[4] Waterman applied to join the Royal Air Force when the Second World War broke out but was unable to do so as his job as a toolmaker was classed as a reserved occupation.
[5] Shrapnel wounds that led to him being declared unfit for front line service saw him transferred to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and posted to a workshop in Pozzuoli, near Naples.
[5][7] Waterman began his career with the Wembley Lions in 1947, moving up from reserve to the main body of the team within two weeks,[8] and winning the National League Championship.
A riders' strike was averted after Jack Parker resigned as chairman, with Waterman taking over that role in April.
[20] He rode for the Rangers again in 1961 before finally ending his career after a couple of short spells with the Ipswich Witches and the Belle Vue Aces in 1962.
[5] In 1967, he was arrested at Newhaven while attempting to board a ferry to Dieppe, after gold with a value of £10,000 was found in the chassis of his fiancée Avril Priston's car.
Priston was convicted of conspiracy to smuggle gold and possession of two pistols and a pen gun, and was sentenced to six months in prison.
Eugene Elvey, a witness in the case, claimed that Waterman provided a "hypodermic briefcase" and poison as the means of committing the murder.
[26] Waterman married Avril on 15 September 1970 at Caxton Hall in London,[5][27] and they later lived in Nerja on the Costa del Sol, Spain.
[4] In 1977, Waterman was imprisoned in Italy after being convicted of possession of forged Spanish pesetas with a value equivalent to £500,000, as part of a plot to bring down the government of Francisco Franco.