ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL
Yet more examples of the generosity of the ght fraternity
CROYDON EBA held their AGM on January 27, with the committee being returned en bloc. Chairman Barry Penny thanked them for their work during the year, and said that ideally we would like to have more committee members – volunteers would be most welcome. Barry said that, by and large, we had had a good year, and we needed another one in 2019. Our Sunday Roast Lunch had gone better than anticipated, and had made a profit – we would certainly be having another one this year. Barry said he would wait, though, until he had received the next crop of EBA newsletters before deciding on a date – that way he hoped to avoid clashing with another EBA function. That’s one aspect of the importance of EBAS supporting one another – we had been delighted to welcome members of other EBAS at our meetings during the year, including a party from Brighton at our Roast Lunch. And Croydon had shown support, too, including being represented at Brighton’s Christmas party and Mick Smith’s funeral, and a group are planning to attend this year’s Hall of Fame in Essex.
There was another innovation that has worked really well. Our previous venue had provided a buffet, free of charge – since moving to The Orchard we had had to pay £2 per head, and the money for the raffle did not always cover this. Barry had the idea of imposing a £5 charge per head, to cover both food and a strip of raffle tickets – he wasn’t sure how members would react to this, but all were in favour, and the system has worked well. In fact, the one month it wasn’t possible to hold the raffle, and the charge reverted to £2 just for food, several members insisted on paying the full £5. Boxing people are renowned for their generosity. On the subject of raffles, Barry thanked those members who had donated prizes during the year – and urged others to do the same. This makes such a difference – it avoids having to buy prizes out of Association funds.
Croydon has kept the annual subscription at £10 for another year. More than one EBA has had to raise theirs – one reason being the high cost of postage. Former Commonwealth lightweight champion Pat Doherty suggested this cost could be reduced considerably if members with email were willing to receive their newsletters electronically. That sounds a good idea to me, and maybe something other EBAS might consider.
One absentee from the meeting was
Mick Hussey, former pro middleweight from the ‘70s. Mick’s one of Croydon’s stalwarts, but sadly he’s been sidelined for a while with a painful neck injury. Hope you’ll feel better soon, Mick – you were certainly missed.
I was very sorry to hear from Ipswich secretary Erik Roper that member Marion Gladding has died. “She had been a member of Ipswich EBA for some years, along with her husband Ray,” Erik said. “During the last couple of years she was confined to a wheelchair, but her enthusiasm and enjoyment of our social activities never waned and she will be sorely missed. She attended many of our away days to other EBAS, and I am sure that they will join Ipswich in sending our condolences to Ray and his family.” My condolences, too.
Pictured on the front of January’s Lines, Essex EBA’S monthly newsletter, are members and old rivals Albert Carroll and Johnny Kramer, both also keen London members – and former Southern Area welterweight champions.
Albert boxed professionally between 1952 and 1962, going 38-17-1. He had a three-bout series with Wally Swift, finishing 2-1 up. He won the Southern Area title from Terry Gill, reversing a previous decision – but lost a British title bid against Tommy Molloy and dropped his Area belt to Tony Mancini (whom he’d previously beaten). His final fight in 1962 saw Albert lose to Johnny Kramer in two rounds. The picture caption states the pair would be happy to have a return – over three one-minute rounds!