arrived in 1970. Thanks again for a fascinating story!
Really enjoyed reading this Richard- one of my favourite comments by far. A fantastic insight. Thank you so much for sharing your memories, and thank you too for the kind words. Much appreciated. Stay well sir.
Great story I had never heard before..
Thank you :-)
Only just seen this as I was scouring UA-cam. I remember this well. I was an 8 year old at the time and lived in Exeter Court right opposite The Admiral Nelson. I went to school with, and was a friend of, Michael Sugrue who was/is Butty Sugrue’s son. My Dad took me down to Malvern Mews which was just down the road, to see Mike Meaney in his coffin. I remember vividly looking down the tube at his bearded face and shouting “hello” and he replied a greeting back to me 😎. There was a Catholic Nun there just beside me and she shouted down the pipe, “how will you have Mass while you’re down there Mick ?” and Mick bluntly replied … f**k off!. I can still see the grin on my Dads face to this day. As I lived opposite the pub, we didn’t go to see him being dug up as we knew we would get a better view of him being brought back to The Admiral Nelson from our flats. There were so many people ! We saw Mick’s coffin being brought into the pub from the lorry and then he was presented from an upper floor window of the pub, sunglasses still on, sat on the window sill with his legs sticking out and him waving. God, that seems so long ago yet… just like yesterday.
Thank you for sparking the memory 😎
Thanks so much Paul, brilliant comment- really enjoyed reading that! Cheers and stay well.
Hey Rob. I wondered what happened. It went into error as i watched. It just after you posted. Then i couldnt comment came back and it was down. Great story and well researched. Love how your dad got to see some of it. Brilliant memories for him for sure.
Lovely comment John, thank you so much. And apologies about the first upload! Glad you enjoyed it 😊
Fun and interesting video. Thanks!
Thank you, much appreciated :-)
Great story Rob! Well told, love seeing Diana Doors arrived to welcome him above ground.
Thank you! :-)
Very interesting and informative.
Thanks 😊
Great story and must admit to having never heard of this tale even though I was born in London in the early 60's. I wonder what gave you the idea to tell this story? Cheers for another good one. I always look forward to your posts.
Thank you so much! The idea came from my Dad; he lived in the area at the time and has often told me about it ;-) Cheers and stay well.
Good grief!!!!!! People do some seriously bizarre things 🤫 your film takes me back to the old Rock and Roll years series, super stuff. A mixture of history, news and music.....perfect! 💕
Thanks so much Cheryl- I’m very flattered by that comparison as I used to love that programme!
I remember going with a school friend who lived in Malvern Mews. I can recall having to look down a long pipe to see him in his coffin. It was many moons ago and I was only 11 years old so do not recall too many of the details but he was the talk of the area at that time.
That’s brilliant Maggie; thanks for sharing your memories!
Great story Rob. I'd not heard of it before. Thanks.
A pleasure Jean-Pierre; thank you as ever for you support! Stay well my friend.
Excellent once again 👏👏👏 well put together
Much appreciated Mick; cheers 😉
Great informative video Rob. Very strange what some people used to do for entertainment.
Ha ha! Yes; and thanks Paul, much appreciated 😉
Bizarre or what? Thanks for another excellent post, Rob. 🙃
Cheers Bryan 😉
What a pair of Crackpots, unbelievable 👏 lifting boxers up with ya teeth n Mike not telling his wife. Excellent video Rob, 👏 👏
Ha ha! Cheers Dave 😉🍺
Happy New Year Rob. Hope its a good one.
Cheers Jamie; same to you my friend.
I actually remember seeing this - was about 5 years old and my Gran took me... You could talk to him down a hole.
Brilliant Jonathan, thanks for sharing :-) My Dad did the same!
Hi Rob
Once again a great post, I was aware of this story having heard it from my father who frequented all of butty's pubs , but have never heard the whole story in such great detail, I really enjoyed the tale.
As always another great post
All the best
Thank you so much Mike; really appreciate your kind words. Great to hear your Dad drank in Butty's pubs! I wonder if he ever saw his displays of strength? Stay well :-)
@@Robslondon
Hi Rob
Yes my father used to tell me about butty lifting the large 22 gallon beer barrels above his head , and he also used to tear telephone directories in half
He must have been a very strong man
Regards
Mike
@@mikereilly5005 Brilliant!
God bless the mad paddy's they lighten this world up..!
😄
Mike Meaney was my dad's cousin.
Nice connection to have :-)
An incredible story, I didn’t know at all, I guess it got buried in time 😉 RIP Mike and Butty 😔
Thanks for watching :-)
Great video Rob. It's probably my warped mind, but my thought when they dug him up was that the smell (even with the lime) must've been horrendous after 61 days of being down there eating scrambled egg for breakfast!
Ha ha! Yes, I imagine it wouldn't have been too pleasant! Cheers Paul and stay well.
Now, the ultimate for escape artists is to escape being WALLED up alive! Immurement's a macabre concept!
Very interesting video, quite a few hours of research and record chasing . Not something I would do myself , I only want to be inside of one of those boxes once not make a habit of it. Good start for the new year
Cheers Butch, much appreciated- and much agreed too! Stay well mate.
Nice video. Butty Sugrue was born in Kerry, not Limerick.
Thanks
Omg I wouldn't have lasted even a minute underground
Nor me! 😂
This was y Dad
Hope the video did him justice Alice.
You had to make your own entertainment back then.
😂
_buried st edmunds_
😉
Stunts like being buried alive were common in the 1960's. It was a time of unprecedented affluence for the Working Man. Add to that the excessive amount of freedom granted to individuals in places like the UK and America, and what you get is people with nothing better to do with their leisure time than to undertake moronic stunts like this one or to become a member of the air head audience who actually worship such fools.
🤣
Another excellent wander through the weird and wonderful stories of London.👍 really admire your research which always results in interesting vids. Keep safe and well. C.
Thank you so much Clive, much appreciated. Stay well
Wow Butty was so strong and must have had incredible teeth too. Thanks for the vid very interesting 👌👍
It’s a pleasure; thank you so much Louise. I guess Butty had a good dentist! 😉
@@Robslondon Must have Rob and mega strong jaw 👌
Although only 8 years old I remember this very well. Going to Malvern mews and watching folks shouting messages of support down the tube. Remember the day vividly when the coffin was hoisted up through the Nelson Hundreds of people were in the street. We lived in Carlton Vale it was all very bizarre to an 8 year old. I remember thinking why would anyone want to be buried alive. I remember seeing Butty Sugrue he was a very stout man. I’m not sure if the validity of this but I remember hearing as a child that Butty had suggest his own son was able to tear a telephone book in half ( not sure of his age) but he wasn’t able to do it and Butty was pretty miffed by that. Loved Kilburn growing up.
Hi Linda, thanks so much for your wonderful comment- what great memories!
Yes, when I was researching this video, I found an article in which Butty talked about his son (who was then just a baby); he said he planned to send him to Ireland to be raised in a way that would make him into a strong man... I think the plan mainly involved putting him on a diet of raw meat! Sounded more like one of his publicity stunts.
Thanks again for sharing your memories and stay well.
Loved every minute of it Rob, watched it last night. Keep up the excellent work Sir.
Thank you so much Barry; much appreciated. Stay well my friend.