Old boxers

[ElvisMole]

There is a post on the London and Middlesex board requesting information on Charles Henry Chew's life in London

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=463744.msg3245063

[Tricia_2]

My grandfather's brother was Billy Hampton, a boxer from Pontypridd, and, to the best of my knowledge, his cousin married Frank Moody.

[Garethboxing]

Hi Tricia,
     I'd read that Billy Hampton and Frank Moody were cousins - but perhaps it was by marriage.
    Billy was not a bad fighter in an era when there was so much competition. Ironically, he was blind in one eye and deaf in one ear as a result of meningitis as a baby - with today's medical checks, he would never have been allowed to box.

    Regards, Gareth

[Tricia_2]

Hello Gareth,

Well, Mum knew that her Uncle had a problem with his eye and his ear, but hadn't realised that it was because of menigitis. It's amazing what you can find out on the Internet ~ even about your family!

I would be interested in learning a bit more about him, myself, and wondered how you found this out? Are you in touch with his son, perhaps?

As for the cousin relationship ~ Uncle Bills's mother and Frank Moody's mother-in-law were sisters.

[Garethboxing]

Hi Tricia,
    I'm not acquainted with any of the family, but I have spent a fair bit of time researching old Welsh boxers - hence the original post 

    Mich of the info I have on Billy comes from an article in the South Wales Echo on July 8. 1961. If you're in South Wales you should be able to find it in the bigger libraries, certainly in the spanking new one in Cardiff. It would presumably also be in the Newspaper Library at Colindale.

    Gareth

[Tricia_2]

Thanks Gareth!
I'm hoping to visit the record office in Cardiff next month. Perhaps they'll have it there.
I actually think that I have seen that article. My Mum borrowed it to show me and I keep asking her about it. Now I have a title and a date I should be able to find it!
Thank you!

[Garethboxing]

I wouldn't bank on the Record Office having it.

If you do go to the Central Library, I should mention that the article was in the Football Echo rather than in the normal daily Echo - that's important because the 1961 Football Echos are still in bound hard copy form.

The ordinary Echos are on microfilm and you could waste a lot of time going through 1961 in a vain search for an article that's not there 

[Tricia_2]

Oh, right, thank you for that, Gareth!
There was another cousin who was also a boxer ~ but on the paternal side ~ Tommy Jones.
Thomas Jones's mother was my great grandfather's sister.

[Garethboxing]

There were a fair number of Tommy Joneses about the boxing scene. Where was he from?
 
   Gareth