JOE LOUIS IN ENGLAND, 1944

[HISTORYMAN]

I have a question concerning Joe Louis and an exhibition match he fought in England “prior to `D-Day, 1944”.

Even after all these years there seems still to be a mystery cloaking the event and I have been unable to discover the name of his opponent, or any photographs of either the contest or even more importantly perhaps, the crowd – especially one man who must have occupied a seat in the front row, General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

This much I do know: Some time before D-Day, 6th June 1944, General Eisenhower addressed a gathering of many tens of thousands of allied troops at a place called Cheesefoot Head, a kind of enormous natural amphi-theatre in the Hampshire countryside, a few miles outside Winchester, England He did this, I understand, so that the men he spoke to could, by looking at the vast numbers of fellow soldiers around them, be aware of the sheer scale of the operation that lay ahead. It is a good story and I am particularly interested in obtaining a photograph of this event. Is anyone out there able to throw any light on this please, or point me in the right direction for further enquiries?

Elsewhere on this excellent website I discover this listing for Joe’s exhibition fights in England in 1944. I have removed the ones that could NOT have taken place near Winchester and just left in those that could, as follows:


I am a freelance journalist in the West of England.

Mar Bob Smith England Exh 3
Apr 19 George Nicholson “A Western town, Eng Exh
Apr 22 George Nicholson A Southwest Town , Eng Exh 2 -- Freddie Mills referee
Jun Bob Smith England Exh
Jun George Nicholson England Exh
Jun Leo Matriciani England Exh


Many thanks

[SteveO]

25th May1944: Louis boxed a three round exhibition contest with Corporal Elzez ‘Tommy’ Thompson, at Elm Park Football Ground, Reading, Berkshire. (My home town)

[HISTORYMAN]

Thank you for that SteveO.

[Brutu]

Joe Louis mentions in his 1978 autobiography MY LIFE,that sometime in 1944,
(I think it was in March)he and his army buddies went over to the cinema in
Salisbury England,and the ticket taker had told them that they had to sit in a certain section of the movie house.
Louis complained about it to a Lt. General and the Jim Crow laws was abolished there afterward.
So I stongly suspect Joe Louis had probably done an exhibition at Bulford Camp,Wiltshire near the Salisbury plain.

[HISTORYMAN]

Thank you for that very interesting contribution Brutu. He may well have given an exhibition at Bulford Camp. But the one that took place at Cheesefoot Head is something different and special. Allied troops were camped all over Southern England prior to D-Day and were trucked in to watch this special bout. The place itself is only a few miles north of the invasion port of Southampton and the story has it that many thousands of allied troops attended. Had the enemy ever got wind of such a gathering there would have been hell to pay. This, I suspect, is why there seems to be no written or film record. I have tried Stars and Stripes, US Army Times, Britain's Imperial War Museum and the UK's newsreel of the times, Pathe News. Nothing! But I live in hopes. Maybe there are still some US Vets out there who actually sat on the grass that day in 1944 and wrote it up in their diaries or took pictures? I think of those guys every time I drive past the spot.

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

I am a freelance journalist in the West of England.

Mar Bob Smith England Exh 3
Apr 19 George Nicholson “A Western town, Eng Exh
Apr 22 George Nicholson A Southwest Town , Eng Exh 2 -- Freddie Mills referee
Jun Bob Smith England Exh
Jun George Nicholson England Exh
Jun Leo Matriciani England Exh


Many thanks

- Sir, this is a noble endeavor of the highest order paying tribute not only to the great Joe Louis, but also of the common fighting men of the allied forces for whom we owe an incalculable debt.

Normally I peruse these forums only looking for the odd photo or link to boxing manna from heaven, not wishing to engage in the tiny squabbles and larger squalor that predominate, but your request was compelling enough to add my two cents.

These links may or may not be of assistance, but a hot shot Texas tank commander by the name of Lafayette G. Pool supposedly fought Louis “early” in 1944 in Liverpool. He was also at the forefront of the D-Day invasion, but given the general nature of the info, perhaps there is more comprehensive and complete information through these two websites. Good luck.

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/sh ... n-Tank-Ace

original article
http://www.3ad.org/wwii_heroes/pool_laf ... nance1.htm

Good luck and God Speed to you sir……..

[HISTORYMAN]

Thank you for those kind words. I shall certainly look at the web addresses you have suggested. Meanwhile my search for written, photographic or cine evidence of the bout continues. Whatever the outcome, I do feel it somewhat sad that such a place (Cheesefoot Head, near Winchester, England) is not marked with a memorial plaque of some kind. It is - and always has been - simply a dot on the map, in open countryside and nowadays has a small car park, used by dog walkers.

I apologise for the delay in replying to this correspondence. My job often keeps me away from my desk for several days at a time.