Freddie Mills Recovers Lost Championship Belt, Freddie Mills was found in the back seat of a sports car 56 years ago after suffering a gunshot wound, Freddie Mills Funeral attended by Jack Solomans Bruce Forsyth Peter Wilson Henry Cooper and many others, On set of the Krays film, made in 1990 starring Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet, East End gangsters the Kray twins, Ronnie (left) and Reggie, who began their careers in the boxing ring. He said that Freddie was a real man's man and that he wasn't that way inclined.'. It claims he was a vicious serial killer, responsible for the brutal deaths of at least eight young women whose naked bodies were found in or around the River Thames between 1959 and 1965. Five more women, all prostitutes, who were throttled and dumped on the Thames foreshore. Very quickly he was winning five out of six bouts and gaining a reputation up until the beginning of WW2. The Mirror's newsletter brings you the latest news, exciting showbiz and TV stories, sport updates and essential political information. With McKeowen he toured around the west country. Big mistake, big mistake.'. At 5' 10" and 175lbs., Mills was noted for his hard-charging, straight ahead style of brawling. Between 1959-65 the killer was believed to have murdered up to eight women, dumping naked bodies in or near the Thames. Freddie Mills was found in the back seat of his silver Citroen DS19 . "Make it look like a suicide isnt just the stuff of crime movies and fiction. No one really believed that, everyone thought it was someone else.. Start a FameChain Add to my FameChain. Following his death, allegations emerged that national treasure Freddie led a double life and was in fact serial killer Jack The Stripper- the man responsible for murdering and dumping the naked bodies of six prostitutes in West London. Historian, International Boxing Research Organization . England W 10 Sep 13 Ernie Simmons Newcastle, England KO . On July 24, 1965, the former light . Mills, a former milkman, was a widely respected public figure, admired as a model of sporting prowess after taking the boxing world title in July 1948. Donnie opens the door and pats Freddie on the knee telling to get out. The doctor who examined Mills on the night of his death, Professor Wingate, backs up Roger's claims he was murdered. July 1965 P002821. Death. In 1936, at the age of 17, he began a highly successful and colorful professional boxing career which made him the "darling" of the British fight scene. He had the grip of a vice. Crowned light-heavyweight champion of the world in 1948, he was a colourful fighter who seemed impervious to pain. I heard the rumour from a couple of their associates and then, a few years, later Ronnie told me too.. Marcos Geraldo boxer. Graham was preventing the Sayers lot dealing in his bars and so they wanted someone to give Graham a clip. Mills was 5feet 10+12inches (179cm) tall and did not have a sophisticated boxing style; he relied on two-fisted aggression, relentless pressure, and the ability to take punishment to carry him through, and in more cases than not these attributes were sufficient.Mills excelled first as a middleweight, and most successfully as a light-heavyweight boxer, but also fought as a heavyweight. "He said, I need 2,500, Benny, or Im going under. Freddie Mills was born on June 26, 1919 (age 46) in England. A world boxing champion turned TV and film star was shot dead by feared gangster Reggie Kray, it is claimed today. Freddie Mills has been a part of the Boxer list. But I have been told that Freddie feared the police were closing in on him for the murders and decided to take his own life rather than face trial. He died on July 25, 1965, London, United Kingdom. 18 Mark Tampin, 19 Freddie Lockwood, 20 Tom Marshall, 21 Sam Stuart . Mills excelled as a light-heavyweight boxer, but occasionally fought as a heavyweight. Freddie began fighting in fairground booths in his home town of Bournemouth, and at venues on the south coast of England, and had his first official boxing match in 1936. Freddie Mills training in 1948 after winning the world title Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty. Mills v Reddington 04.08.1941 (won on points), Mills v Hyams 01.09.1941 (lost disqualified), Mills v Harvey 20.06.1942 (Cruiserweight championship, won 2nd round KO - Harvey last fight, Tournament at Leicester 22.06.1942 (Mills signature), Mills v London 22.09.1944 Ticket (fight never happened), Mills v Robinson Exhibition in New Delhi 22.11.1945 (All India Boys Tournament), Mills v Lesvenich 14.05.1946 - World Light heavyweight championship (lost), Mills Exhibition in Scarborough 10.09.1946, Mills v Baksi 05.11.1946 - Heavyweight (Lost), Mills v Olek 28.11.1947 (Won) (fight preview from 19.11.1947 newspaper), Mills v Beuno 17.02.1948 (Won) (Randolph Turpin Sig), Lesvenitch v Mills 26.07.1948 (Won) Light heavyweight championship, Lesvenitch v Mills 26.07.1948 (Won) Light heavyweight championship (pirate and ticket), Woodcock v Mills 02.06.1949 Light heavyweight championship, Mills v Maxim 24.01.1950 (Lost) Light heavyweight championship, Freddie, Eamonn Andrews and the Paper Bag 1953, Southern Ex Boxer Memorial Issue Spring 1993, English Amateurs Tour of Australia & New Zealand 1937, The Programmes 1939/40 (The Aborted Season), Uncle Alf: Part 1 Stockton Schoolboys and the County Team, Uncle Alf: Part 2 Stan Cullis and David Jack come calling, Uncle Alf: Part 3 Stockton, South Bank, The Army & Boro Reserves, England 1950/51 & FA Tour to Australia 1951, Notts County & Brentford 1951-52 (Lawton), England 1952 1953 & The Coronation Cup May 1953, England 1955-1956 & FA Tour of South Africa 1956, Internationals & World Cup Qualifiers 1956/57, Peterborough, Sheffield Wednesday & Sheffield United 1957 1958, Bolton, Stockton, Middlesbrough FA Cup Winners 1957 1958, Spurs 1960/61 Double Winning Season Friendlies & Reserves, England (Prior to Alf Ramsey) 1961 1963, George Best 1962 1973 While it was still serious, Middlesbrough 1966-1967 3rd Division Promotion, Middlesbrough 1973 1974 Division 2 Champions, Scotland Home Internationals 1970s 1980s, Postponed & Abandoned Games 1970s Onwards, How to Spot a Fake or Forged Football Programme, How Football Programmes Show the Evolution of Mass Advertising. What Mills lacked in skill, he more than made up for with aggression and courage. Daughter Amanda Mills-Burke told a BBC4 documentary in 2018: Not one person would believe he took his own life it was totally out of his character. But as the fifties made way for the sixties, and his crippling migraines started . For 20 years Freddie Mills was one of the best-loved figures in British sport. Total bouts 20, won 15, lost 4, draw 1. Boxer List. Ford outlined a potential scenario where the mystery killer approaches Mills car with the fairground rifle after an arrangement had been made to meet Mills at his club. But one astonishing lead to a probable answer of one of the most mystifying deaths in post war Britain of a celebrity occurred in 2018 when a figure from Mills past re-surfaced fifty years after his death. He was an English boxer who was the world light heavyweight champion from 1948 to 1950, however he sometimes fought as a heavyweight. Freddie Mills was found in the back seat of his silver Citroen DS19 sports car after being shot through the eye. Roger says that Freddie threatened Benny and asked him for money, saying hed expose his connections with Meyer Lansky to the press if he didn't pay him 2,500. This led to a lucrative career on the celebrity circuit, which saw him present BBC music show Six-Five Special and star in numerous films. That night, while working in one of his dads casinos, Roger heard Freddie had been killed. The murders of six young women, whose strangled, naked bodies were dumped on wastegrounds in west London, horrified 1960s Britain. They didnt know Reggie that much. Police declared Mills killed himself after suffering depression and mounting debts. He had apparently been suffering from dizzy spells and bouts of depression for some time.'. The Krays ruled Londons East End for nearly two decades after forming a gang dubbed The Firm in the early 1950s. One of these accounts described in Litchfield's book, regarding his behaviour during an act of oral sex, is highly disturbing and too graphic to recount here. Even though it appeared that Mills was dead, he was removed by ambulance resulting in the police never seeing Mills dead body in situ. Some of the letters alluded to the West End protection racket theory where it was well known that owners of businesses who wouldnt pay found themselves in trouble. Roger Huntman has come forward and claimed his casino boss dad, Benny Huntman was involved in Mills' death. Huntman explained he was finally coming forward because all the men involved were now dead - and he wanted Mills' children to know the truth. Lesnevich floored Mills twice in the second round and twice again the 10th, before the referee stopped the fight. Mills v Reddington 04.08.1941 (won on points) Mills v Hyams 01.09.1941 (lost disqualified) Mills v Harvey 20.06.1942 (Cruiserweight championship, won 2nd round KO - Harvey last fight. Below is a preview ofThe Secret Life Of Freddie Mills. He was jailed in 1969 while Ronnie diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia ended up in Broadmoor. After serving as a sergeant instructor during World War Two, he returned to boxing after leaving the service and won the world light heavyweight title in 1948 at the White City Stadium in London in front of 46,000 fans. Before that I never said anything about it. He believes that Mills admitted his guilt to the Scotland Yard detective - and fellow Freemason - in charge of the investigation. Murder in Soho airs tonight at 9pm on BBC Four. Freddie, who grew up in a poor household in Bournemouth, served in the RAF in World War II.
At 12.45am, stepson Donnie and his wife along with Freddies wife Christine arrive at the scene after having set off from their home. For 20 years Freddie Mills was one of the best-loved figures in British sport. Soho in the mid 60s was far from the sophisticated playground of expensive restaurants and trendy members clubs of today. Then, after a few days of getting his 'house in order', Mills would hand himself in to a London police station. He was a street fighter who is probably a one-off in the North east. . This is part one of a two-part episode. If they inspire you please support our work. Source: Newcastle Daily Journal Referee: Percy Moss Promoter: Jack Bloomfield Source: Boxing 24/04/1940 page 13 . As Litchfield explains in his book: 'Freddies death was suicide by proxy, murder by appointment and self-financed. More worryingly, prostitutes were handing in reports to police that Mills had behaved violently at a sado-masochistic orgy he held at a friend's luxury apartment. On Sunday 25th July 1965, in Goslett Yard in Soho; world champion light-heavyweight boxer, film star and club-owner Freddie Mills was found dead, shot in the head. A new BBC Four documentary, Murder In Soho, which airs tonight, claims that the infamous sports star wasbrutally killed by the American mafia. I remember he was in a Savile Row suit, gold watch, Italian shoes. Thursday 26 Jun 1919. Sitter in 2 portraits Explore the portrait of Freddie Mills by Geoffrey Davien (NPG D2728) from all angles. 0 . Officers discovered the corpse of Bridget 'Bridie' O'Hara at an industrial estate in Acton. "Freddie Mills, the boxer, and his family lived next door at number 7". Dozens of theories sprang up to explain what had happened. Freddie Mills, Turpin, his . I asked Ron about that before he died and he told me that there wasn't a shred of truth. But Prof David Wingate, who examined the body, spotted that Mills had not been shot through his eyelid which, he said, meant his eye was open when he was shot. Benny had ties to Meyer Lansky and his American mob. 'They offered to sort things out on his behalf, but Mills was insistent that he needed the weapon himself.'. A police investigation found he killed himself after battling depression and mounting debts. Visiting numerous times, he got to know many of their underworld secrets. Sitelinks. Under Review. He's gone. Tippet's research has revealed that in the days before his death Mills had asked several prominent figures in London's gangland whether they could provide him with a pistol. A struggle takes place between Mills and the killer, with the gun firing and making a hole in the bottom side of the vehicle. The boxer turned TV star owned a club called Freddie's Nitespot, regularly frequented by the Krays. He was described as Britain's biggest boxing idol in the post-war period and remained a popular media personality after his retirement from the ring.Once he had retired from boxing, Mills moved into boxing management and promotion, and pursued a career in entertainment, working in radio, television (notably as co-presenter of the early BBC TV music show, Six-Five Special between 1957 and 1958), and on the stage, as well as playing roles in a number of films between 1952 and 1965. Mills was 5 ft 10 in and did not have a sophisticated boxing style; he relied on two-fisted aggression, relentless pressure, and the ability to take punishment to carry him through, and in more cases .