Sun shines on Leith Victoria

The Bell Gym, home of Leith Victoria AAC

By Keir Murray

A sense of history pervades Leith Victoria boxing club.

Its home is a listed building in a historic part of Edinburgh, it is the oldest boxing club in Scotland - and one of its dearest members was born during the Great War.

Harry Craft was in the Bell Gym in Academy Street in Leith last week to witness the re-opening of the club after a major refurbishment of its premises.

Recalling the club's beginnings, Craft said: "It started in 1919. I was four years old then.

"I was born in 1915 - I can remember a wee bit of the First World War.

"Actually, it's an amateur athletics club. It's Leith Victoria AAC. You don't have to do boxing, you can come in and train."

The club moved into their current gym in 1988, and Craft is astounded at the £250,000-worth of improvement in the facilities since he was in his prime in the ring.

"We never had showers in the old days," he explained. "We had a rubber hose that went to the cold water pipe and we hosed them down with cold water. We were tough then."

Craft was born before the club launched in 1919

Leith Victoria was set up in an ex-army hut at the end of the First World War by local Victoria shipyard workers keen to keep fit during their breaks.

Within a decade it had produced the country's first world champion, flyweight Johnny Hill, who beat American Al 'Newsboy' Brown in 1928.

Their home for the past 22 years, a stone's throw from the foot of Leith Walk, is owned by Edinburgh Council.

Renamed the Bell Gym in 2001 after the four Bell brothers who were instrumental in establishing the club in its early days, the corner building had fallen into disrepair but found a willing backer to pay for restorations.

Colin McLean, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, was thrilled to see the return on his organisation's expenditure.

He said: "Those of us who have been to the reopening of the boxing club today have seen a spirit like you'll see nowhere else.

"It has been an incredible example of people getting together to do what they want to do in their community."

Howden joined Leith Victoria in 1957 to keep fit

One man who lit up the event to mark the re-launch was Alex 'Happy' Howden, who first stepped through the doors of the club more than half a century ago.

"I joined Leith Victoria in 1957 when I came back from the whaling just to keep myself fit. I came in and had nearly 200 fights. I thoroughly enjoyed it," said Howden, now a cabaret performer.

"The new premises are absolutely beautiful. If we had premises like this when I started off, I would have been world champion!

"I trained with [former British flyweight champion] Jackie Brown every day. It was smashing. This is the place for kids to come early in life and they will get their whole life sorted out.

"They used to call me 'Sweet Chariot' when I was in the ring - I was always swinging low!"

Along with treasurer Douglas Fraser and president Joe Fortune, secretary Tony Reid has been a key figure in running the club through the decades.

"We are delighted that Edinburgh City Council put all this together and grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for being able to produce this sum of money," said Reid.

He says the club may have to open more nights of the week to accommodate the number of boys and girls who are keen to learn the noble art.

And Reid always has his eye trained on the youngsters to identify a potential champion. Leith has "history" in that regard.

Simmons will represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in India

"In the very early days we had Tancy Lee - he became a British Lonsdale Belt winner," said Reid, resplendent in club blazer.

"We had Jackie Brown, who went on to become the British and Empire flyweight champion in 1958.

"In more recent years we have had Alex Arthur, who was the WBO world super-featherweight champion, and we've had lots of top amateur boxers who became national champions."

The latest product from Leith is Edinburgh heavyweight Stephen Simmons, 25, who is training with the British Olympic team.

Simmons was brought to the club by his uncle at the age of 12 and travelled 50 minutes on the bus from the other side of the capital to train. He has never looked back since.

"I've got the Commonwealth Games this year in October. That's my main priority, I want to take the gold," said Simmons.

"A joiner will serve four years of an apprenticeship. I've had my apprenticeship so this is my year and this is what I look forward to - the Commonwealth Games."

Simmons trains in Sheffield with Team GB and would love to compete in the London Olympics. First, though, he must qualify for the team, clinching one of the seven places available to European heavyweights.

"Your first qualifier is the World Championships in Korea in September 2011 where I will need to reach the last four," he said.

"If you don't qualify there, you have two other chances to qualify, where you need to reach a final in two European qualifiers. It's really hard. I was one fight away last time."

His ultimate ambition, however, is to win the WBC heavyweight title - "It's the main title. That's the one that I want."

As for the renovation of the gym, Simmons said: "It's amazing. It will bring more boys in when they walk past. They can see through the windows now. They will want to be a part of it, I reckon. It's an inspiration."