Long time Bradley reseacher, Des "The Ace" Bloyd, died in early May in Sydney. Des, who was born Desmond Tatchell, was a descendant on Tamar Bradley's line. Des visited Manchester several times and was a major contributor to the families knowledge of Samuel Bradley and his family. As a tribute to Des I have linked a webpage that he created on the Samuel Bradley story.
The following is a short outline of Des's early life (written by Des).
"I lived in NSW at Dareton where my father WJIT owned a fruit block. After my father's death I was placed in St Joseph's College Newtown Geelong as a boarder. I was there 1942 - 1945. I travelled Australia and worked on a cattle station in Queensland and four sheep stations in NSW and SA. At the age of 17 I was driving interstate transports - age of 18 a spell in the army. Then I worked in shearing sheds as a presser - underground in Kalgoorlie - oil rigs in the Simpson Desert. The last twenty years been involved in pro boxing."
In later life Des became an International Boxing Judge and he officiated at numerous world title fights. He also served as President of the NSW ANBF.
