John was born in Widnes in 1951 and after leaving secondary school in 1966 he completed a 5-year engineering apprenticeship with ICI Mond Division.In 1972 he embarked on a career change and trained to be a registered nurse. He later qualified as a nurse tutor and subsequently gained an honours degree, followed by a master’s degree in 1996.
He retired from his post as a senior lecturer in nursing and caring sciences at the University of Central Lancashire in December 2009. His interest in boxing history began in 1984 when he started to research his own family history and discovered several local newspaper articles from the 1930’s and 1940’s written by his great uncle Pat Sinnott. The subject of these articles was in relation to a number of Widnes boxers whom Pat had known personally and watched some of their contests from the ringside.
Two-Fisted Gentlemen – A history of boxing in Widnes and Runcorn (1900-1960) is the culmination of many years of research.
Please click on image to buy a copy (currently out of print)
