Merthyr Tydfil, in the South Wales Valleys, has produced some of Britain’s most legendary boxers, including Howard Winstone, Jimmy Wilde, Eddie Thomas and Johnny ‘The Matchstick Man’ Owen.
Community film company Cinetig, based in Cardiff, are exploring this rich history through Ironmen of Merthyr, a project involving the wider Merthyr Tydfil community. The project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (www.hlf.org.uk) and involves local school children, historians, former boxers and enthusiasts of the sport. The film is due for completion in autumn 2011.
Amy Morris is the Project Coordinator for the Ironmen of Merthyr and Production Manger at Cinetig: “The people I have met and worked with in the community, during the Ironmen of Merthyr project, have been very supportive and extremely knowledgeable and passionate about their local history. I have learnt an enormous amount.”
During the making of the film there have been a variety of events celebrating Merthyr’s boxing history including a visit by local children to Dowlais boxing gym, where many of Merthyr’s champions first cut their boxing teeth. They even had the chance to try out some skills on the boxers training there. Students have also had history, art, film literacy and creative writing workshops from industry professionals.
Cyfathrfa Castle Museum, which has an extensive collection of artefacts from Merthyr Tyfdfil’s history, hosted The Boxers of Merthyr Tydfil, an evening celebrating the area’s boxing heritage. The venue was full of generations of Merthyr’s boxing fans and people involved in the sport, who listened to a panel made up of former boxers Don James, George Evans and Chris Collins.
A bare knuckle boxing fight is to be filmed later this week and animation workshops are being held over June and July with local school children.
George Evans is a former boxer and authour of A Bagful of Monkeys, a book about his experiences with boxing. He has been heavily involved in the project: “I come from a long line of boxers, from my grandfather to my father, uncles and myself. Everywhere I turned there was boxing.
“I’ve enjoyed delving back into the history of Merthyr’s boxing. It was nice to look back at the glory days,” said Mr Evans.
The Ironmen of Merthyr website includes photo galleries and updates on the project, as well as blogs. Cinetig want to hear about experiences of boxing in the area to add to this and are encouraging people to contact them with a story about boxing from any time in Merthyr Tydfil’s history.
For more information go to the Ironmen of Merthyr website at www.ironmenofmerthyr.org or keep updated on Twitter @IronMenMerthyr
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