HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
"JIM" WALMSLEY DEAD. 
SAD END AT THE TOWER. 
Photo by J. P. Bamber. 
The Late Mr. JAMES WALMSLEY. 
It is with great regret that I record the untimely 
death of Mr. James Walmsley, otherwise known 
as "Jim," of The Tower, Blackpool. My first 
acquaintance with "Jim" was some thirty years 
ago, when manager of the old Aquarium, then the 
property of Dr. Cocker, and from that time to the 
present. I am pleased to say that friendship con- 
tinued. The last time we met was at "The Won- 
der Zoo," Olympia, in January, 1915. I well 
remember a visit to The Tower some many years 
ago, when I certainly had the surprise of my life. 
After being shown round the building, "Jim" very 
gleefully instructed me to follow him upstairs; 
this was on the third floor of a building adjoining 
The Tower, where on entering to what appeared 
an empty lumber room, I found myself within 
three yards of a full grown lioness absolutely at 
liberty. I am not oxer nervous of lions as a rule, 
but the suddenness of finding a full grown playful 
lioness alongside of you, anxious to be fondled 
and caressed, certainly gave me a fright. "Jim" 
enjoyed the joke hugely, and later on I discovered 
that he allowed this animal the free use of the 
stairs with other rooms to roam about at leisure. 
On another occasion I accompanied several of the 
Directors of the Tower and Mr. Walmsley on 
their very first visit to Antwerp. It was the day 
of the Annual Sale. The following day we ex- 
plored the City. One building in particular at- 
tracted our attention; it was extensively advertised 
as "The Grand Circus." Just what we. wanted ! 
Having paid 5 centimes entrance, we discovered 
the "Grand Circus" to consist of a circus ring, 
in which there were six or eight broken-down 
saddle horses for riding purposes. We all mounted 
with the exception of Dr. Cocker. The band then 
started. We also started, for the horses kept 
pace with the music, round and round, occasion- 
ally a trot, then a gallop, and vice- versa; I was 
extremely thankful when that performance finished 
for you had to sit out the music, willing or not;;! 
If I remember rightly, "Jim" was the best horse- 
man and performer on that occasion. 
From the carious Lancashire papers I submit 
the following reports : — 
The Blackpool Tower Company has lost one of 
its most valued heads of departments by the tragic 
death of Mr. James Walmsley, the chief engineer 
and also the controller of the valuable stock 
in the menagerie and aquarium — who was found 
drowned in one of the filter beds connected with 
the aquarium tanks in the Tower, shortly before 
nine o'clock yesterday morning. It is assumed 
that as he was walking over the planking that pro- 
vides a footway across the filter bed for workmen, 
he stumbled and fell into the water. The accident 
must have occurred some time during the night 
or early morning, because Mr. Walmsley was seen 
as happy and jovial as ever on Wednesday evening 
by members of the staff, whom he met on then- 
return from a motor char-a-bancs trip to Ilklev. 
It had been Mr. Walmsley 's custom for many 
years to walk through some part of the building 
premises ever since the Tower was opened, and 
was more familiar with everv inch of it than anv 
other member of the staff — and it was nothing 
unusual for him to look through the building in 
the earl\- morning before the workmen put in their 
appearance. A certain number of the staff, ^it 
seems, were in the habit of reporting themselves 
to Mr. Walmsley each morning' when they came 
on duty, so as to receive, instructions about any 
work that might require first attention. Yester- 
day morning, Mr. Walmsley was not about, and 
there was no respo.ise when a visit was paid to his 
room. His daughters naturally thought he would 
be somewhere about the building, but it was not 
until close upon nine o'clock that Jas. Mason, a 
young workman, discovered Mr. Walmslev's dead 
body in the filter tank. The discovery was so un- 
expected that it was a few minutes before the 
young man recovered from the shock of finding 
that the body was lifeless. 
The deceased was born on April 25th, 1849, in 
a cottage in the court which formerly abutted on 
St. Anns Street, on the site of which the "Gazette 
News" Works now stand. He was born of a. plum- 
ber and painter, and it is interesting to note that 
