Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

BOXING TROPHY

Date Range From

1950

Date Range To

1960

No. Pieces

1

Height

35.5

Length

32

Width

8.9

Description

BOXING TROPHY WITH A COPPER-FINISHED BOXER ON A WOODEN PEDESTAL FLANKED BY COPPER GLOVERS ON INDEPENDENT WOOD PEDESTALS. THE TROPHY IS MARKED “COMPETITION IN MEMORY OF F/O (FLIGHT OFFICER) SYD & JACK EMERY RCAF SOUTH ALBERTA ELIMINATIONS”. THERE IS A WOOD BASE WITH FIVE COPPER-FINISHED BADGES ATTACHED IN A ROW ACROSS THE FRONT. THE FIRST TWO READ “1950” AND “1960”. THE LAST THREE ARE BLANK. GOOD – VERY GOOD CONDITION. SLIGHT LOSS OF COPPER FINISH ON THE BOXER AND BOXING GLOVES. SLIGHT LOSS OF WOOD FINISH IN VARIOUS AREAS OVERALL. THE LEFT PEDESTAL IS SLIGHTLY LOOSE AND THE RIGHT IS VERY LOOSE.

Subjects

PERSONAL SYMBOL

Historical Association

COMMEMORATIVE

SPORTS

ASSOCIATIONS

History

THIS BOXING TROPHY THAT WAS GIVEN IN HONOUR OF TWO BROTHERS, SYD AND JACK EMERY, WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN WORLD WAR II. THE BOYS WERE COMPETITIVE BOXERS IN LETHBRIDGE PRIOR TO THE WAR AND THEIR FATHER, JOHN LIONEL “JACK” EMERY (C. 1890-1976) WAS A LARGE PART OF THE BOXING COMMUNITY IN LETHBRIDGE INCLUDING ACTING AS PRESIDENT OF THE LETHBRIDGE AMATEUR BOXING CLUB BEGINNING IN 1951. ON OCTOBER 9, 2015, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN CONDUCTED AN INTERVIEW WITH DONOR, DORINDA EMERY, WHO IS THE BIOLOGICAL DAUGHTER OF THE YOUNGER JACK EMERY AND THE STEP DAUGHTER OF THE YOUNGEST EMERY BROTHER, JAMES “JIM” EMERY. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN EXTRACTED FROM THAT INTERVIEW: WHEN ASKED ABOUT HOW SHE CAME TO POSSESS THE TROPHY, EMERY STATES: “WELL, IT’S BEEN IN MY PARENTS’ BASEMENT FOR SOME TIME AND WHEN MY LAST PARENT DIED – MY DAD - TWO YEARS AGO. WE WERE PACKING UP THE HOUSE [AND] I FOUND THE TROPHY IN THE BASEMENT… I WAS VERY AWARE [OF THE TROPHY GROWING UP]. IT USED TO BE GIVEN OUT EVERY YEAR, AND THEN I THINK THAT SORT OF DIED OUT IN LETHBRIDGE, AND THEN IT CAME BACK TO THE HOUSE. I DON’T KNOW [FOR SURE], ‘CAUSE I CAN’T REMEMBER. I GOT THE PICTURES OF MY GRANDFATHER AND HE IS THE ALBERTA SPORTS HALL OF FAME AND HE’S IN THE LETHBRIDGE SPORTS HALL OF FAME. DORINDA BELIEVES THIS TROPHY IS A REMINDER “THAT MY FAMILY DID CONTRIBUTE AND DID MAKE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF LETHBRIDGE… MY GRANDFATHER (JOHN LIONEL “JACK” EMERY) WAS A GREAT PROPONENT OF AMATEUR SPORTS AND THOUGHT THAT THE SPORT ELEMENT WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR KIDS TO PARTICIPATE IN REGARDLESS OF THEIR ATHLETIC LEVELS, BUT ALSO TO ACKNOWLEDGE THOSE WHO EXCELLED.” DORINDA DISCUSSES GROWING UP IN THE EMERY HOUSEHOLD: “I GREW UP WITH [MY GRANDFATHER]. I GREW UP IN A THREE GENERATIONAL HOUSE. SO MY MOTHER BROUGHT ME FROM ENGLAND AND WE LIVED WITH MY FATHER’S PARENTS AND THAT’S JACK… SO I CAME FROM ENGLAND IN 1946 AND WE STAYED IN LETHBRIDGE EVER AFTER… MY MOTHER MARRIED MY REAL FATHER’S BROTHER WHEN I WAS 7. SO JAMES IS ACTUALLY MY UNCLE AND MY DAD…WELL [MY GRANDFATHER] WAS A BIT OF A CURMUDGEON IN A LOT OF WAYS, EX-NAVY. HE HAD BEEN TORPEDOED IN WORLD WAR I, AND THEY CAME TO CANADA RIGHT IN THE DEPRESSION, AND SO THINGS WERE NOT ALWAYS EASY FOR THE FAMILY. MY OLDEST UNCLE, SID, WHO WAS THEIR OLDEST CHILD, WAS BORN IN ENGLAND, BUT THEN JACK OR JOHN – WHO WAS ALSO MY REAL FATHER – AND JIM AND DORIS WERE ALL BORN IN CANADA. THEY CAME TO LETHBRIDGE, WHERE MY DAD WAS BORN AND RAISED. [MY DAD] REMEMBERS THE DAYS WHEN ANYTHING PAST 10TH AVENUE SOUTH IN LETHBRIDGE WAS BALD PRAIRIE AND SPENDING MUCH TIME AS CHILDREN ENTERTAINING THEMSELVES IN THE PRAIRIES AND COULEES.” EMERY GOES ON TO DESCRIBE HER GRANDFATHER’S COMMITMENT TO BOXING IN LETHBRIDGE: “HE FORMED THE ALBERTA AMATEUR SPORTS – AMATEUR BOXING ASSOCIATION. HE WAS VERY HIGH UP IN THE BOXING AND WRESTLING IN ALBERTA BACK IN THE ‘50S. HE WAS ON THE COMMISSION FOR BOXING AND WRESTLING IN ALBERTA. HE’S IN THE SPORTS HALL OF FAME… HE WAS VERY MUCH 'THE MAN’S MAN,' AND I THINK HE FELT IT WAS A GENTLEMEN’S SPORT RATHER THAN A ROUGHIAN’S SPORT. HE FELT THAT THERE WAS AN ART IN A WAY OF DEFENDING YOURSELF.” “KAI YIP WAS STILL ACTIVE IN BOXING WHEN I LEFT LETHBRIDGE 3 YEARS AGO. AND KAI KNEW MY GRANDFATHER EXCEPTIONALLY WELL. IN FACT, I THINK THAT IN LOTS OF CASES, GRANDAD HAD CLOSER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE YOUNG ONES HE WAS FOSTERING IN BOXING THAN HE DID HIS OWN FAMILY… JUST THE NATURE OF HIM, YOU KNOW. VERY BRITISH, VERY UPRIGHT. IF SOMEONE DIDN’T SHARE HIS PASSION FOR BOXING, THEY WEREN’T QUITE THE SAME IN HIS ESTIMATION… HE ENCOURAGED A LOT OF RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY IN HIS KIDS. MY AUNT DORIS WAS A RUNNER. TO HIM THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT, SPORTS WERE IMPORTANT.” JACK EMERY’S INVOLVEMENT IN BOXING WAS AN ACT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE RATHER THAN PROFESSIONAL. THE TOPIC OF BOXING WAS PREVALENT IN THE EMERY HOUSEHOLD: “IT WOULD BE THE TOPIC OF CONVERSATION. WE ALWAYS HAD FAMILY DINNERS. THAT WAS WHEN FAMILIES ACTUALLY ATE TOGETHER 2 OR 3 TIMES A DAY. AND IT WAS ALWAYS A GREAT TOPIC, WHO WAS DOING WHAT AND WHO HE WAS DEVELOPING OR WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THE BOXING AND WRESTLING COMMISSION. BUT HE WAS ALSO INTENSELY INTERESTED IN POLITICS. WE WERE A FAMILY WITH GREAT DISCUSSIONS DURING MEALTIMES. PLUS HE WOULD BE OFF AND HE’D END UP AT THE LEGION AND WE’D GO AND PULL HIM [OUT] - THE ARMY AND NAVY WAS HIS FAVORITE HANGOUT. HE [WAS] VERY INVOLVED IN THAT, AS WELL. HE LIKED HIS EX-MILITARY CONNECTIONS. HE LOST TWO SONS TO THE WAR, THE SECOND WORLD WAR. [HE] SAW THAT AS A PATRIOTIC DUTY IN LOTS OF WAYS. WHATEVER HE WAS INTERESTED IN, HE WAS INTENSELY DEVOTED TO IT, BUT HE NEVER EARNED MONEY FROM IT AT ALL.” FROM HER GRANDFATHER, EMERY HAS LEARNED: “WELL PROBABLY JUST MY WILLINGNESS TO TRY AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN A COMMUNITY AND CERTAINLY A WILLINGNESS TO DISCUSS ISSUES. TO ME, THE GREATEST THING I LEARNED FROM MY GRANDFATHER WAS DEBATE AND QUESTIONING, AND COMING TO YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS ABOUT WHAT WAS RIGHT FOR YOU. ‘CAUSE I CAN REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I EVER WON A REAL, ONE OF OUR LUNCH HOUR DEBATES AND I FELT EXTREMELY VIRTUOUS, AND THEN I FELT ALMOST SORRY BECAUSE HE WAS VERY, VERY GOOD AT HAVING DISCUSSIONS.” REFLECTING ON THE LIFE OF THE EMERY FAMILY, EMERY SAYS, “I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE FAMILY WAS ONE THAT HAD A LOT OF VERY INCREDIBLE CHALLENGES AND A LOT OF GRIEF AND DISAPPOINTMENT, AND YET THEY STILL HAD THE SPIRIT TO TRY AND FIND A WAY TO MAKE THOSE LOSES SIGNIFICANT AND BRING SOME KIND OF LASTING CONTRIBUTION.” THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE’S DIGITIZED COLLECTION TITLED, “LETHBRIDGE CENOTAPH.” JOHN LIONEL (JACK) EMERY WAS BORN IN LETHBRIDGE TO HIS FATHER BEARING THE SAME NAME AND MOTHER, CECILIA EMERY. HE WENT TO FLEETWOOD SCHOOL AND LETHBRIDGE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE. HE COMPETED IN BOXING AND WORKED AS A JUNIOR CLERK AT THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA PRIOR TO ENLISTING IN THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE (RCAF) IN 1941. HE ARRIVED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM IN 1943 WHERE HE WAS ATTACHED TO THE 405 SQUADRON RCAF. HE SERVED FOR SIXTEEN MONTHS ON A LANCASTER AS A NAVIGATOR AND A BOMB AIMER. ON JUNE 11, 1944, FLYING OFFICER EMERY WAS PART OF AN ALL-CANADIAN CREW IN A LANCASTER DETAILED TO BOMB THE VERSAILLES MARSHALLING YARD. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SHOT DOWN BY ENEMY AIRCRAFT AND HEAVY GROUND FIRE. SIX OF THE EIGHT MEN ON THE AIRCRAFT WERE KILLED, INCLUDING EMERY. HE WAS LAID TO REST IN A COLLECTIVE GRAVE AT AUNEAU COMMUNAL CEMETERY. FURTHER INFORMATION ON “LETHBRIDGE CENOTAPH” DISCUSSES JACK’S OLDER BROTHER, SYDNEY JAMES EMERY. HE WAS BORN IN LETHBRIDGE TO JACK (C.1890-1976) AND CECILIA EMERY, AND WENT TO THE SAME SCHOOLS AS HIS BROTHER, JACK. “HE WAS AN ACCOMPLISHED BOXER, HOLDING THREE ALBERTA CHAMPIONSHIPS AND TWICE CONTENDING FOR THE DOMINION TITLE. AT THE TIME OF ENLISTMENT, HE WAS SINGLE AND TRAINING AS A PILOT FOR TRANS-CANADA AIRLINES. HE ENLISTED FOR SERVICE IN THE RCAF IN 1941, AND AFTER TRAINING IN CANADA TO RECEIVE HIS PILOT’S WINGS AND A PROMOTION TO FLYING OFFICER, HE ARRIVED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM IN 1943. THERE, HE WAS ATTACHED TO THE 177 SQUADRON RCAF. THE SQUADRON WAS DEPLOYED TO A BASE IN INDIA IN NOVEMBER OF 1943... ON OCTOBER 17, 1944, EMERY AND HIS NAVIGATOR WERE FLYING A COMBAT MISSION OVER BURMA WHEN THEIR AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO A HILLSIDE. THEIR SQUADRON WAS ABLE TO LOCATE THE WRECKAGE AND MARK THE MEN’S GRAVES, HOWEVER, FOLLOWING THE WAR THE GRAVES COULD NOT BE RE-LOCATED. THEY ARE REMEMBERED AT THE SINGAPORE MEMORIAL FOR THE MISSING. JACK (C.1890-1976) AND CECILIA HAD TWO OTHER CHILDREN, JAMES (JIM) FREDRICK AND DORIS EMERY. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDING FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT AND LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES.

Catalogue Number

P20150015000

Acquisition Date

2017-04

Collection

Museum

Less detail