Allan Porter - tragic Salford boxer killed in World War I...
Posted: 01 Oct 2011, 10:49
By Miles Templeton
Standing in a forward trench near Bullecourt just before 6.20am on 20 November 1917 the 7th/8th battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers were ready to go over the top in the latest important battle on the Western Front.
They would probably not have known that their attack was merely a feint for a much greater battle to be fought seven miles to the south at Cambrai.
One of these soldiers knew all about the importance of the feint when attacking an opponent, for he had fought over 50 contests in the boxing ring and had achieved considerable success. At zero hour Allan Porter stepped out into no man's land alongside his comrades and advanced towards Tunnel Trench, the objective of the attack. This was to be his final walk.
A hard road
Prior to this the path of his life had taken him along a hard road. Born in early 1892 in Salford, Manchester to Joseph, a bricklayer, and Elizabeth Porter, he was the third of five children. At the age of 17 he commenced a short ring career which, though successful, ended tragically and brutally within only three years, almost costing him his life.
Porter had his first contests in the summer of 1909 for promoter Martin Lane at the Central Boxing Academy in the Palatine Buildings on Deansgate, Manchester. The club moved early in 1910 across the city to Fairfield Street, and it was here that Porter became a favourite. A featherweight, Porter was blessed with exceptionally long reach, the ability to box and with hitting power.
Continue reading:
http://blog.boxinghistory.org.uk/2011/1 ... lford.html
Standing in a forward trench near Bullecourt just before 6.20am on 20 November 1917 the 7th/8th battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers were ready to go over the top in the latest important battle on the Western Front.
They would probably not have known that their attack was merely a feint for a much greater battle to be fought seven miles to the south at Cambrai.
One of these soldiers knew all about the importance of the feint when attacking an opponent, for he had fought over 50 contests in the boxing ring and had achieved considerable success. At zero hour Allan Porter stepped out into no man's land alongside his comrades and advanced towards Tunnel Trench, the objective of the attack. This was to be his final walk.
A hard road
Prior to this the path of his life had taken him along a hard road. Born in early 1892 in Salford, Manchester to Joseph, a bricklayer, and Elizabeth Porter, he was the third of five children. At the age of 17 he commenced a short ring career which, though successful, ended tragically and brutally within only three years, almost costing him his life.
Porter had his first contests in the summer of 1909 for promoter Martin Lane at the Central Boxing Academy in the Palatine Buildings on Deansgate, Manchester. The club moved early in 1910 across the city to Fairfield Street, and it was here that Porter became a favourite. A featherweight, Porter was blessed with exceptionally long reach, the ability to box and with hitting power.
Continue reading:
http://blog.boxinghistory.org.uk/2011/1 ... lford.html