northend boxers

Your place to talk about your Bootle memories
robsnell
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1Vicstar wrote:Re: north end boxers -- Gordon Ashun/Kid Ash

If anyone knows where I can get a copy of this poster and any other information, I am Gordon Ashun's granddaughter. I don't have very much info on him and would love to get my hands on anything. Thank you

I have a lot of material on him and will send it in the next day or so. My dad was well known to him and i have a long standing friendship with his relatives in Canada.
lynne99
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I think the boxer in Aintree rd was Terry someone.
PETER CRAIG
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1Vicstar wrote:Re: north end boxers -- Gordon Ashun/Kid Ash

If anyone knows where I can get a copy of this poster and any other information, I am Gordon Ashun's granddaughter. I don't have very much info on him and would love to get my hands on anything. Thank you
Welcome to the Bootle forum 1Vicstar,
Peter.
..
bob. b
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Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 1:04 pm

What a fantastic post this is Charlie Anderson lived in canal St and he was a trainer in the maple leaf he gave us linament hot stuff :D :D :D
lily8
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Location: Far North Queensland Australia

Hi Vicstar and welcome I don't know if you have this it's from a boxing site, quoting an article from 1973 perhaps you could contact the Liverpool Echo for a copy to keep. I hope it helps'
Gordon Ashun

This article ( by Syd Dye) appeared in the Liverpool Echo on 13 October 1973. Gordon was a staunch member of the Merseyside Former Boxers Association until his death aged 72 in October 1993. may he rest in peace.

He was one of the best welters on the Mersey fight scene in the immediate post war years, yet his first three professional fights saw him knocked out in one round by Jack Parnell ( Birkenhead) and John Cuningham and in two rounds by Jimmy Molloy. After such an uncompromising start it is remarkable that he even elected to box on let alone run up a record of about 130 contests, several as top of the bill, and against a class of fighters such as Stan Hawthorne, Al Phillips, Ginger Stewart, Willie Whyte, Charlie Fox and Freddie Wilkes.

Gordon, formally of Bootle but who now lives in Kensington, came into boxing at the age of 15 when he joined the Gordon Institute on the advice of a friend Gus Harris. A small puny figure in those days he found himself frequently knocked about at work so he learned boxing to get his own back. However as Gordon says “Once you become a boxer you don’t automatically go around looking for people to fight. In Fact it is the reverse – you try to steer clear of trouble”.

At the Institute a big influence in his life was Bootle’s Laddie walker, his trainer. He steered Gordon to a victory in the Dom Volante Cup, a lightweight competition open to all Merseyside in which he beat Al Lunt in the final and he also won the Command Territorial Army championship for the Liverpool Scottish at fraser Street just before the war.

Altogether Gordon had about forty amateur bouts. Then at the age of 19 in 1939 he turned professional with Laddie Walker as his manager. “Laddie never took a penny of me, he was a tremendous coach and a real gentleman. Through a misunderstanding I boxed my first three opponents billed as Kid Ash. I had it easy in the amateurs never having taken any punishment , I just wasn’t prepared for the stuff the professionals handed out. This resulted in those three quick KO defeats.

“I went back into the gym and concentrated on neck exercises for three months to toughen up my chin and the next time out with Harold Higginson as my manager I knocked out peter Herron in one round at Blackpool. He was a huge man, well over six foot tall, and I couldn’t get home quick enough that night to tell the family about my win”.

Gordon ran up an impressive list of contests until December 1942 when he joined the Army. He had a big punch in both hands and won many inside the distance.he twice beat liverpool’s Billy Hardacre on points, Mick Howard, Bobby Mack, Billy Barnes (Warrington) and in 1941 drew with Al Phillips over eight rounds at the Stadium. He gained a forth round KO revenge over Parnell, outpointed Charlie Fox of St Helens in his first 10 rounder and drew over 10 with Johnny Peers.

Gordon also served with the 7th Armoured Division in the army in North Africa. Then it was on to the Salerno landings in Italy and finally in the thick of things on D-Day. His Army boxing success included the championship of the Rhine and a Divisional title.

Late in 1946 Gordon left the army and he began to concentrate on becoming a full time professional fighter. He came back with a string of points wins against fighters such as Ginger ward (Merthyr), Irish Chadwick (Bridlington), and Liverpool’s Dick Shields. Altogether Gordon fought Shields four times and won the lot.

Gordon was now under the managership of Bootle’s Jimmy Duffy and won his way through a Northern Area eliminator by beating Freddie Wilkes of Birkenhead.He was due to box Jimmy Molloy for the title but somehow the match never came off. Molloy had KO’d Gordon in two rounds when they first met in 1940 but it was a different story when they did meet in a return in 1948. On this occasion Molloy had to be content with a slim points margin over10 rounds in a fight that drew a reputed 6,500 crowd to the Stadium.

Gordon reckons hi toughest contest was his bout with a Londoner Teddy Lee in 1947. Lee had won something like 18 successive contests inside the distance and was even out with a cash challenge to Ernie Roderick. The betting was 4-1 against Gordon even lasting to the fourth round but instead it was lee who was down three times in the first round, he was down again for a count of eight in the fifth, took another eight count in the sixth, and a few seconds later Gordon KO’d him.

Early in his career Gordon had a tremendous punch up with an unbeaten Mancunian (Manchester) Johnny Downes. “It was a toe-to-toe throughout and it was just as well that the referee lifted both our arms at he end for a draw, as I think either of us would have fallen down if he Hadn’t held us up” He also KO’d Edinburgh’s Jim Watson, a former Empire amateur champion in one round and then outpointed him.

In 1948 Gordon dropped a ten round points decision to that effective and colourful character Stan Hawthorne, yet to this day he says “Stan never won that fight. Tony Viaro won it for him for he talked the right tactics. Hawthorne listened and never came close to me all night”. Gordon’s last contest was a points defeat at the hands of Terry Radcliffe in 1950, the same year in which he was twice outpointed by Preston’s Johnny Sullivan (later to become middleweight champion). Altogether he had about 130 professional outings with close on a century of wins.

Gordon was also an outside right of considerable promise with Bootle Boy’s in his younger days, Cyril Done was the centre forward in their team and Gordon can remember that “ I turned down a trial with Liverpool to concentrate on boxing but Cyril of course went on to become a fine player for the club”. A fitter welder at English Electric Gordon came back into boxing after his ring retirement when he became a founder member and trainer of the now defunct Mayfair ABC with Bootle’s Jackie Cunningham.


cheers
Lily
lily8
Posts: 10062
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Location: Far North Queensland Australia

Hi again I also found this from an Air force website which may be of interest::



57 Sqn Lancaster
57 Sqn Lancaster
Author: singingsheltie
Time Stamp:
02:24:01 27 October 2005
Post:
Hello: Came across your website when I typed in "Ashun" while doing genealogy research for Gordon Ashun and family. What a surprise to read about the crash that took the life of Sgt Kenneth Cromwell Ashun (3010619) 20/03/45 while flying as a Flight Engineer on a 57 Sqn Lancster. Jonshell (aka Jon) was making an inquiry about the death of his dad's boyhood friend's elder brother. Several people responded to Jon's query and then additional information regarding the Ashun family came out.


For example:


Sgt Kenneth Cromwell Ashun is buried in Bootle Cemetery

it looks like he had five (5) children:


4 sons

1 daughter


3 sons served at various times in the Second World War

2 - RAF

1 - Army

it was mentioned that the eldest son, William Philip Ashun (990550) was killed 01/04/42 while serving with 405 (RCAF)Sqn. In addition, the daughter, Maureen?? was in RAF around 1947-49.


Another son, Gordon Ashun - well known boxer in the local area (AKA "Kid Ash").


Gordon Ashun is my nieces grandfather and that would mean that Sgt Kenneth Cromwell Ashun buried in Bootle Cemetery is their great grandfather. These young ladies never had the opportunity to meet their grandfather Gordon Ashun and actually know very very little about him, except that they think he was a boxer and their own mother was born in Bootle (Lilian Margaret Ashun). Sadly both their mother Lilian known to her daughters as Margaret is now deceased and their own father (my brother) just passed away from brain cancer in 2002. Both young ladies lost both parents, all grandparents before the age of 32 and before they married.


The great news is that a great grandson has been born just three weeks ago in Nevada, U.S.A. to Sgt Kenneth Cromwell Ashun and now that I've found this information about him on your site, I would like to make contact with someone who can provide me with photos of the gravesight in Bootle Cemetery, copy of accident report and it would be terrific, wonderful if Jonshell could make contact with me.


I would love to have a letter from his father to my nieces, Kimberly and Victoria discussing his thoughts on their great grandfather. It would mean an awful lot to know that there is somone out there who knew of him and actually 'hung' out with Kenneth Ashun.


By the way, Greg' was conversing on the topic of taking pictures at Bootle Cemetery -- my family Greg were all born in South Wales!!!!


Unfortunately, I do not know how to make contact with any of the individuals who responded to Jonsnell's original query back in July 20, 04, but perhaps someone out there can help me out on this one.


Can't tell you how overjoyed I am at the information I have just learned from this old post from July 04 about the Ashun family.


Respectfully,
Lily
lily8
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Found this photo/press cutting you may perhaps not have::::

Image
Lily
lily8
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Jimmyx3 just watched the youtube what a great job you have done on it a wonderful tribute to your father.
Lily
robsnell
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from my website, sorry for delay and will email you the docs today

http://boxingbiographies.com/bio/index. ... &Itemid=27
jimmyx3
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lily8 wrote:Jimmyx3 just watched the youtube what a great job you have done on it a wonderful tribute to your father.
Thanks Lily, it never fails to bring a tear,,
"Three Days in June." Parachute Regiment, https://phelmets.wixsite.com/mysite
Bill Tomo
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The Summers brothers managed the Spectrum in aintree road. Tommy got me out of trouble the week I was appearing there.. Bill Tomo...
jimmyx3
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Bill Tomo wrote:The Summers brothers managed the Spectrum in aintree road. Tommy got me out of trouble the week I was appearing there.. Bill Tomo...
Hi I've got a good photo of Tommy and Johnny on the door of the Spectrum, I will post it tomorrow.
bye for now Jimmy
"Three Days in June." Parachute Regiment, https://phelmets.wixsite.com/mysite
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efc46
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Hi I worked for Johnny Routledge (North Mersey Iron and steel) Regents Road next to the Gladston docks there was a few of Johnny,s brothers who boxers Tommy /Billy /Joe all good fellars /Davey Rowlands ex pat
Davey Rowlands Bootle
marymaple que.
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Hello! Jimmy..I was wondering if your father`s brother..Geoff..is still in Bootle, I knew him many years ago, and it has been nice hearing a bout your family.... :P
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efc46
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that would be great Davey
Davey Rowlands Bootle
jimmyx3
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marymaple que. wrote:Hello! Jimmy..I was wondering if your father`s brother..Geoff..is still in Bootle, I knew him many years ago, and it has been nice hearing a bout your family.... :P
Hi yes, Geoff was my dads younger brother, sadly he died several years ago, I liked Geoff, he was a bit rough and ready, but a nice man,
Left Geoff, right my dad, Jimmy.
Image
Back in the 1950's in Scott Street Bootle,
My dad at the rear, Geoff in front,
Image
"Three Days in June." Parachute Regiment, https://phelmets.wixsite.com/mysite
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efc46
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hi we must of known each other I lived in 75 Balfour road I remember Tommy Mac lived in Scott street and Alec Mckecnie and John Hardwick(he had pidgeons) I went to Solly road then Gray st and st.Georges I have been in Brisbane since 1967 /Davey
Davey Rowlands Bootle
Macliverpool
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Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:53 pm

Hi has anyone got any pictures of the boxer or trainer Charlie Anderson from BOOTLE he was my kids grandad he passed away about three weeks ago and would love to see any old pictures of him thanks
bob. b
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Just got a name from a family with regard to a boxer in my family Joey Rogan form Scotland road :D :D
bob. b
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Just got a name from a family with regard to a boxer in my family Joey Rogan form Scotland road :D :D
lily8
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Location: Far North Queensland Australia

Hi Bob I think he gets a mention on this link::

http://echoesofliverpool.com/?page_id=199
Lily
bob. b
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Thanks Lily yes that was him. Regards Bob
lynne99
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Was there a Terry or Dave Downes?? :?
jmoorcroft
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Location: sefton

I had a chat with Johnny Cooke last week in Chestnut Court. He has a pint in the Linacre, nice man to talk to. Jim
jmoorcroft
Jenp
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Jonny Cooke lived behind are prefab, in Florida St, in the '50's. Jenp
Debmac
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My uncle jimmy mcgregor was a boxer (just found out) and he had a fight in the back room of the mons. Does anybody remember him or his brothers, John, Alan, Bobby, and Charlie?? Or this fight?
bob. b
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Jimmy was a friend of mine in are school days a great lad great boxer watch him fight in the mons . A nice person and good friend. Regards Bob
bob. b
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Jimmy and Charlie l think where ABA school boy champions and another lad was Tommy Mealler regards Bob
jimmyx3
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Location: orrell park

jimmyx3 wrote:
Bill Tomo wrote:The Summers brothers managed the Spectrum in aintree road. Tommy got me out of trouble the week I was appearing there.. Bill Tomo...
Hi I've got a good photo of Tommy and Johnny on the door of the Spectrum, I will post it tomorrow.
bye for now Jimmy
Hi, I eventually found the photo :-) taken in the Spectrum, the three Dickie bow wearers left to right Johnny Summers, Tommy Summers, (my dad) Jimmy O'Connell, not sure who the other blokes are.
Image
"Three Days in June." Parachute Regiment, https://phelmets.wixsite.com/mysite
john james ingham
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jimmy the man on the left is eric stove very good friend to john and tommy.the other man I cant place him.
born bank rd off strand rd.
jimmyx3
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john james ingham wrote:jimmy the man on the left is eric stove very good friend to john and tommy.the other man I cant place him.
Hi John, that's it, Eric Stove, my dad used to send me when I was a kid to pick up meat from his house, many years ago,,,
"Three Days in June." Parachute Regiment, https://phelmets.wixsite.com/mysite
john james ingham
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Location: bootle by the docks

ok jim thanks.
born bank rd off strand rd.
john james ingham
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the man on the right is joe mooney from brook rd.
born bank rd off strand rd.
Bill fawcett
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[quote]The boxer who lived in Aintree Rd was Dave Rent. He lived a few doors away from Kenny Snelgrove ,the Lancashire cricketer.
lynne99
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Location: Rugby

That's right, I remember now. Thanks
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