The Bendigo Heritage Project is working across a number of areas to raise the awareness of the man who has so much to offer Nottingham and its heritage.
We would like to highlight these areas and the supporters who have helped us so far.
Boxing will always be at the heart of the campaign. After all it was through prize-fighting that Bendigo made his reputation. We have established good connections with the boxing community, and we have made some friends along the way.
Marcellus Baz
Marcellus Baz BEM runs the Nottingham School of Boxing and other organisations that seek to support young people by giving them opportunities through the discipline and team work that boxing brings. Through him we have established links with national and local boxers. In January we took part in a fundraising skipathon to support local boxing legend Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham through a period of illness.
Marcellus Baz with Trustee Alan Dawson in 2017. Sharing the maquette and the award for BBC Sports Personality 2016 Unsung Hero winner.
Boxing helped ‘Baz’ to turn his life around, and he is now doing the same for his local community.
Herol Graham
Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham shows his support for our project. Herol Graham is from Nottingham competed from 1978 to 1998. A three-time world title challenger, he is generally acknowledged as one of the best British boxers of the post-war era to have never won a world championship. He is a southpaw and fought at light middleweight, similar to Bendigo himself.
Nigel Collins
Nigel Collins was born in England but now lives in the USA. He is a boxing writer for ESPN and former editor-in-chief of Ring Magazine. Collins is part of the 2015 class for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has recently published his boxing memoirs titled Hooking Off The Jab.
“If you’ve seen the fight, Nigel Collins will fill you in with what you didn’t see, big picture and little picture. If you missed the fight he’ll make you believe you did see it.”–Larry Merchant
Barry McGuigan
Finbar Patrick McGuigan MBE (born 28 February 1961) is an Irish boxing promoter and former professional boxer. Born in Clones, Ireland, McGuigan was nicknamed The Clones Cyclone and held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 1985 to 1986. At regional level he also held the British and European featherweight titles between 1983 and 1985. In 1985, McGuigan became BBC Sports Personality of the Year. In 2005 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Jake Meskell
Jake Meskell is a local television producer with Notts TV. Jake has shown a particular interest in boxing and martial arts. So much so that he produces a boxing show for Notts TV called Fight Night.
He now runs a Digital Media Company (specialising in boxing) called Braincup Media.
Peter Radford
Peter Radford is an aspiring actor and works in the tourism area as Little John, the famous character linked to Robin Hood. Peter is also a boxer within the Bare Knuckle Boxing community.
Alan Dance
Alan Dance is a historian and author, specialising in the 19th century. He has written a novel about Bendigo together with David Field. Alan has supplied us with several copies of the Bendigo – Right Fist of God, which we sell at events, the proceeds going to the fund.
The Right Fist Of God is one of several books written about Bendigo. This one is a novel but relies heavily on some thorough research on Bendigo’s life and career.
Andrew Edwards
Andrew Edwards is a renowned sculptor who has supported us from the start. He is based in Liverpool and heard about us through his interest in the sport of boxing. Andrew has created a small prototype statue (maquette) of Bendigo at no cost. This maquette has been on the road with us and always draws attention.
We have also been invited to join a group called Nottingham Heritage Professionals. We hope that our involvement with this group will help us in getting the most out of the Bendigo Story and in ways to raise funds. We will soon be meeting with one of this group, Rehannah Mian a historian and author who has produced a guide to Nottingham. Hopefully this will help us to put Bendigo on the map and in a heritage booklet of his own.
Thanks for reading
The Trustees