Our History: The Lioness
The 12-stone lioness named Briton, was part of George "Tornado" Smith’s Wall-of-Death act during the Thirties. As a cub, Briton rode on the handlebars of his Indian Scout motorbike. Once fully grown, she rode in a sidecar, while he performed daring stunts for his audiences.
An adult lioness on a motorcycle was a great draw for paying spectators, but she required a fair amount of meat as her daily diet. The Second World War brought food shortages and rationing, so with little meat available to feed Briton she would have become both hungry and expensive to feed! Smith was finally forced to shoot her when she became injured - he buried her body in the forecourt of the White Hart, where remains have lain for more than seven decades.
Read more about Briton in this article from the Daily Express newspaper, reproduced here:
Where is Briton the lioness buried? See this BBC report: