johnny read

misterpunch · Post by **misterpunch** » 12 Jan 2013, 17:08

just been chatting to my old fella who boxed with middleweight johnny read (the father says johnny fought at light heavy in the army) back in about 1950/51 - great left jabber who could put you on your arse with it. anyone remember or know johnny read - i'd love to get some news or a few stories i could take back to me dad.

johnnykayo · Post by **johnnykayo** » 15 Jan 2013, 11:51

johnny read mate fought dick tiger as he was a useful middleweight,he was also in lot of bother in the early 60,s as he was one of the men who was involved with joey pyle and jimmy nash with the murder of selwyn cooney in the penclub murder in the early 60,s in stepney,east london. they nearly got hung for it but apparently the jury was got to and they all got jail,it was a very famous case at the time. im sure if you google it youll get some info on it,but i heard when johnny was released from prison he turned over a new leaf and moved away from his native south london and started a new life. i have asked a few of the old london boxers and they all say he just went off the radar and no one has seen him since. i just remembered their is a book which has all about the case wrote by the man who nicked em, called "gangbuster" by bert wickstead. sorry cant be any more help but good luck with your research

misterpunch · Post by **misterpunch** » 15 Jan 2013, 13:33

blimey!! you are a diamond! thats exactly the sort of thing i was after. do any of your pals get to the london ex-boxers meetings? if so my old fella could have a chinwag with a few of the lads about johnny. i'm going to buy that book too.

i cant thank you enough - i was beginning to think no one knew a thing about johnny read. he did fight tiger, you are correct, twice he fought him the bloody idiot!!

johnnykayo · Post by **johnnykayo** » 15 Jan 2013, 16:16

yea a lot of my pals do go to the london ex boxers meetings but like i said bruv they know very little of his wereabouts only he turned his back on his past and moved away,ive even asked a couple of "the chaps" from them days and they say the same,that he done his bird and moved when he got out. i met joey pyle a cpl of times and was hesitant to ask him and then i thought bugar it il ask him,anyway he said he hadnt seen johnny since the trial and heard nothing,only he heard johnny got out. joey died a good few years ago now and was a nice fella,he died of cancer. oh forgot all that case is also mentioned in joey pyles book,cant remember the title but if you go on amazon or play.com and type in joey pyle it will come up

but the "gangbuster" is a good un as well and very informative. i think billy exley another london boxer was also shot but he survived,joey pyle was also a former pro. if i get any more info il let you know but as regards to finding johnny it would be hard cos apparently he noved up north and could even have passed away.

johnnykayo · Post by **johnnykayo** » 15 Jan 2013, 16:18

p.s.jimmy nash has also passed away too

misterpunch · Post by **misterpunch** » 15 Jan 2013, 18:05

do you happen to know the site of the pin club in stepney? i know the area well and i dont live too far away.

i have ordered the gangbusters book from Amazon

johnnykayo · Post by **johnnykayo** » 16 Jan 2013, 08:43

it was the pen club,apparently it was called that after a robbery billy hill done on some safe at a pen factory in the 50,s

but dont know the site. try "britains gangland" by james moreton or "the murder guide to london" cos that has all the murders in the 20th century,not as though im a macabre sort

but me missus loves all that stuff ! im sure their would be houses or flats built on that now,it was a apparently a speiler and after hours drinking club. you wont be dissapointed with that gangbuster book cos its a good un,i havent read that for donkeys years now as it must be nearly 30 years old. i know it has the tibbs gang in it as well and as you know jimmy is a well known respected trainer now,nice fella too. joey pyles book you can get for pittance as its on amazon as well in paperback for a few quid,good read too.

johnnykayo · Post by **johnnykayo** » 16 Jan 2013, 08:55

another thing just a thought mr punch why dont you go to the library in stepney or the one in bethnal green and get the year the murder was and ask to see "the east end advertiser" of that time cos i know bethnal green has a massive archive of papers and its free to go through em,and they let you photocopy what you want for a mere 5p a sheet cos i have been their a few times to get old records on fighters. they are very,very helpful indeed as well so the paper would give you the exact address of the time were that murder was,by the way the nash family were a feared family at the time from islington,7 brothers i believe. good luck but thats your best bet tho bruv

johnnykayo · Post by **johnnykayo** » 16 Jan 2013, 09:02

RESULT !!! if you google "pen club murder,selwyn cooney" their is quite a bit on the case,it happened in DUVAL STREET,STEPNEY

so if you go down their do us a favour and take a photo and post it on here cos love to see what is their now,thanx

misterpunch · Post by **misterpunch** » 16 Jan 2013, 16:54

ooooeee! duval street, the former dorset street and today itself has bitten the dust. now youre talking!! i'm glad you want me to go and get some photos now because theres no way i'd have been seen in that street at the time of the pen club. no one would go down there unless to take someone out or meet some old brass who would undoubtedly rob you. its over there on commercial street almost bang opposite the big church, but its on the market side of the street just before the market starts. the road called WHITES ROW is pretty much its modern location and the area has a history like no other - even if you take away the ripper connexion! - in fact i think it still retains a touch of the extremely hostile and barbarous atmosphere today, however much modern life tries to smother it.
strangely enough i have been planning a trip to that very area - fleur de lis street to check out a tiny museum that has recently seen a remarkable renovation.

i myself have an amusing story that happened to me in WHITES ROW when i was minicabbing in that area some years ago. i'll post it later.

i'm just trying to work out where the bethnal green library is, coz that sounds like its worth a visit for info on the pen club and also for researching old fighters like you did.

this thread has got legs!

johnnykayo · Post by **johnnykayo** » 16 Jan 2013, 18:45

thanx for sharing that story mr punch,brasses

i think it was mile end library and not bethnal green now bruv,but they have all the old "east end advertisers" goin back over a 100 years and a mine of info,very helpful their as well,fair does ! yea if you can take some snaps and post em on here id love to see what that place looks like now,its not near brick lane is it or peeticoat lane ?

misterpunch · Post by **misterpunch** » 17 Jan 2013, 08:29

very close to both - in fact its original site edged onto middlesex street (petticoat lane) - the photo is going to be of a large multi storey car park! but i will take a few more interesting ones around the same area.

i'd love to get some info on teddy baldock - i suppose the east end advertiser is the place to look

wheres mile end library come up?

johnnykayo · Post by **johnnykayo** » 17 Jan 2013, 09:56

LOL!!! multi storey car park

christ just goes to show how the capital has changed,for better or worse ! the latter i think cos london has changed so much and you hardly hear a london accent anymore,but thats another story ! yea im sure its mile end library but still come into the bethnal green borough cos its many years since ive been their now,just check cos i know the councils are shuttin libraries left,right and center due to all this cyber bollox :( eh mr punch if you want stuff on teddy baldock theirs a book wrote by his grandson martin sax,a good un as well. sad ending to that man as he died penniless like so many from them days. great fighter him,their is a statue in the pipeline to be erected in stepney i believe. eh me n you could write a book on all this thread

misterpunch · Post by **misterpunch** » 17 Jan 2013, 11:37

a nice little money maker

i have read the baldock book by his grandson - great book..the reason i want to get some more info on teddy is of something i found in that book. i discovered teddy fought a bloke in my home town in surrey..and my little town has never had a boxing venue as far as i know! the record books say the bloke teddy fought only had one fight..so i'm wondering if it might have been a boxing booth or something similar. plus i need to find out where the premierland venue was in the east end in those days and whats on the site now. london has been paved over so much and a lot of boxing history/east end history has vanished like you said, johnnykayo

johnnykayo · Post by **johnnykayo** » 17 Jan 2013, 15:30

right mr punch go on the london ex boxers association website and you will see the map of boxing landmarks and the premiereland and wonderland is their with boxers graves etc. eh just a thought why dont you ask on their regarding johnny read,perhaps they can put you in the right direction. my old mate nosher powell lives in wallington,surrey. a smashing guy and 86 now,but whatta journey through life that man has had,boxer,actor,stuntman,bodyguard..done it all

misterpunch · Post by **misterpunch** » 17 Jan 2013, 17:20

is nosher still about?

i saw him on a "this is your life" program on youtube that starred jack kid berg...fantastic program check it out lots of old faces turn up.

nosher must have been mid 50's even then...glad to hear hes still alive and kicking

will check the website for premierland and wonderland locations....cheers matey

misterpunch · Post by **misterpunch** » 17 Jan 2013, 17:22

if you get to the LEBA meetings let me know and a large one is on me

misterpunch · Post by **misterpunch** » 17 Jan 2013, 18:03

so i got a call to pick up a bloke in a pub in whites row in spitalfields. its early on in my cab driving career and i dont come from the east end only moved in fairly recently (1998 this was) i get to the pub, a right dive of a place, and i go in the door, the place which was loud and laughing stops to almost silence and all turn their heads to look at me. i weakly ask if such and such ordered a cab...a bloke of about 60 but menacing slowly stands up from a crowded table and advances inch by inch towards me arms at his sides as if hes going to draw a gun at any moment....i freeze waiting to see what hes going to do preparing myself for a ruck...he gets close up and slurs "take..me ta...finchley!"

fell akip for the jouney and threw £20 at me when i woke him up in finchley..alls well that ends well

debbie a · Post by **debbie a** » 10 Feb 2014, 08:04

johnnykayo wrote:p.s.jimmy nash has also passed away too

hi, did you know Jimmy, ive been looking for him and Johnny Nash for the past two years, can you please help me with any info.

debbie a · Post by **debbie a** » 10 Feb 2014, 08:05

misterpunch wrote:blimey!! you are a diamond! thats exactly the sort of thing i was after. do any of your pals get to the london ex-boxers meetings? if so my old fella could have a chinwag with a few of the lads about johnny. i'm going to buy that book too.

i cant thank you enough - i was beginning to think no one knew a thing about johnny read. he did fight tiger, you are correct, twice he fought him the bloody idiot!!

hi, did you know Jimmy, ive been looking for him and Johnny Nash for the past two years, can you please help me with any info.

misterpunch · Post by **misterpunch** » 16 Feb 2014, 09:21

didn't know them personally - keep searching something will turn up

debbie a · Post by **debbie a** » 16 Feb 2014, 12:02

misterpunch wrote:didn't know them personally - keep searching something will turn up

thank you, how about Joe Pyle jr

misterpunch · Post by **misterpunch** » 16 Feb 2014, 19:00

pyle rings a bell - i'll ask my dad - get back to you

all we know about pyle is what occurs in the gangbuster book - my father knew johnny read in the army - but our family are not really east end people - though I am now.

zoenel · Post by **zoenel** » 14 Mar 2016, 19:58

Hi ,Do know if Johnny Nash,or any of the Nash brothers are still around? Is there a full biography about Johny Nash Or there old firm, ?

klompton · Post by **klompton** » 15 Mar 2016, 14:01

I have film of his first fight with Dick Tiger. Its the earliest footage I know of featuring Tiger.

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