Giant's long johns up for auction

Long johns once worn by a man thought to be the tallest ever to have lived in England have been found in the Ribble Valley. The garments were found by John Jardine, from Avenue Road, in Hurst Green, who stumbled upon the night clothes while clearing out his parents’ house. The enormous shirt and trouser set is believed to have belonged to Fred Kempster, who at 8ft 4in tall was dubbed the Blackburn Giant.

The items are now going to be auctioned and Mr Jardine, 62, said he hoped they would go to a collector who would put them on display and appreciate their fascinating history. He said: “Nobody is sure how much they will get because they won’t have sold any before and they won’t sell any again.



“We don’t know what is going to happen but hopefully they will go to good homes.” Fred was born in 1889 in London and by 1911 was working with a travelling circus. It is said that an average breakfast for Fred was four loaves of bread and six eggs and that he was so tall that he could light cigarettes from street lamps.

He was captured in 1914 while performing in Germany and made a prisoner of war, but he was released because he was not able to fight. Fred died in Queen’s Park Hospital, in Blackburn, aged 29, from pneumonia and was buried in Blackburn Cemetry, where he has a 9ft grave. The auction will be held at Tennants Auctioneers, in Yorkshire, on 28 April.