The Billington family is a British family of English nationality which has had a history in England as state employed executioners (around 1884 to 1905) as well as several members who ventured into the world of

combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opp ...

and

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. Men of the family have been noted for their rather short height. Two of the family's sports oriented members would go on to marry into the Canadian

Hart wrestling family The Hart wrestling family, sometimes known as the Hart dynasty, is a mainly Canadian family with a significant history within professional wrestling. The patriarch of the family was wrestling legend Stu Hart (1915–2003). An amateur and professi ...

Notable members

Executioners

James Billington

''James Billington'' (1847 – 13 December 1901) was a hangman for the British government from 1884 until 1901. Billington was said to have had a "lifelong fascination" with hanging, and made replica

gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

in his back yard on which he practised with weights and dummies and, it was rumoured locally, stray dogs and cats. Billington died at home from bronchitis in the early hours of 13 December 1901, one month after his last execution. Billington had three sons –

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

– who all ended up being executioners. He had also been a

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

in his youth.

Thomas Billington

''Thomas Billington'' (born 1872 - December 1901) was an English

executioner An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who executes a sentence of capital punishment on a legally condemned person. Scope and job The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorising or order ...

from 1897 to 1901. He was the oldest son of James Billington. He gained a job as an assistant executioner in 1897 thanks to his father. He usually worked as an assistant to his father or brother,

. In December 1901, James Billington died. Thomas died in December 1901, within a month of his father of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

at the age of 29.Fielding, p. 46.

William Billington

''William Billington'' (1875 – 1952) was an English

. He was on the Home Office list from 1902 to 1905. William was second son of executioner James Billington, and carried out his first hanging in July 1899, and underwent formal training in early 1900. After his father died in December 1901, William became the principal executioner for England. He was at first assisted by his older brother

and then by his younger brother

,"The English hangmen 1850 - 1964"
''capitalpunishmentuk.org''. Retrieved 2010-11-16. along with Henry Pierrepoint.

John Billington

''John Billington'' (1880 – October 1905) was an English

. He was on the Home Office list from 1901 to 1905. Billington was the youngest son of James Billington In early 1902, at the age of 21, John attended an execution training course at Newgate Prison. His brother William was England's primary executioner by this time, and the two became collaborators. They first worked together on 18 March of that year. John was the assistant for ten of William's commissions in 1902. He helped perform the last execution at Newgate and the first one at

Pentonville Pentonville is an area on the northern fringe of Central London, in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient parish ...

. Billington died at age 25 in 1905 from injuries sustained through an accident.

Sportspeople

Thomas, Eric and Billy Billington

''Thomas Billington'' was an English bare-knuckle boxer. Billington was known to be a bully in his area and was a highly dreaded figure among his neighbours, no one was allowed to walk outside of his house and no one went near in fear of being victims of his ferocious nature. His wife was called Ellen and he had five children. Eric, William (Bill or Billy for short), Raymond, Mavis and Joyce. Thomas died of lung cancer. ''Eric Billington'', (born 2 January 1931). Thomas and Ellen’s oldest son became a professional boxer. During his professional boxing career he was active between 1947 and 1955. He boxed as a lightweight or welterweight and participated in about 91 professional contests. He competed for the Central Area Welterweight Title. ''Billy Billington'' was a boxer and the son of Thomas and Ellen Billington. He had four children, Thomas, Carol, Julie and Mark. He always intended for his oldest son Thomas (often called Tom or Tommy) to become a great boxer and trained him from a very young age. He also introduced his son to former wrestler “Dr Death” Ted Betley who became Thomas’s wrestling trainer. ''Joyce Billington Smith'' was the daughter of Thomas Billington and the wife of Sid Smith. Sid and Joyce had four children, David, Terrence, Joanne and Tracy.

Tom Billington

''Thomas "Tom" Billington'' (5 December 1958 – 5 December 2018), better known by his ring name The Dynamite Kid, was a British

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

and son of Billy Billington. Trained by former wrestler “Dr Death” Ted Betley, He was best known for his time in the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

(WWF; now known as WWE),

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the pro ...

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba ...

(AJPW), and

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV ...

(NJPW). Billington is considered by many to be one of the greatest in ring performers in wrestling history and has inspired many other successful wrestlers such as Chris Benoit, Daniel Bryan, Becky Lynch, Stone Cold Steve Austin and countless others. He was also during his career well known for his short temper and has been referred to as a bully by many of his fellow wrestlers. He once broke his brother-in-law Bruce Hart's jaw with one punch after he felt that Hart had slighted him. From 1982 to 1991, Tom was married to Michelle Smadu, the younger sister of Bret Hart's first wife Julie Smadu.

Davey Boy Smith

''David "Davey Boy" Smith'' (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was a British

. He was the son of Sid Smith and Joyce Billington who was the daughter of Thomas Billington. Smith is best known for his tenures in the WWF, NJPW and

. Smith married

Diana Hart Diana Joyce Hart (born 8 October 1963) is a Canadian-American writer, model, valet and wrestling personality. She is the youngest daughter of Canadian wrestling promoter Stu Hart and was the second to last child born to Stu and his wife Helen. Sh ...

of the

Harry Smith

''Harry Francis Smith'' (born 2 August 1985), better known by the ring names Davey Boy Smith Jr and David Hart Smith, is a British Canadian pro wrestler. He's best known for his time in

, the WWE and NJPW. He is the son of

Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler. Born in Golborne, Lancashire, Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Bo ...

and

. Outside of professional wrestling Smith has considered and trained in

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...