British Jujutsu history by British Jujutsu Federation head Simon Keegan in www.martialartsguardian.com/magazine
ew barton-wright
Barton Wright was the first Englishman to study Jujutsu in Edwardian times. He studied in Kobe primarily with the Shinden Fudo Ryu and upon returning to England taught a Jujutsu method named after himself called Bartitsu. The method became so popular that it was written into the Sherlock Holmes stories.
ej harrison
EJ Harrison was a Manchester newspaperman who became the first Englishman to gain blackbelt in Kodokan Judo at the turn of the 20th century. He had previously studied Tenjin Shinyo Ryu. Upon his return to England he became a key authority on the art and was responsible for the arrival of several Japanese masters.
Gunji Koizumi
Koizumi was a master of the Tenjin Shinyo Ryu who arrived in Liverpool in 1906 after sailing via Bombay to Prestatyn. Upon arriving in Liverpool he discovered a Dojo there called the Kara Ashikaga school where apparently the resident Japanese master had recently returned home. And so Koizumi applied for the job of instructor. He later moved to London where he was instrumental in the founding of the Budokwai.
yukio tani
The diminutive Tani arrived in England in the late 19th century and made his money by fighting boxers, wrestlers and strongmen as part of Barnum & Bailey type music hall events and circuses. He later joined Gunji Koizumi in establishing the Budokwai and they were both ratified as Dan grades in Judo by the visiting master Jigoro Kano.
jack britten
Professor Jack Britten was a London born student of Yukio Tani who moved to Liverpool in about 1920. He established the Alpha Jujutsu school in the Kensington area.
mikonosuke kawaishi
Kawaishi began his martial arts training in Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu, studying under Yoshida Kotaro. He later studied Kodokan Judo with Isogai Hajime. Kawaishi arrived in Liverpool in 1928 where he began teaching Jujutsu while making money as wrestler Matsuda. He later moved to Paris where he is remembered as a pioneer in European Judo.
gerald skyner
Professor Skyner's school "Skyner's Jujutsu" was based on Mount Pleasant and Catherine Street in Liverpool city centre and Professor Skyner claimed to be a senior Jujutsu student of Mikonosuke Kawaishi establishing the school in 1928. He taught police and the RAF. Among his students were Alf Hopkins, Billy Woods, PC O'Neill, Ronnie Wright, Ray Davies, Tony Hanrahan, Bernie Gavan and Bill Nelson.
james blundell
Professor Blundell was a merchant seaman whose travels took him to the Far East. He found instruction in Singapore under a Master Kim and according to some sources trained in Jujutsu under Harry H Hunter and William Green. After the war he established the Lowlands Jujutsu club. He and his brothers John and Bernie taught in various locations across Liverpool. Among James Blundell's students were Hanshi Allan Tattersall, presently 9th Dan (Dai Nippon Butokukai).
kenshiro abbe
Kenshiro Abbe was one of the most talented Budo masters to ever teach in Britain from the 1950s onwards. He had studied Judo with Kano, Aikido with Ueshiba and was also talented in a range of weapons. He may not have taught Jujutsu per se, but many Jujutsu practitioners sought him for instruction.
vernon bell
Essex born Vernon Bell originally studied Jujutsu in the RAF and later Judo with Kenshiro Abbe. He claimed to have studied Jujutsu under the mysterious Seishi Teppi in South Africa but is perhaps most renowned for being the man who introduced the art of Karatedo to England in 1956. That same year Bell established the British Ju Jitsu Federation. He held the grade of 10th Dan in Jujutsu and it is often implied this grade applied also to his Karate. Among the notable exponents to have trained under him are Terry Wingrove 9th Dan, Andy Sherry 8th Dan, Terry O'Neill 8th Dan, Mike Newton 7th Dan, and Alan Ruddock 6th Dan.