Atlas & Vulcana

A story in our latest book, 'Tales from Four Towns', deals with an episode of rivalry between two late-Victorian strongmen, 'Atlas' and 'Gatwick', when performing at Walsall in the late 1890's. Nothing unusual in professional competition you might think, but the story behind the tale is even more interesting once you start looking into it.

'Atlas' performed alongside his 'sister', stage name 'Vulcana', for many years but things weren't how they appeared. The pair were, in effect, man and wife and had six children together. In fact Atlas, real name William Hedley Roberts, left his first wife and family for Kate Williams (Vulcana), when she was just fifteen.

A fascinating glimpse into their remarkable story can be found on the following web pages:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcana
http://www.oocities.org/vulcanahome/


'Tales From Four Towns - Death, Destruction, Crime and Notable News From 19th Century Walsall, Wednesbury, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton' is available at the above link or direct from the publisher at penk.publishing@gmail.com