BAND OF BROTHERS
Veterans’ charity at the LEBA August meeting
AT our August meeting, the LEBA was delighted to welcome Frances Wyhowska, Vice-president of the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans. This charity does a great deal of good work, including organising trips for ex-servicemen for reunions at key places such as Normandy. Many EBA members have gone on these trips.
Invited to speak, Frances said that cab drivers generally like boxing, and share the boxers’ creed of mutual respect. She spoke movingly of the problems service personnel face after they’ve been demobbed, giving the shocking statistic that more Falklands war veterans committed suicide than were killed in the war. Her speech was warmly applauded.
In his President’s Report, Stephen Powell paid tribute to the late Stan Yates, a great supporter of the LEBA from the early days, and Australia’s Johnny Famechon, whose death had been announced a few days earlier. Famechon won the vacant WBC featherweight title in 1969, outscoring Spain’s Jose Legra at the Albert Hall, and had two successful non-title fights in Britain that year.
Stephen quoted an item from Boxing (the forerunner of Boxing News) from 1911, reporting that during his visit to Britain, reigning world heavyweight champion Jack Johnson was made a freemason. He noted that former multiaba champion and pro referee Pat Floyd was also a mason, along with many other famous fighters, going right back to bareknuckle champion Daniel Mendoza.
He said Pat had always wanted to form a boxers’ lodge, but sadly had died before this could happen. But now London’s Metropolitan Grand Lodge were looking to set one up, to be associated with the Islington lodge, and they were also interested in becoming patrons of the LEBA.
The MPG have sponsored several amateur tournaments, and LEBA have benefited from the freemasons’ generosity over the years. I remember when LEBA member Bruce Wells died, his son, Bruce Jr, was an active mason and organised a generous donation for LEBA from his lodge. It’s hoped that representatives of the Islington lodge will be able to attend a LEBA meeting soon, to move this exciting project forward.
We welcomed a group from Home Counties EBA, including Chairman Bob Williams, who thanked everyone who had attended HCEBA’S recent barbecue. It had been one of the best yet, he said.
Bob, of course, is a fireman, and
gave several handy tips for the current heatwave, such as not putting coals from a barbecue into a plastic bin. Simple common sense – but applying common sense can prevent disasters. LEBA Chairman Bob Cheeseman praised Bob, and all firemen, for the great job they do.
There were also several from the Essex EBA, including President Pat Thompson, Chairman Tommy Burling and Secretary Raymond Lee. Tommy repeated his request for information on boxing publicans, for the book he is writing.
Former British light-middleweight champion Jimmy Batten was there, and he is organising another of his benefit evenings – this time for Michael Watson, at the Isle of Dogs on October 14.
Michael was at the meeting, and received a big hand, as did Jimmy’s former stablemate, former WBC 11st champion Maurice Hope.
Historian Harold Alderman called, with some sad news – the death of former Kent amateur Bob Nixon. He was 80.
“Bob was Kent champion several times, and also won the Southern Counties title,” Harold said.
“He was a member of Kent EBA, and I brought him up to London at least once. We’d been friends since childhood.”
My condolences to all Bob’s family and friends.
And Welsh EBA Vice-chairman Wynford Jones contacted me with some good news – after a two-year gap, the Welsh EBA will be holding their annual reunion on Sunday, September 4.
The venue is as before – The Ex-servicemens’ Club, Cardiff Road, Taffs Well, Near Cardiff, CF15 7QD. I hope it’s a success.