TRAILBLAZER
‘Ma’ Copley was the rst woman to gain a promoter’s licence in the UK
IN 1936, a young fighter sat in his dressing room, postfight, reflecting on his victory. He had just outpointed a fellow Belfast fighter, Sam Ramsey, over six rounds. The promoter walked in and handed him his purse of ten shillings (50p). Within the arena where he had just fought, 500 fans were shouting and cheering, protestants and catholics standing side by side in a divided city. Order was kept by the stern rule and good nature of that same promoter, Clara Copley, the first lady in the UK to be licensed in this capacity by the Board.
Clara was 70 years old at the time and, along with her son Harry, she staged boxing twice a week in her ramshackle arena in Chapelfields, Belfast, and the place was usually full. There was so much fistic talent available in the city that Clara never had any problem filling her bill. Twelve years later, that same young fighter would win the world, British and Empire flyweight titles by knocking out Jackie Paterson in the much larger King’s Hall, a few miles across the city. His name was Rinty Monaghan. And “Ma” Copley, as she was known, was instrumental in launching the career of this fine champion.
She was born in 1866 in Yorkshire and she came from Romany stock. She was the proprietor of a circus which she had set up on some waste ground in South Belfast, a stone’s throw from her home in Donegall Pass. In 1933, she started to run regular boxing shows and she became a licenceholder in early 1936. By 1938, her arena had become so popular that she could no longer pack everyone in, so she transferred her shows to the Ulster Hall, which was situated a couple of streets away.
The Chapel Fields arena was then demolished. Throughout the war, Copley ran weekly shows at her new venue and continued to develop some extraordinary scrappers from this famous fighting city.
She died in 1949 and was soon forgotten. Thanks to the efforts of the Belfast fight fraternity, a blue plaque has been placed upon the walls of her former home and her memory has been rekindled.
Elsewhere, the Blackfriars Ring was the most famous small hall in London before the war, and the proprietor for many years was Mrs Bella Burge. Her husband Dick had established the venue in 1910 and upon his death in 1918, Bella took over. Bella was never a licensed promoter but she played her part in organising the thrice-weekly shows and she was a muchrespected figure within the sport.
The second licensed lady promoter that I can find records for is Dorothy Dibley. Her father Dick was a promoter for many years in his native Lincoln, but he died suddenly in January 1936, and so Dorothy took on the business at the age of only 26. Her first show took place in March that year and attracted around 3,000 fans. Dorothy remained as Lincoln’s leading promoter until the outbreak of war.
In more recent times, Beryl Camerongibbons was another very well-known female promoter. Along with her husband Tommy Gibbons and his associate Frank Goldberg, she ran the Premier Ring Sporting Club. Established in the mid1960s, this club promoted shows at the Manor Place Baths in Walworth, before moving to the Royal Lancaster Hotel in Kensington in 1967. Tommy died tragically, aged just 32, in 1969, and so Beryl became a licence-holder herself so that she could keep the club going. Many great fighters boxed for her, including Mark Rowe, Bobby Arthur, Jimmy Revie, Johnny Cheshire, Henry Rhiney and Pat Mccormack. All of these men were British champions at one time or another and they all were pleased to box for Beryl. For many years she was associated with the Thomas A’becket pub and gym on the Old Kent Road, and she was always known as “Beryl of the Becket”.
By the 1980s, many other women had taken out a promoter’s licence, including Alma Ingle, Teresa Breen and Annette Conroy, and nowadays it is not considered unusual at all. So, let’s not forget “Ma” Copley and all that she did for the game. She was a trailblazer.