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Product Description
Product Description
Jack's father, Lionel Turpin, came from British Guiana to volunteer for the British Army during the Great War. He was wounded on the battlefields of France and invalided to Warwick, the first black man to settle in the area. Lionel married a local girl but his early death left her struggling against poverty to raise their three sons and two daughters in pre-Welfare State England. As young men, the excitement and gladiatorial glamour of the ring lured Jack and his brothers into professional boxing. From a homemade backstreet gymnasium, they punched their way into the record books and into the hearts of the British people. "Battling Jack" charts the remarkable life and times of the man who was once Britain's busiest featherweight. It offers a ringside seat at heroic battles and comic encounters as Turpin vividly recalls the sport, sex and slapstick of life in the now forbidden boxing booths of the travelling fairs. He takes us behind the scenes of a scandal that rocked the sporting world and into his confidence over the mystery that surrounds his younger brother's death by gunshot. Complete with previously unpublished photographs, this is a wonderfully narrated account of the life and times of a very singular man. It is also the history of the beginnings of a black presence in British boxing. Heart-rending, raw, honest and funny, "Battling Jack" is a story that had to be told.
From the Publisher
'Battling' Jack Turpin is the last surviving member of his generation of Britain's best-known, best-loved boxing family. Now almost 80 years old, he is as charismatic and feisty as ever, and in Battling Jack, Turpin tells his own unique story. It is the remarkable tale of a man whose indomitable spirit has out-stared ignorance and prejudice, tasted triumph and celebrity, and endured hardship and tragedy.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I went to Jackie's book signing in Warwick and introduced myself to him and his biographer, and I found Jackie a light hearted man of great wit. It was great talking to him, and listening to his very candid comments abour Count Zedbits Randy's one time business manager,so called. From 1951 to 1966 thw love Jackie had for Randy his brother never waivered. Randy's death floored Jackie and Jackie never believed it was suicide. Jackie is the last of the Turpins, and the things he has recalled in his book are refreshing and he sts many points straight. i.e. how Randy got the name liker. Most of Randy's friends and family are now gone in death. Mosh Mancine,Brother Dick,Joan, Chathy George Middleton. Not forgetting Jackie's wife, who he loved so intensly and Randy's mum. Rest in deaths sleep, It's a privlidge to walk a mile in your shoes,and use empathy and feel what you do.
5 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I know Jackie and I know how dedeicated he has been to boxing all his life.This is a great read and shows how tough the sport has always been.
Well Done Jackie
Danny Hague
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