Mighty Atom

We have been up in Aberdeen this weekend and took a visit to Wilson's Bar on Market Street. The owner, Norman, has dedicated decades of his life coaching young boxers, still to this day - and the eldest of my three brothers was one of them.  My brother boxed from a young age, becoming the Scottish Champion four times and the North-East champion five times. He would always have a huge travelling support, we would often hire big coaches to take us all to his bouts around Scotland. Returning from one such trip to Murrayfield Stadium, the day was made all the more memorable by hearing the horrific radio reports of the Hillsborough disaster which was taking place as we travelled home.  It was horrible hearing events unfold and we had such a feeling of helplessness. 

My brother appeared several times in newspaper reports, some who had given him nicknames such as 'The Mighty Atom' and 'Battler Beattie' which gave his siblings a great chance to ridicule. He met many of his boxing heroes over the years and although he stopped boxing long ago, he still enjoys travelling to the big bouts in London etc. My brother had so many trophies of all shapes and sizes, they were all over the house, sadly many of them had to be stored away in boxes due to having no space left to display them. Anyway, Norman and my brother have always kept in touch and not too long ago he asked my brother if he could donate something from his boxing days to hang with all the othet sports memorabilia adorning the walls of the bar, so here is his boxing vest and one of his medals. Ok, so it's just a wee pub on a dodgy old street in Aberdeen but it made me so proud to go in and see that hanging there. Extra photo too.