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I took these River Nene images in the early 1980s. In the picture below is our famous Walter Cornelius (right) with Ted Hammond, who hired out boats to the public, writes Peterborough street photographer Chris Porsz.

Walter, born in 1924, escaped Soviet-occupied Latvia by swimming in the Baltic Sea and despite being shot in the stomach by border guards he escaped.

He settled in Peterborough and worked as a lifeguard at the Lido, where I remember seeing that bullet hole! Walter died in 1983.

He was a philanthropist and gained city-wide notoriety by exhibiting feats of great strength and stamina, as well as carrying out bizarre novelty stunts.

Walter Cornelius down by the River Nene with Ted Hammond

Among these were pushing a pea for a mile through the city with his nose, letting people use a sledgehammer to break a slab of concrete that he had on his head, and walking miles on his hands.

In 1967, he appeared on Blue Peter when John Noakes used a sledge hammer to break a concrete slab on Cornelius’ head.

His most famous stunt, as the ‘Daredevil Birdman’, was an attempt to fly across the Nene wearing a bird suit and flapping huge wings.

He leapt from the ledge outside the Marital Aids Centre, aka Martial Arts, which resulted in a belly flop and broken nose.

The ledge from which Walter leapt in his attempt to fly across the river

It’s now Rivergate flats but back then there was a Greek kebab shop, Pappa Luigi pizzas (owned by my good friend Stef Malajny) and the popular Viva La Rock.

All my books are available from my website – www.chrisporsz – and from Up the Garden Bath Unity Shop, Queensgate.

From the archives, all you need to know about Walter Cornelius

Looking Back: Extraordinary life of Daredevil Birdman Walter Cornelius