Dixie Brown | |
|---|---|
 Dixie Brown, c. 1930 | |
| Born | Anthony George Charles 27 June 1900 Castries, Saint Lucia |
| Died | 20 April 1957 (aged 56) Bristol, England, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Boxer |
Anthony George Charles (born 27 June 1900 in Castries, Saint Lucia;[1] died 20 April 1957) was a boxer, commonly known as Dixie Brown. He worked on the construction of the Panama Canal[2] and emigrated to Cardiff, Wales in 1919. In the West Country of England, he survived by working as a bare-knuckle boxer in fairground booths. He moved with his wife, Lily Sellick, to Bristol in 1923, and registered as a professional boxer, fighting 85 bouts in the 1920s and 1930s, as welterweight and middleweight. He trained at the White Horse in Milk Street.[3] He could not contest any British championships owing to the colour bar then in operation.[4] He had two wins, both over one-time champion Billy Green, five losses and two draws in his professional career.[5]
Brown started family life in the "tough neighbourhood" of Philadelphia Street, St Jude's. He was blinded in a fight in the 1930s and then moved with his family to Knowle West, Bristol after the Blitz.[6] A collection was made to send him to the Catholic shrine of Lourdes in France, in search of a cure.[4] He was visited by many African American soldiers during the Second World War, as they respected him as "a well known and a much admired character".[1] Brown had nine children and thirty grandchildren. One of his grandsons used to take him to his local public house, the Venture Inn, where he had his own special chair.[6] He was popular and well respected throughout Bristol. Brown died in 1957 and is buried in Holy Souls Catholic Cemetery next door to Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol.[1] Bristol historian Madge Dresser described him as "a family man who founded a virtual dynasty of Bristolians of mixed heritage, all of whom remember him with fondness."[4]