Faversham Boxing Club Part 1

It’s been a very busy time since restrictions eased. A big moment for me was when I went to photograph Faversham Boxing Club. I had barely photographed any actual people in months when I started the project and felt almost nervous to be back out there. 

I knew very little about boxing. I had seen the film The Boxer with Daniel Day-Lewis – that’s about it! In my defence, I blame my lack of awareness about sport on not having a television in my youth. (“You had to make your own entertainment,” as they say).

It began when I was asked to photograph the building – the Club meets in the original Victorian Pump House on the Town Quay.  It’s a beautiful building of historical importance – perhaps sometimes overlooked because it’s right next to the TS Hazard building, a 15th century warehouse which steals the limelight. In photographing the architecture, I met Ian Fleckney who runs the Boxing Club. This led to the idea of extending the project to include a series of portraits of some of the young people who go there to box. 

I am so glad to have met Ian – his life has been full of adventure, and he describes himself as having had a real wanderlust which he’s passed on to his son. He is someone who cares wholeheartedly about the young people he coaches. I confessed that my knowledge of the sport was limited to The Boxer – and Ian revealed that he had helped coach and sparred with Daniel Day-Lewis for his role in the film! He also coached Bob Mortimer to prepare him for his participation in Sports Relief boxing in 2002.

Ian has been in the military, was involved in clearing mines to enable the firefighters to put out the oil fires in Kuwait in 1991. I’d recently reread Michael Ondaatje’s novel The English Patient, in which one of the main characters is a bomb disposal expert, and I had a whole new appreciation of what it means to disarm bombs – it sounds absolutely terrifying. Nothing short of heroic.

Ian’s achievement at the boxing club is in no way overshadowed by these. His care of the young people who look to him for coaching, and also for guidance is extraordinary. After I posted some of the images on Facebook, people who had learnt to box with Ian years ago got in touch to tell me how he had been a father figure to them. Ian teaches people from all walks of life –and they all treat each other with kindness. He can quickly spot a child who’s being bullied either at school or at home and offers support. The Boxing Club gives them a place to go to get their anger out. He is very clear though – if he ever hears of them using their skills outside of the club or a match, they’re banned. 

As a child, I was always inclined to turn my emotions inward. I wish I’d had somewhere like the Boxing Club to go, and someone like Ian to guide me.

You can read more about this in part 2.