DURING THE WAR
After the blitz decimated several top boxing venues, the Queensberry Club stood tall
THE Second World War took a heavy toll on the careers of many boxers. Some of them, of course, did not survive the war at all. For others, their best years coincided with the years that the war dragged on, and these men could either not get work at all, or they had enlisted in the armed forces in order to take part in a bigger and much more important contest, against Adolf Hitler.
Seven weeks prior to the outbreak of WWII there had been a mammoth promotion staged at the White City in London. Some 90,000 people had crammed into the old stadium, originally built for the 1908 Olympics, to see Len Harvey defeat Jock Mcavoy for the British and Empire Light-heavyweight title. This stood for a long time as the largest crowd ever assembled for a contest in Britain. It was recently equalled when Anthony Joshua beat Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium in 2016.
When the conflict began, in 1939, the Minister for War quickly imposed laws that prohibited the assembly of large numbers of people in one place. This was to prevent them being sitting ducks for the bombers of the Luftwaffe, and greatly impacted upon all sports but especially football, cricket and boxing. In early 1940 the rules were relaxed and it was possible, during the years that the war lasted, for big boxing promotions to take place. These were few and far between, but a good example of one that did take place was the bout at White Hart Lane in 1942, which saw Freddie Mills demolish Len Harvey in two rounds for the same titles that Harvey had defended against Mcavoy.
A number of iconic London boxing venues did not survive the blitz, including the Blackfriars Ring, the Devonshire Club (Hackney) and the Stadium Club (Holborn). To redress this imbalance the Marquis of Queensberry, the grandson of the man who established the rules of boxing in 1867, opened a new boxing venue in Soho, the heart of London’s West End. The Queensberry Club ran 58 shows between 1942 and 1945 and only the very best boxed there. It was the intention of the Marquis to provide a place that was welcoming to the many servicemen, from several countries, who were then residents in the UK. Membership of the club was initially only open to servicemen and many frequently packed the 2,000 available seats.
A great favourite at the club was Jackie Paterson of Glasgow, who became the world flyweight champion in 1943. He boxed at the club four times during 1942 and 1943 beating Eddie Petrin, Phil Milligan, Gus Foran and George Pook. His luck finally ran out in October 1944 when he was matched against the Canadian, Danny Webb. Although he was the world champion, Paterson agreed to meet Webb at the featherweight limit and he must have regretted this decision once he came to grips with Webb’s power, but he hanged around for three rounds and then retired claiming an injured hand.
The photograph on the right shows Paterson and Webb at the conclusion of their contest and the fine auditorium the Queensberry Club was with its tiered seating. Everyone had a great view of the ring and it must have been a superb place to watch boxing, especially given the talent that was frequently on display at the venue.
The club finally closed at the end of 1945, its purpose having been served. The place still stands and is now the Prince Edward Theatre. The loss did not inhibit Paterson, for he went on to defend his world title, and win the European title at bantamweight, the following year. Danny Webb departed these shores in 1946 and went on to become a very regular contestant in bouts across Canada and the States until his retirement in 1950.
In a recent article I mentioned that there will be a presentation of the Maurice Cullen trophy to Ronnie Rowe at Chesterle-street cricket club on May 24. Tickets cost £11 and are available via David Venn on 07879 624334.