WILLIAM CUTHBERT TAYLOR – 1909 – 1977
A matter of black and white.
A Merthyr Tydfil story of racial exclusion.
by Irene Janes
Now there’s a name to conjure and in a way it was as his first name of William was dropped, and he was known as Cuthbert Taylor. He was born to Cuthbert Taylor and his wife Margaret Anne in 16 John Street, Georgetown, in 1909. By 1920 the family had moved to Mary Street, Twynyrodyn.
Merthyr boxing enthusiast may recognise his name others for racial discrimination. During his career, Cuthbert fought two hundred professional bouts. He won one hundred and fifty one. Lost sixty-nine and drew twenty two times and only knocked out once, a worthy opponent for anyone.
He was selected to represent Britain in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam but was defeated in the quarterfinals of the flyweight class to the potential silver medallist Armand Apell. At this time, the Olympic Games competitors were strictly amateur status.
Cuthbert may not have won a medal but was and still is celebrated as the first black boxer to compete for Great Britain in an Olympics. He was only the third black British Olympian. The others were Harry Francis Vincent Edward and Jack London, both athletes.
After the Olympics Cuthbert returned home and turned to the professional side of the sport. On 29 December 1929, his first professional match was in Merthyr, the contest was a draw. Nevertheless, his next fight was a win over Armand Apell. By the middle of this year, he moved up a weight division to Bantamweight. He went on to defeat defeated Dan Dando to gain the Welsh Bantamweight Championship.
Although being recognised as one of the best in Britain there was one hurdle that his perfection at his craft could not overcome. He could not fight for the British title, and why? The colour of his skin.
His father was of Caribbean decent, his mother white welsh, the championship was closed to non whites regardless of their established good character, record and skill. As an amateur, he was good enough to represent Great Britain in the Olympics but not as a professional to claim the title of British Champion.
Later he passed on his boxing expertise onto another great Merthyr boxer Howard Winstone.
Cuthbert died on 15 November 1977 and still living in the town of his birth.
N.B in 1911 the then Home Secretary Winstone Churchill succumbed to pressure when Jack Johnson an American black boxer was billed to fight British white boxer ‘Bombardier’ Billy Wells in London. There was uproar that a black boxer and a white boxer would compete on British soil. At this time, there were anxieties over the future of the ‘white race’ and concerns over how a coloured fighter defeating a white opponent would affect the colonies. This rule of racial exclusion was not reversed until 1948. In June of that year boxer Dick Turpin defeated Vince Hawkins, in Birmingham, to win the British middleweight title. So not only did Dick win the title fight but is credited to be the first non- white man to win it since the ban was lifted.
The central library in Merthyr Tydfil holds a black file containing photocopies of many letters sent to Cuthbert Taylor him from agents.
A book has been written about our Champion think it is titled ‘Just a Little Bit of Brown’. I don’t know the author but would love to find a copy.
