Walter Cornelius[a] (born Voldemārs Korņejevs,[citation needed] 11 April 1924 – 23 September 1983) was a Latvian strongman, stuntman and philanthropist who escaped the Iron Curtain and settled in Peterborough, England, where he gained notoriety by taking part in a range of bizarre stunts.[2][3]

Cornelius left Soviet-occupied Latvia and made it to the West by swimming[dubiousdiscuss] the Baltic Sea. During the swim he was fired at by guards, but despite being shot in the stomach, he made a successful escape. Settling in Peterborough, where he remained for the rest of his life, he worked as a lifeguard at the city's Lido.[4] He received naturalisation in 1971.[5]

Cornelius gained notoriety by exhibiting feats of great strength and stamina, as well as carrying out bizarre novelty stunts such as pushing a pea 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.[6] Perhaps his most famous stunt, as the "Daredevil Birdman", was his annual (unrealistic) attempt to fly across the River Nene by wearing a bird-suit and flapping huge wings attached to his arms. Although doomed to failure, each "flight attempt" gained publicity and drew large crowds.[4] In July 1967, he appeared on BBC's Blue Peter when John Noakes used a sledge hammer to break a concrete slab on Cornelius's head.[7]

A philanthropist in later life, while working at the Lido he would urge the more proficient swimmers to take up bodybuilding. In 2016, Peterborough Lido erected a silhouette of Cornelius as a weathercock on the swimming pool's weather vane.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "No. 51084". The London Gazette. 9 October 1987. p. 12609.
  2. ^ "Anglia News: Strongman Demonstrations in Peterborough" (video). East Anglian film archive. University of East Anglia.
  3. ^ a b "Walter Cornelius: Life of daredevil 'birdman' remembered". BBC News. 11 October 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Walter Cornelius, Legend. 1923–1983". Friends of Peterborough Lido. 31 May 2018.
  5. ^ "No. 45500". The London Gazette. 21 October 1971. p. 11373.
  6. ^ "Walter Cornelius (1960)" (video). Peterborough Images Archive. September 2018.
  7. ^ Peterborough Standard 14 July 1967 p. 6
  1. ^ otherwise, Walter Janovich Cornelius, otherwise Walter Cornelius, otherwise Walter Kornelius, otherwise Walter Korneev, otherwise Voldemars Janovich Korneev, otherwise Voldemars Kornejus[1]