Rhubarb Issue 12: November 2023

MEMORIES of HOUSE BOXING

was obviously much more experienced than me. I was also worried because having reached the final, all of Sing’s and Apsley turned up to support. My opponent turned up in a big black dressing gown with black gloves looking very professional. I had on my old, checked dressing gown and the House gloves that were a bit worn. My ‘seconds’ were both House prefects who told me, as they fanned me with the towel, that the reputation of the House was riding on my shoulders. There were 3 three-minute rounds. My opponent was very good at covering with his gloves and I found it very difficult to pierce his defence, however I managed to avoid all his savage counter punches. By the third round I could feel that the crowd was becoming restive and wanted to see some action. Just before the bell rang one of the prefects told me to go out there and “knock his block off ”. The bell rang for the final round and I was left in the ring trying to work out what to do. All my carefully contrived plans had gone out of the window and after about half a minute of sizing each other up I decided to go for it and I landed several good punches.

Thank you to John Alexander (Sing’s, 1961-1965) for sending in his memories of House Boxing. B oxing was a voluntary sport unlike rugby, rowing, cricket and athletics which were compulsory and most pupils except the pugnacious declined the challenge. The competition was divided into junior and senior competitions. There were not a lot of advantages in taking part other than the kudos of winning a bout. However it did give you a chance to improve your ranking in the general pecking order and possibly to settle a few scores with the House bully. I had done a bit of boxing at prep school so when I arrived at St Edward’s, I put my name down on the House noticeboard to enter the House Boxing Competition. My first bout was against another boy in the same House – he had a word with me beforehand and we agreed that as we were both in the same House that there was no point in making a meal out of it; so we gave a fairly unenergetic display which I just shaded on points. This put me in the next round but unfortunately my opponent went down with flu just before we could meet and I was given a bye into the final. As it was my first year, I felt very small and insignificant and worried to see much larger boys who had decided to enter.

FEATURE

Then the bell rang and the whole place was alive with noise.

My corner seemed very pleased with the way that I had performed but I cannot remember to this day who won. However, my pecking order in the House improved immeasurably!

I was due to meet the School Junior Captain of Boxing in the final. He was in Apsley and I was in Sing’s.

As the day of the final arrived, I became a little worried. He

The 1961 Boxing Squad

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