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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: ali607 on Saturday 28 April 07 10:45 BST (UK)
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Hi, I am investigating a story passed down the family that we are related to the boxer Bruce Woodcock. My grandma told my mum and uncle this when they were growing up and they believed it for a while til one day someone said something to make them think it wasnt true. However i now think there could be some truth in it...Back then they didnt know this but since doing research in the last couple of years iv found my grandmas mum was harriet WOODCOCK(maiden name) and so it seems more probably that there was perhaps a chink of truth in what she was saying - iv found this to be the case with most of what my gran said!
There was some secrecy on the Woodcock line; my gran used to talk to an old lady whom she called 'grandma woodcock' when my mum was little (she called ppl grandma like 'auntie' although theyre not aunty at all - of course my mum never thought anything of it - we now know it was actually either my grandmas own mum(!) and she kept it secret OR it was her auntie.
What i wondered was if anyone knew whereabouts Bruce Woodcock came from? Was he a Yorkshire man?
Thanks
Alison
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Hiya Alison,
Bruce Woodcock (http://www.britishboxing.net/?page=boxers&id=17581) was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, on 18th January 1921.
Christopher
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ah thank you - wonder how i could find out about his parentage
Thanks
ALison
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ah thank you - wonder how i could find out about his parentage
Thanks
ALison
Hiya Alison,
I imagine there'd have been an obituary in several national newspaper around the time of his death, 21th December 1997 Go to the nearest Newspaper Library and look at broadsheets like the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian and the Times.
Chris
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If it's any help, Bruce was a railwayman, who worked at the Doncaster Plant Works.
When he retired, he and wife Norah ran the Tumbler pub in Edlington.
Bruce died on December 21, 1997.
As for finding about his parents - you know where he was born, you know his date of birth, so you can always obtain a copy of his birth certificate.... :)
Gareth
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Alison,
If you want copies of the Doncaster papers there's an Inter Library scheme in the UK.
Ask at your local library for details.
Chris
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Hi Alison,
A little bit more info I've found - he was trained (at least as an amateur) by his father, whose name was Sam.
He also had a son and a daughter, presumably alive today.
Regards, Gareth
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ooh thanks very mcuh...
alison
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HELLO...I've always been told that we are related to Bruce Woodcock to but to date I've not found anything on his family either...on Ancestry.com under Family Trees...there is one entry that says his fathers name was George...thats all I've been able to find...I see that by one of the replies that fathers name was Sam...can't find that info anywhere...
Gotcha
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Bruce Woodcock (http://www.britishboxing.net/?page=boxers&id=17581) was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, on 18th January 1921.
The England & Wales Death Index has it a year earlier - 18 January 1920.
This ties in with the following birth entry (from FreeBMD):
Bruce WOODCOCK mother's maiden name LONG Mar 1920 Doncaster 9c 2135
And a likely marriage for his parents, also on FreeBMD:
Samuel WOODCOCK
Hilda LONG
Sep 1919 Doncaster 9c 1895
Anna :)
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Bruce Woodcock
Born in 1921 in Doncaster - Bruce was European British & British Empire Champion between 1945-50. In a 39 fight career, the former railwayman lost just four times and in the immediate post-war years was one of the pre-eminent fighters in Europe. Bruce retired from boxing and moved into the licensed trade, remembered by many old regulars from the Tumbler, in Edlington
http://www.doncaster.gov.uk/db/enews/article.asp?Archive=&CatID=31&Art=2177
Pub News Spring 2004
The Tumbler at Edlington is boarded up - but advertised for sale with 57 years of a 99 year lease remaining. It has been closed since at least June last year and was last reported to have been keg only.
http://members.aol.com/donnycamra/news/spring2004.html
The great Bruce Woodcock was from Balby about 2 miles away from Denaby - he used to train at the Plough pub - its a very small barn fixed at the side of the pub on Balby road - Kev Burton along with his manager John Rushton cleared it out and started to use it again back in the late 90s - in fact John Jo Irwin sparred there with Stefy Bull for his fight with Colin McMillan ........ it has great boxing history!!
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Hi Alison, I was given to believe that I was also related to the great man, by info passed down by elderly relatives. However after some carefull research, it does appear, as claimed by my great grandfather, that they were cousins.
Samuel (Bruces' father) and James (my Gt. Gt. grandfather)
were brothers, their father was Charles Woodcock born at Thorpe on the Hill, Lincs. to a Sarah and Samuel Woodcock, I have not had time to do any further research but I hope this helps you.
Regards ... Dennis
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Hi Ali,
I have a tree going back about 6 generations. I will PM it to you.
Andcarred
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Hi
Just read your message regarding Bruce Woodcock and you say that you have researched the family 6 generations back....
I am researching the Woodcock tree and Bruce is on my tree. Could you please tell me if you have researched further back then William Woodcock c1748 and Jane Free....I seem to have hit a brick wall with the Woodcocks from Alvechurch....can you help?
Look for ward to hearing from you
Thank you
Regards
Lorraine
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Hi Alison
Was your great grand mother Harriet Woodcock born in 1814 in Alvechurch? If so then you are related to Bruce Woodcock as Harriets brother Thomas Woodcock 1820 who married Ann Edge were Bruce Woodcock's great Grandparents.
Thomas's son Samuel Woodcock 1851 from Wednesbury and Margaret Clark 1870 from Northumberland were Bruce's grandparents.They had a son called Samuel Woodcock 1897 who married Hilda Long 1900 both born in Balby Doncaster - were Bruce's parents. Bruce was born 18/01/1921 and died 21/12/1997 in Doncaster.He married Nora Speight and they had 2 children.
Bruce also had 2 brothers - Wiliam 1925 and Malcom 1926 who was also a boxer and he boxed under the name of Billy Carroll.
Harriet Woodcock was my 3rd great Aunt....
Lorraine
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Hi there, I'm fairly sure Bruce used to be the land lord of the Angel pub at Bolsver near Chesterfield where my dad used to take me to the gym upstairs.
Geoff
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Hi ali607. I live in Doncaster and have just started to research my own family tree. I have just found out that Bruce Woodcock (the boxer) is my dads cousin. I am a long therefore on bruce's mothers side. Was just wondering if you had any information you wouldn't mind sharing : )
Thanks
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This site will give you the boxing history of Bruce Woodcock
http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=37004&cat=boxer
Les
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Hi
Bruce was British,British Empire and European Heavy Weight Boxing Champion 1945-50. He was the Empires first post war Heavy Weight Champion
Record 35 wins 4 Defeats. Known as the boxer with the glass jaw.He was 6.0 tall.
He retired from Boxing and moved to the Licensed trade and became Landlord of the Tumbler, in Edlington.
He died at the age of 76 yrs old in 1997
Bruce Woodcock is also my cousin...he is the decendant of my 4 x great grandparents William Woodcock 1780 and Susannah Allwood 1782
He was born in Doncaster 18/01/1921.His parents were Samuel Woodcock 1897 and Hilda Long c1900.He worked for the railway before becomming a boxer and he married Nora Speight and they had 2 children.
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you can purchase Bruce Woodcock's autograph...if I remember :-\ the cost is arround $60
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Hi, sorry for the delay in replying to all these messages. It's all very interesting - particularly about the Woodcocks being from Alvechurch - now that is TOO close not to be connected to my family! My nearest (to me) ancestor to bear the name Woodcock married a Fulford and the Fulford's originally came from Alvechurch - i've been in the village researching the addresses etc where they lived...so to find out that Bruce Woodcock's family were from there too is just not a coincidence. Thing is how do i find a connection? I've checked all the names that people have mentioned in their messages and none come up on my Family Tree database...
Alison
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Hi Alison
I have the Woodcock family info (woodcock is my maiden name) up to 1748 - william Woodcock c1748 and Jane Free 1748 they were born and married in Alvechurch. The Woodcocks moved out of Alvechurch in the early 1800's to live in Birmingham.
I have looked on my tree and I cannot find the name Fulford but I do know the Fulfords were from Alvechurch so I have checked the IGI records but cannot find any Fulfords married to a Woodcock as yet. I do not have a partner for the Harriet Woodcock 1814 Alvechurch - could this be your ancestor that was married to your Fulford???
Could you give me some more info on your woodcock and fulford ancestors ...Harriet Woodcock was Bruce Woodcocks Great Aunt...
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Hi,
The woodcock-fulford connection was much later in 1893 when they married. I just think its strange that there is the connectioncock back to alvechurch - just as there is with my fulfords. It makes me think that the families knew each other long before the marriage in 1893. My fulfords were in alvechurch from as early as the mid 1700s and probably originally from there - they started to move to yorkshire for the mining the 1870s or so and gradually all ended up there.#
DOes anyone have a tree i can look at on GR to see if i can match anything?
Thanks
Alison
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yes I have....what info do you need to view it
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was your Harriet Woodcock married to James William Fulford in 3rd Quarter 1893 in Rotherham??
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hi lorraine - yes thats my great grandparents marriage.
To view your tree I need well, give me a name of someone in it - and also your username (you might want to pm this to me)
Thanks
Alison
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hi everybody the tumbler as now reopend first as last orders and now reverted back to the origanal name of the tumbler