Ted Patsy

Name: Ted Patsy
Birth Name: John Thomas William Smith
Born: 1921-00-00
Died: 2009-08-27 (Age:88)
Nationality: United Kingdom
Hometown: Bishop Auckland, Northumberland, United Kingdom
Boxing Record: click

Obituary

Former RAF rear gunner John Thomas William Smith, also a former professional boxer from St Helen Auckland, County Durham, died on August 27, aged 88, after battling ill-health for several weeks.

Mr Smith, known as Tot to his family and friends, was born in Leasingthorne, near Coundon, County Durham, in 1920 and was a keen sportsman throughout his childhood.

After he left school, he worked at Leasingthorne Brick Flatts, and became a professional boxer, fighting under the name of Ted Patsy. He was nicknamed The Assassin, 'and won every one of his fights', but was forced to retire from the sport after a burst appendix turned gangrenous.

Mr Smith joined the RAF as a physical training instructor during the Second World War, and subsequently volunteered for Bomber Command, where he was assigned to be a rear gunner, who were nicknamed Tail-end Charlies.