Bombardier Billy Wells facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

"Billy Wells" redirects here. For the American football player, see Billy Wells (American football). For the Australian rules footballer, see Billy Wells (footballer).

Quick facts for kids Bombardier Billy Wells

Statistics
Real name	William Thomas Wells
Nickname(s)	Bombardier
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Nationality	British
Born	(1889-08-31)31 August 1889 Stepney, London, England
Died	12 June 1967(1967-06-12) (aged 77) Ealing, London, England
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	59
Wins	48
Wins by KO	30
Losses	11

Wells in 1912.

William Thomas Wells, better known as Bombardier Billy Wells (31 August 1889 – 12 June 1967), was an English heavyweight boxer. Fighting under the name "Bombardier Billy Wells", he was British and British Empire Champion from 1911 until 1919, defending his title fourteen times. In 1911 he became the first Heavyweight to win the Lonsdale Belt, which had been introduced for British champions at all weights in 1909. Phil Grant held his Lonsdale belt when he was in the TA.

Wells, who was 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and was between 182 and 192 lb (83 and 87 kg), fought with an orthodox style.

Early life
Professional career
Private life
Professional boxing record
Selected filmography
See also

Early life

Wells was born at 250 Cable Street, Stepney, in the East End of London. He was the eldest of five brothers and was one of nine children. His parents were William Thomas Wells, a musician, and Emily Rhoda Farrier, a laundress. He attended Broad Street elementary school, Queensbury until about the age of twelve, then becoming a messenger boy. He began to box as an amateur during this period.

In 1906, Wells joined the Royal Artillery as a gunner. He was posted to Rawalpindi where he boxed in divisional and all-India championships, with great success. He was promoted to a bombardier, and began training full-time with the help of a civilian coach. It became apparent that Wells was good enough to make a living from boxing, so in 1910, he bought himself out of the army and returned to Britain. This was at a time when boxing was becoming very popular as a spectator sport, in Britain and elsewhere.

Professional career

Wells had his first professional fight on 8 June 1910, against Gunner Joe Mills, winning on points over six rounds. In his first eight fights he recorded seven wins and one defeat. In his next fight he fought for the British Heavyweight Title, at the National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, London. The fight was in April 1911 against Iron (William) Hague, the holder, and Wells won by a knockout in the sixth round of twenty.

Wells was matched to fight the current world heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson, in London in October 1911, but religious opponents of excessive prize money, led by Baptist minister Frederick Brotherton Meyer, and opponents of contests between the races, caused the fight to be cancelled by Winston Churchill, who was then Home Secretary. A colour bar remained in British boxing until 1947.

In December 1911, Wells fought Fred Storbeck at Covent Garden for the British Empire Heavyweight Title, scoring a knockout in the eleventh round to gain his second title in one year.

In June 1913, Wells fought the extremely talented Frenchman Georges Carpentier for the European Heavyweight Title. The bout was held in Ghent, Belgium, and Wells lost by a knockout in the fourth round.

Wells defended his British heavyweight title three times in 1913, and then in December of the same year, he had a rematch with Carpentier for his European title. The bout was held at Covent garden, but again Carpentier won, this time by a knockout in the first round.

Wells continued to box and successfully defend his British heavyweight title, even after the start of World War I. In May 1915, Wells joined up for military service (in the Welch Regiment) and was later made a sergeant. He continued to box until the end of 1916, and in 1917 was sent to France to organize physical training amongst the troops.

After the end of the war, Wells resumed his boxing career. His fourteenth defence of his British heavyweight title, and of his British Empire title was against Joe Beckett, a boxer whom he had beaten on points two months previously. The bout was held in February 1919, in Holborn, London, and Beckett won by a knockout in the fifth round to take Wells' titles.

Wells then had five more bouts, winning them all, before having a rematch against Beckett in May 1920. The bout was held at Olympia, Kensington, but again Wells was knocked out, this time in the third round. Wells continued to fight, having eight more bouts, winning five and losing three. His last fight was in April 1925.

Wells was the third person to fill the role of the "gongman" - the figure seen striking the gong in the introduction to J. Arthur Rank films.

Private life

In 1911, he published a book, Modern Boxing: a Practical Guide to Present Day Methods.

On 7 September 1912, Wells married Ellen Kilroy, the daughter of a publican. They had four children before eventually parting; Ellaline Beryl Wells, William Thomas Wells, Audrey Ellen Wells, Cynthia Diane Wells.

In 1923, he published the book, Physical energy: Showing how physical and mental energy may be developed by means of the practice of boxing, Publisher: T.W. Laurie.

The Lonsdale Belt that Wells won was the original heavyweight belt and was crafted from 22 carat gold unlike later belts. The belt was kept at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, South East London, but is now at Larkhill, Salisbury following the move of the home of the Royal Artillery.

He lived in Ealing, London and died there on 11 June 1967, aged 77. His ashes were laid to rest in the crypt of St. Mary's parish church in Hanwell, west London.

Professional boxing record

48 Wins (30 Knockouts), 11 Defeats (10 Knockouts),
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, Time	Date	Location
Loss	48-11-0	Jack Stanley	KO	3 (15)	1925-04-30	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington
Win	48-10-0	Soldier Jones	DQ	6 (20)	1925-01-30	The Dome, Brighton
Win	47-10-0	Gunner Bennett	RTD	9 (15)	1924-12-15	Olympia, Liverpool
Win	46-10-0	Charlie Penwill	KO	2 (15)	1924-11-24	Pitfield Street Baths, Hoxton
Loss	45-10-0	Jack Bloomfield	KO	6 (15)	1922-11-12	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington
Loss	45-9-0	Frank Goddard	KO	6 (20)	1922-05-27	Crystal Palace, Sydenham
Win	45-8-0	Albert Kid Lloyd	RTD	10 (20)	1922-04-21	National Sporting Club, Covent Garden
Win	44-8-0	Paul Journee	KO	16 (20)	1920-09-07	Deauville, France
Loss	43-8-0	Joe Beckett	KO	3 (20)	1920-05-10	Olympia, Kensington
Win	43-7-0	Eddie McGoorty	KO	16 (20)	1920-04-08	Holborn Stadium
Win	42-7-0	Paul Journee	KO	4 (20)	1920-03-17	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington
Win	41-7-0	Harry Reeve	KO	4 (20)	1920-01-27	Canterbury Music Hall, Lambeth
Win	40-7-0	Arthur Townley	RSF	9 (20)	1919-11-20	Holborn Stadium
Win	39-7-0	Jack Curphey	KO	2 (20)	1919-11-17	Holborn Stadium
Loss	38-7-0	Joe Beckett	KO	5 (20)	1919-02-27	Holborn Stadium
Win	38-6-0	Joe Beckett	PTS	3	1918-12-12	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington
Win	37-6-0	Ivor Powell	PTS	3	1918-12-11	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington
Win	36-6-0	Eddie McGoorty	PTS	3	1918-12-11	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington
Win	35-6-0	Private Dan Voyles	RSF	2 (20)	1916-12-18	National Sporting Club, Covent Garden
Win	34-6-0	Dick Smith	RTD	9 (20)	1916-08-28	Woolwich, London
Win	33-6-0	Matthew Curran	RTD	5 (15)	1916-03-31	Cosmopolitan Gymnasium, Plymouth
Win	32-6-0	Dick Smith	KO	2 (20)	1916-02-21	Hippodrome, Golders Green
Win	31-6-0	Bandsman Dick Rice	KO	1 (20)	1915-12-26	Pudsey Street Stadium, Liverpool
Win	30-6-0	Dick Smith	KO	9 (20)	1915-03-31	The Ring, Blackfriars
Loss	29-6-0	Frank Moran	KO	10 (20)	1915-03-29	Opera House, Covent Garden
Win	29-5-0	Bandsman Dick Rice	KO	6 (20)	1915-02-24	Opera House, Belfast
Win	28-5-0	Dan McGoldrick	RTD	7 (15)	1915-02-12	Cosmopolitan Gymnasium, Plymouth
Win	27-5-0	Colin Bell	KO	2 (20)	1914-06-30	Olympia, Kensington
Win	26-5-0	Bandsman Dick Rice	PTS	20	1914-04-30	Pudsey Street Stadium, Liverpool
Win	25-5-0	Albert Lurie	KO	7 (20)	1914-04-02	Canterbury Music Hall, Lambeth
Win	24-5-0	Bandsman Jack Blake	KO	4 (20)	1914-03-03	London Palladium, United Kingdom
Win	23-5-0	Gaston Pigot	KO	1 (20)	1914-01-24	Cardiff, Wales
Win	22-5-0	Gunner Gus Rawles	RTD	10 (20)	1914-01-14	Theatre Royal, Belfast
Loss	21-5-0	Georges Carpentier	KO	1 (20)	1913-12-08	National Sporting Club, Covent Garden
Win	21-4-0	Gunner Moir	KO	4 (20)	1913-11-10	Canterbury Music Hall
Win	20-4-0	Pat O'Keeffe	KO	15 (20)	1913-08-04	The Ring, Blackfriers
Win	19-4-0	Patrick 'Pakey' O'Mahony	RSF	13 (20)	1913-06-30	National Sporting Club, Covent Garden
Loss	18-4-0	Georges Carpentier	KO	4 (20)	1913-06-01	Ghent, Belgium
Loss	18-3-0	Gunboat Smith	KO	2	1913-03-14	New York City, USA
Win	18-2-0	George Rodel	KO	2 (20)	1912-12-06	King’s Hall, Southwark
Win	17-2-0	Tom Kennedy	KO	8	1912-07-18	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Loss	16-2-0	Al Palzer	KO	3	1912-06-28	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	16-1-0	Fred Storbeck	KO	11 (20)	1911-12-18	National Sporting Club, Covent Garden
Win	15-1-0	Iron Hague	KO	6 (20)	1911-04-24	National Sporting Club, Covent Garden
Win	14-1-0	Dan Flynn	PTS	20	1911-03-08	Olympia, Kensington
Loss	13-1-0	Gunner Moir	RSF	3 (20)	1911-01-11	Olympia, Kensington
Win	13-0-0	Seaman Parsons	KO	1 (20)	1910-11-16	King’s Hall, Southwark
Win	12-0-0	Private Dan Voyles	KO	10 (20)	1910-10-19	King’s Hall, Southwark
Win	11-0-0	Corporal Sunshine	KO	6 (20)	1910-09-15	King’s Hall, Southwark
Win	10-0-0	Corporal Brown	KO	3 (10)	1910-07-23	Wonderland, Whitechapel
Win	9-0-0	Gunner McMurray	KO	1 (10)	1910-06-22	Garrison Theatre, Shoebury
Win	8-0-0	Gunner Joe Mills	PTS	6	1910-05-08	Wells Club, London
Win	7-0-0	Private Clohessy	RTD	3	1910-02-13	Lucknow, India
Win	6-0-0	Private Clohessy	PTS	?	1909-09	Poona, India
Win	5-0-0	Sargeant Gale	KO	1	1909-09	Poona, India
Win	4-0-0	Corporal Goulborn	KO	1	1909-09	Poona, India
Win	3-0-0	Private Tansell	KO	3	1909	Poona, India
Win	2-0-0	Private Jarvis	KO	2	1909	Poona, India
Win	1-0-0	Gunner Turner	KO	3	1909	Poona, India