Randolph Turpin

Randolph Turpin was born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, to a black father, Lionel, who had been born in British Guiana (now known as Guyana) in 1896. He came to England to fight in World War I. He met Randolph's mother after coming out of hospital following treatment for his injuries sustained towards the end of the war. During his service, he fought at the Battle of the Somme. He died within a year of Randolph's birth, having never really recovered from the lung damage caused by a gas attack. This left Randolph's mother Beatrice (née Whitehouse, 1904–1974), to raise five children on her own. Being a widow with five children to look after, Beatrice struggled to make ends meet on a small war pension and had to work from morning to night as a domestic cleaner to earn money. As a result, she sent two of her children to live with relatives. However, she remarried in 1931 to a man named Ernest Manley, who became stepfather to the children and the family were reunited. Beatrice was the daughter of a former bare-knuckle fighter and was by all accounts a feisty woman who would tell her children to stand up for themselves when they were subjected to abuse. Randolph was the youngest of the five children. Lionel Jr (commonly known as Dick Turpin) was the eldest followed by Joan, John (commonly known as Jackie), Kathleen and Randolph. Although he was born in Leamington, he actually grew up and went to school in the nearby town of Warwick. He nearly drowned when he was a child, when he became trapped underwater whilst swimming. The accident resulted in a burst eardrum which left him partially deaf in one ear, due to this disability, some people assumed he was 'aloof'. He also nearly died from double pneumonia and bronchitis. Contrary to popular belief, his nickname the 'Leamington Licker' did not come from the fact that he was a professional boxer. It originated from his childhood, when Randolph, Jackie and Joan were all born in June: Randolph on the 7th, Jackie on the 13th and Joan on the 19th. When the month of June came around, because Randolph's birthday came first, he thought that made him the eldest of the three. Joan told tell him that he was the littlest. He got angry and screamed "I'm not the lickerest" (he couldn't pronounce the word 'littlest' properly). Following a bit of goading, Randolph charged at her with both fists flailing. As a result, 'Licker' became the family nickname for him. ==Amateur career==

He started boxing exhibition bouts during the interval, at local boxing shows when his brother Dick was fighting. Then at the boxing booth when the fair was in town, with his brother Jackie. In a double act called 'Alexander and Moses', where they fought for nobbins (money thrown into the ring by the spectators). The rules have been changed over the years and junior boxers can no longer enter the senior championships; meaning that no one will be able to match his feat. He also fought for Great Britain in the annual televised match against the US in 1946, scoring a first-round knockout in his contest. ==Professional career==

{{quote box| ''"His typical day at this stage begins at 6:30 a.m., when he goes out on the hills and cliffs and winding roads around the castle. After running seven to twelve miles with his trainer and his Alsation dog Carl, he takes a rub down and perhaps more sleep. Then comes his gymnasium work lasting 60 to 90 minutes. Lunch at one o'clock is almost always the same, steak and salad. In the afternoon he goes out with his gun rabbit-shooting. Turpin is not quite so accurate with his gun as with his fists, he has fired 200 cartridges in one afternoon without killing a bunny. In the evening he relaxes, reading comics and oddly enough, poetry. At 8:30 comes the second and last meal of the day, steak and salad again as often as not. Four cigarettes are the strict daily ration. Turpin drinks no alcohol in training or out, fruit juices and tea are his staples. Lights are out at 10:30 p.m."'' - Turpin's daily routine whilst training at Gwrych Caste. He was approached by many top professional managers but decided to turn professional with George Middleton, a local man who managed his brother Dick. Weight training was frowned upon in boxing circles because it was thought that it made fighters muscle-bound and inflexible in their movements. Turpin proved to be the exception to this rule and many of his future opponents including Sugar Ray Robinson would comment on his immense physical strength. Turpin developed a knockout punch with either hand and became a formidable force for any fighter to deal with. He was the first British fighter to hold the world middleweight title since Bob Fitzsimmons in 1891. He had become an overnight sporting hero. Two days later he was given a civic reception before a crowd of 10,000 people in his home town of Leamington with the mayors of both Leamington and Warwick present. Boxing in the 1950s was a mainstream sport alongside football and cricket and with the advent of television it was increasing in popularity. Britain was still recovering from the impact of the war and was a bleak place to live for a lot of people, with rationing of food still in place. As such, the victory of a British fighter over an American fighter who was already being regarded as a superstar in the sport of boxing, was something for the whole nation to cheer about. In an article, written in April 1952, quoted Randolph as wanting to retire in 'one or two years' and go into business with Leslie T. Salts (owner of Gwrych Castle), and teach youngsters across Britain to fight in the 'ideal surroundings' of Gwrych, instead of the school of hard knocks he experienced as a youth. He planned on building a gymnasium at the castle for young boxers to train in. During his time at Gwrych, he picked up on a few Welsh words from dating Gwyneth Price and he would sign his autographs with 'Hên lwc' (Old luck), 'Pob lwc' (Every luck) and 'Lwc Dda' (Good luck), although it is not known how proficient he was at speaking it. Turpin fought Don Cockell in 1952 for the British and Commonwealth Light Heavyweight Titles. He stopped Cockell in the 11th round. Cockell would later go on to give Rocky Marciano a good fight for the heavyweight title. Turpin regained the European Middleweight Title in 1953 with a points victory over Charles Humez, and was recognised as world champion in Europe. However, Turpin's world title was not recognised in America. Following the retirement of Sugar Ray Robinson Turpin was nominated to fight for the vacant World Middleweight Title against Carl 'Bobo' Olsen. The fight against Olson took place at Madison Square Gardens in 1953. Turpin had not trained properly for the fight (the reason became apparent after the fight). He won the first three rounds but then faded badly and was outpointed over 15 rounds having been floored in the ninth and tenth rounds. Turpin spent much of the fight trapped on the ropes taking punches at close quarters to the head and body. After the fight Turpin was urinating blood indicating that he had suffered damage to his kidneys from Olson's sustained body punches. The Olson fight was the turning point in Turpin's career. He was never the same fighter after the punishment he absorbed in that fight and thereafter became a diminished fighting force. In addition, he was having trouble making the middleweight weight limit of 11st 6lbs (160lbs). Mitri had exploited a flaw in Turpin's boxing technique whereby he dropped his right hand which was supposed to protect his chin, leaving him exposed to a left hook. In his younger days his reflexes had been fast enough to prevent such a thing from happening. But as he aged his reflexes began to slow and his punch resistance diminished. In addition, he was suffering from eye problems. His eyes had become misaligned and his peripheral vision was starting to deteriorate. The British Board of Boxing control (BBBC) made Turpin have a full medical, but decided that he was fit enough to continue his career. In November of that year he beat Alex Buxton again for the British Light Heavyweight Title. The BBBC stopped a proposed fight between Turpin and Willie Pastrano from going ahead because they thought that it was not in the best interests of boxing. In other words, they thought that Turpin might get hurt, which would damage the image of boxing. The BBBC stopped him acting as a sparring partner for Terry Downes in 1961. Because of their fears concerning the cumulative effect on his physical health of the punishment he had absorbed during the course of his boxing career. He had two unlicensed fights (not licensed by the BBBC) in 1963 and 1964 against opponents who were making their professional debuts and he stopped both of them. ==Personal life==

After leaving school Randolph worked as a labourer on building sites. In 1945 he decided to join the Royal Navy's , a boy's training establishment where he was training to become a cook. He was known to serve 'cold and lumpy breakfast porridge', according to accounts of a fellow crew member. In 1986 John Douglas recalled; "As a member of the boxing team, and later lightweight champ of the Home Fleet, I was selected to sort out the chef. I thought it was going to be easy, but he was one of the few who treated us as humans, he was also pleasant, with a ready smile. So, I let him off." However, as he was talented at boxing, he was allowed to spend most of his time training for upcoming contests because of the Kudos his winning of national titles brought to them. He stayed in the Navy until 1948. Turpin met Adele Daniels when training in America for the return fight with Robinson. They started a relationship and he promised to marry her and bring her to England. He lost touch with her when he went back home but they rekindled their relationship when he returned to America for the Olson fight. Following the fight, she accused him of rape and assault. Turpin was arrested but she dropped the charges during the course of the subsequent trial and settled for an out of court payment. Turpin denied her allegations and stated that she was trying to get her revenge on him for reneging on his promise to marry her. The incident led to Randolph falling out with his brother Dick whom he blamed for telling Daniels what had happened in his first marriage. Turpin developed a reputation for being a playboy and womaniser during his peak years and was named in a divorce action, where a husband alleged that Turpin had committed adultery with his wife. Turpin met his second wife Gwyneth (née Price, 1925–1992) the daughter of a Welsh farmer whilst training for the Robinson fight at Gwrych Castle in Wales. They married in Wellington, Telford in 1953 and had four daughters, Gwyneth, Annette, Charmaine and Carmen. He had a keen interest in reading American comic books, when he wasn't busy training, he would often be found reading them on the grounds of Gwrych Castle in the evenings and when he was done, he'd fold them into his pocket, he was also interested in reading poetry. ==Business dealings and bankruptcy==

Turpin bought The Great Ormes Head hotel with his business partner Leslie Salts. He had purchased a transport café in Leamington prior to being made bankrupt which was in his wife's name. The building was under threat of compulsory purchase by the council when he bought it. However, he still went ahead, despite people telling him not to do so. For the first year, the cafe was partly managed by Arthur Adams who had previously worked for six years as a barman at Turpin and Salts' Great Orme's Summit Hotel complex until he returned to Llandudno. Randolph put up a plaque behind the counter which said "That which seldom comes back to him who waits is the money he lends to his friends." He wrestled for a number of years but again made the mistake of not putting money aside to pay the tax bill on his wrestling earnings. At the bankruptcy hearing Turpin said that he didn't have anyone looking after his financial affairs (an accountant) in relation to his wrestling earnings and added that he had not received any claims from the revenue on his earnings. At that the assistant receiver said "You might be coming in here again then?" Turpin replied "No Sir, I don't think that is possible." However, as time went on the novelty of seeing a former world boxing champion in the wrestling ring wore off. He was forced to actually start wrestling and accept in the region of £25 for a contest. ==Death==

Three days before his death, Turpin had received a final demand from the Inland Revenue for £800 unpaid tax on his wrestling earnings. However, he had already spent the money he had earned from wrestling so he faced the prospect of being made bankrupt for a second time. Also, the council had decided to go ahead with the compulsory purchase of the property where he lived, to turn it into a car park. He had stopped wrestling and the café now provided his only source of income and the flat above it his home. Since retiring from boxing, he had suffered from depression because of his money troubles. In addition, his personal doctor stated that he thought Turpin had become punch-drunk from all the blows that he had taken to the head during his boxing career. This had led to him becoming morose in his later years. He had become bitter about his boxing career, believing that he had been exploited by having to pay the tax on money that he had never received. Whenever strangers tried to talk to him about his time in the ring he would change the subject. He had a wound to the head (the bullet lodged against his skull and did not enter his brain) and a second wound to his heart which had killed him. He had drifted apart from his brothers and sisters because they did not get on with his wife Gwyneth, and in a suicide note left pinned to the door of the room where he was found, he had told her not to give anything to them and that she should go back to Wales because that was the place where they had been happiest. His death came less than a year after that of Freddie Mills, who was Britain's other post-war boxing world champion. He had also died under mysterious circumstances and was also ruled to have taken his own life, although some claimed he had been murdered by gangsters. ==Memorial==

Due to the circumstances behind his death Turpin became somewhat of a forgotten hero. Turpin was inducted as a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York in 2001. There is a statue of him in Market Square, Warwick. At his funeral, the Reverend Eugene Haselden said "At the height of his career Randolph was surrounded by those who regarded themselves as friends and well-wishers. But he was deserted by many as he lost his position and money. The fickleness of his friends and the incompetent advice must have weighed so heavily upon him that he was forced to desperation. Randolph was a simple man, a naïve man and he needed friends to protect him from the spongers. To our shame he was let down. The tragedy is not his failure alone, but the failure of our whole society." Following his comeback after the loss to Gordon Wallace. Turpin wrote a poem titled 'The comeback road' the final verse of which is as follows: "So we leave this game which was hard and cruel. And down at the show on a ringside stool. We’ll watch the next man, just one more fool." ==Professional boxing record==

Major world titles • NYSAC middleweight champion (160 lbs) • NBA (WBA) middleweight champion (160 lbs) The Ring magazine titles • The Ring middleweight champion (160 lbs) Regional/International titles • European middleweight champion (160 lbs) (2×) • Commonwealth middleweight champion (160 lbs) • British middleweight champion (160 lbs) • British light heavyweight champion (175 lbs) (3×) • Commonwealth light heavyweight champion (175 lbs) (2×) Honorary titles • Undisputed middleweight champion ==See also==