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Page 1 of 11 Arnold Wilson took part in a raid on the German trenches on the night of 4/5 June 1916. During the raid the sone of the immediate past Mayor of Swansea was lost in action. Wilson was decorated for his actions during the raid. For more on the raid use this link: http://swanseabattalion.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=53  A newspaper article on Arnold Wilson's role in a trench raid. Photo: Joe at KLR Research Wilson informed a Court of Enquiry as regards the circumstances of a training accident that occurred on 7 July 1916. Officers H.Jones- Williams, D.E.Evans, F.Roderick and A.F.H.Kelk were wounded when a number 19 percussion bomb that was being thrown from one group to another exploded (the other group seemed to consist of Wilson, A.H.Dagge and John Stanley Strange. Happily none of the wounds were serious and the incident was classed as an 'accident'.  Major J.Arnold Wilson, as pictured on the Gibbons v Bloomfield programme. Photo: Tim Gibbons Post war, Wilson (who seems to have reached the rank of Major), was active in boxing promotion. He had retired from the army in 1919 and took over the management of the Holborn Stadium. He also obtained concessions for the promotion of boxing matches at the Albert Hall and had first refusal at Olympia. He promoted Georges Carpentier, a well known heavyweight of the post war era. However, in the 1920s he advised a bankruptcy hearing that his assets amounted to only a few hundred pounds while his liabilities were in excess of £17,000. Time magazine had reported (25 August 1924) that after the Tom Gibbons v Jack Bloomfield contest at Wembley Stadium Gibbons had instructed his lawyers to collect over £8,000 which was owed to him by Wilson, who had promoted the bout and made a loss of over £12,000.
It is not clear how Wilson managed to lose so much money on the Gibbons v Bloomfield fight. Gibbons was a well known boxer who had taken the great Jack Dempsey the full 15 rounds before losing on points. He was stopped only once in a long career and that was by another legend of the ring, Gene Tunney. His special skill was his defensive work which made it difficult for opponents to catch him with solid punches. Jack Dempsey was quoted as saying that trying to hit Gibbons was like trying to thread a needle in the eye of a storm! Gibbons was also no slouch when it came to moving to the attack. His record shows him knocking out no less than 48 of his opponents.  Tommy Gibbons in typical pose. Photo: Tim Gibbons For more information on Tom Gibbons'career click here: http://www.tmgps.com/  Gibbons (left) prepares for the Bloomfield fight. Photo: Tim Gibbons Gibbons remembered the Bloomfield fight as follows: In 1924 we went back to England again, this time for a real bout. That one was scheduled for twenty rounds with Jack Bloomfield, British light heavy champ, in London. The go was held in Wembley Stadium and Eugene Corri, the famous European referee, was third man in the ring.  The protaganists compared. Photo: Tim Gibbons
I was nervous before the fight, worried about the distance and also about the British rules, which were strange to me. Before leaving the dressing room I shadowboxed until I was sweating freely, ready for a fast start. When Corri called us together, he droned on and on. I began to get cold.
Finally I broke in. "Come on, let's go!" I snapped. "Jack knows your rules. I'll follow him. Just warn me if I do anything wrong.."
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