Whilma Howe Wilkie , circus director in South Africa Born 1907 in United States dead 1998 . Whilma Howe Wilkie, was born in New Brighton, England in 1907. 1949: Wilkie bought Pagels CircusThe Circus was founded and named W H Wilkie's Mammoth Circus. 1954: The Circus arrives in South Africa, and the name is changed to W H Wilkie's Great Continental Circus. 1972: Merge with Boswells Circus, as Boswell Wilkie's Great Combined Circus