Let us properly honour the great Celtic and Cornish man! – Robert James “Bob” Fitzsimmons.
Our open letter to MPs. media, etc. is below:
26 May, 2014
Dear Sirs and Mesdames, friends and colleagues,
Robert James “Bob” Fitzsimmons was born today May 26, 1863 and passed away October 22, 1917.
“Bob” Fitzsimmons was a Cornish professional boxer who made boxing history as the sport’s first three-division world champion.
The youngest of 12 children, he was born in Helston, Cornwall.
His father was James Fitzsimmons, born in County Armagh, Ireland – and his mother was Jane Strongman, born in St Clement, Cornwall.
He is buried in the Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois, USA and his grave is in a very sorry state.
The small stone has been vandalized.
If anyone would be interested in supporting the effort, we have a member in Chicago who is willing to investigate the costs and other aspects of replacing this marker with something more suitable.
There is also the matter of the proper spelling of his name. On the house in Helston where he was born, his name is spelled Fitzsimons, not Fitzsimmons. Our member in Chicago has a copy of his birth certificate on which seems (hard to tell due to the handwriting) to support the one ‘M’ spelling.
A growing number of us hope that we can get enough to support to be able to restore dignity and respect to the final resting place of this notable son of Helston and of Cornwall.
Would you be prepared to join us in putting this matter right?
We so look forward to hearing back from you with any ideas and suggestions.
Yours sincerely
Convener
Cornwall Branch of the Celtic League
kernow@celticleague.net
The Celtic League main website is at: http://www.celticleague.net/
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