DIGGER STANLEY.

Northern Advocate, 26 September 1919, Page 3

DIGGER STANLEY.

A GIPSY BOXER

An English writer (Berkeley) refers to the death of Digger Stanley: —

'' The passing of George (Digger) Stanley rings down the curtain upon a career that was hectic in almost its every feature. Like most men who have distinguished themselves in the ring,, the Digger was wofully misinterpreted and misrepresented at times. That unpleasant description, 'a dirty fighter,' was frequently applied to him, but never, in my presence, could the term be applied to him with complete justification. The Digger was tricky, aud he believed in straining the rules as far as possible to his own advantage, but that he was wilfully foul even the bitterest of his enemies would not care to suggest. At any rate, it is to Stanley's lasting credit that he battled through life to a certain apex of distinction and honour without the help of the modern weapon of education. He could neither read nor write, and thereby hang several interesting stories of a more or less humorous kind." NOTHING BUT GOLD. "When the Digger got his foot on the championship ladder he, of course, earned a deal of money in purses and stakes. A banking account became a necessity, but when cheques had to be signed the poor lad got into terrible muddle, and was preyed upon on every hand. By careful study of a 'copy' sent him by a friend he managed to produce a tolerable signature, but when it came to filling in the names drawn 'in favour of and the amounts the Digger was helpless. For this particular job he used to enlist the services of his nearest 'friend' or 'admirer,' with the result that can be easily imagined. "By the time he was taken in hand by a real sportsman Stanley had very few 'feathers' left to fly with. From that day he would have nothing to do with cheques and banks. He insisted upon hard, red gold, and he must have carried a deal of it about with him when he was in his heyday. BORN IN A GIPSY'S VAN. "Stanley was 46. He was born in a gipsy's van in Kingston lane, and he boasted that he had never slept under the roof of a house until he was well advanced in his boxing career. As has been frequently stated, his" mother was the last of tho gipsy 'Queens,' She was a woman of remarkable personality, both physically and mentally. The Digger inherited many of his mother's good looks, but the hard battering of the ring soon deprived him of them.