1931

19S
Lieut. Lister and Signalman Viney were beaten in the finals, and
Sergt. F. P. Crawley won the European Middle-weight
Championship.
The conditions for the I.S.B.A. Championships were changed in
1925. Up to
1921,
inclusive, the Championships took the form
of Inter-Service Team Championships; in
1925
the individual
system was reintroduced, and since that year the open I.S.B.A.
Championships have been in abeyance, the Championship becoming
a purely amateur one after
1925,
the winners of the eight Other
Rank weights and the six Officer weights being eligible for the
Amateur Championships of Great Britain.
In November,
1925,
Major G. le Q. Martel, D.S.O., M.C., R.E.,
who had acted in the capacity of Hon. Secretary from
1920
onwards, and who had done so much for boxing in the Army,
and in promoting the amateur spirit, handed over the post on
leaving for India to Captain T. H. Wand-Tetley, the Wiltshire
Regiment.
The policy of the Army B.A. was to now consolidate the
amateur position by giving our best boxers scope for their talents,
and so counteract the temptation for them to turn professional.
The first Army International Match took place against Denmark
at Copenhagen on Sth January,
1926,
resulting in a win for
Denmark by
5
fights to 3. The team afterwards toured Denmark
and Norway.
At a Committee Meeting held on February Sth,
1926,
Lieut.-
Colonel R. V. Cowey, as Chairman of the Committee, expressed
the desire of the Army Boxing Association that H.R.H. Prince
Arthur of Connaught, K.G., K.T., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., C.B.,
should be called Patron instead of President,_ so as to bring the
Association into line with other Army Associations, and that
General Sir A. A. Montgomery, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., should become
President instead of Vice-President.
In April,
1926,
the Danes paid a return visit to England, and
the Anglo-Danish Society presented a Challenge Trophy, which is
now fought for annually.
The International fixtures were extended during the
1926-27
season by two matches a season against Wales. These matches
were most successful and have promoted very cordial relations with
the Welsh A.B.A.
In January,
1927,
the Army Individual Championships were held
in London at The Stadium Club, and attracted a large audience,
composed of Service, ex-Service and civilian boxing enthusiasts,
who were delighted at the keenness and high standard shown by
our boxers.
At the British Amateur Championships in
1927,
Lieut. C. F.
Capper, R.A., won the Heavy-weight, and Sergt. F. P. Crawley,
Royal Tank Corps (holder), retained the Middle-weight title.