Jack Martin, the ‘Master of the Rolls’.
On the day of the battle, the road to Wallingham Common was all bustle. Despite the concern over Turner’s right knee, it was thought that failing any disasters the Welshman must be a certainty to win. At one o’clock, Edward Turner was on the ground and threw his hat into the ring, attended by Jack Randall and Tom Belcher. Jack Martin did the same, having secured the services of Tom Cribb and Tom Spring as his seconds. Turner lost the toss for corners, and ended up having the corner facing into the sun. Without further ado, the fighters stripped for battle, and at first glance both men appeared to be in superb condition. Jack Martin had been trained with exceptional care, and while he appeared large, there was no excessive weight on his frame, although some thought he looked a little more like a foot runner than a pugilist, due to the heavy build of his lower body. Ned Turner was also in fine fettle, and there were only a few worries about the injury he had sustained to his knee. In weight, Martin was the heavier man at 11st 4lbs, while Turner had been trained so finely as to weigh ‘considerably’ under 11st.
Cautious sparring was the order of the day, with Jack Martin having been seen to retreat, until at length he led off, but his blow was neatly stopped by Ned Turner. There was another pause until Turner tried his right, although Martin avoided the punch. The Welshman, ever watchful for an opportunity, tried for the body and missed, but Jack Martin’s counter fell short. Martin seemed to have already tired of holding up his arms, and on dropping them he cast a look towards the ground. Quick as a flash, Ned seized the opportunity, landing a blow to Jack’s head. A fast rally followed in which Turner was seen to good advantage, and in short time one of Martin’s eyes was damaged and oozing blood. The baker retreated to the corner of the ring, but Turner followed him and sent him to the turf after a spirited exchange. Martin was heard to exclaim, ‘Isn’t that foul?’ after being sent down, but the referee shook his head in reply.
In the second round, Turner landed a severe body blow and repeated it without a return, but on attempting to land it for the third time was stopped by Martin. Ned then landed a smarting blow to the face and got home with a dig to the ribs. Martin, however, gamely stuck to his work, and made some of his blows tell. In the struggle that followed to secure the throw, both men went down. The Master of the Rolls did not attempt to hit first, and foolishly retreated to the corner of the ring. He was pursued by Turner and seemed to lack the skill to be able to extract himself from his perilous situation, and was quickly sent down by a blow from Ned. Showing his fighting spirit, Martin landed a number of blows in the fourth, and was seen to good advantage in the struggle for the throw, when at length both men went down, with Martin on top. The confidence of some of Martin’s backers was restored by the baker’s good showing in this round and they cried, ‘Well done, Martin’ in support of their man.
Their hopes received a setback in the fifth round, when it became clear that Jack Martin’s strength was beginning to flag, and he received a terrible blow to the nose, which was followed by other damaging punches. Another prolonged struggle for the throw followed in which Turner proved to be the victor, falling heavily on top of Martin. Despite his distress, Martin commenced fighting in earnest in the following round, landing a punch to Turner’s head. The Out-and-Outer was unaffected by the blow and he landed a shot to the baker’s throat that nearly deprived him of breath, following it up with another telling punch to the body. In getting away from Turner, Martin fell as a result of his increasing weakness. Fighting on the retreat, Jack Martin’s strength was now ebbing fast and he continued to be sent down. By the eighth round, his head was ‘rolling like a top’. The game baker continued to stagger up to the scratch but by now the tide was already turning firmly in favour of Turner, and Martin went down at every opportunity to avoid further punishment and allow himself recovery time. Turner’s punches were starting to make Martin flag and in the throwing he was also proving to be the stronger, slinging the baker around in the 17th and 18th rounds with ease. In the following round, Ned was seen to stop all of Martin’s blows without difficulty and all those at ringside were in unanimous agreement that he was winning convincingly. Jack still had the ability to surprise and in the following round he managed to throw Ned heavily, and it was clear that Turner was shaken by the severity of the fall. Martin improved in the rounds that followed and, tired by his exertions, Turner began to look a little weak and was given brandy to fortify his spirit. From the 24th to the 26th round, Martin improved considerably, and there was a moment of concern when upon throwing his opponent, Turner’s leg came into contact with the post, and he narrowly avoiding injuring his bad knee.
In the three succeeding rounds, Ned paced himself and put in a telling punch now and then, gradually wearing Jack down, and extended his advantage. Martin rallied in the 31st round and landed some smashing blows, sending Turner to the turf. In spite of this, Ned was the first to lead off on coming to the scratch for the 33rd time and landed a terrific crack under the ear that seemed to separate Martin from his senses, and the bruised baker went down once more, dazed and confused. The 34th round was the deciding round of the fight. After a few blows had been exchanged, Ned Turner threw his right and landed full force on the mark, and then hooked Martin round the neck, holding him in chancery. Ned repeatedly punched his man to the body, and Martin was quickly sent down to cries of, ‘Well done, Turner’.
Ned Turner’s exceptional skill was witnessed in the following round, and he parried Jack Martin’s attacks with the judgement of a master. The round only terminated when his knee began to fail him and he slipped down from a slight hit. Martin now appeared in a state of complete exhaustion, and in trying to get away from Turner in the 37th round he fell without a blow. In the next round, Ned was heard to say, ‘Jack, if I am to be beat, stand up and win it like a man.’ Martin was by now in such a state of stupor that he was unable to reply, and he went down once more from sheer weakness. The 39th round saw Martin fall again without having received a punch and the baker seemed on the edge of collapse. The umpire found it necessary to say, ‘Martin, recollect this is to be a stand up fight’, but it seemed unlikely that the battered baker even heard him. The 40th round proved to be the last; Martin tried to put in one last desperate blow, and went down after the slightest of hits. Jack Martin was in terrible shape and had to be assisted to his second’s knee, and on ‘Time’ being called it was clear to all that he had no hope of making it up to the scratch. Tom Cribb was heard to say, ‘I believe we may say it’s all over’, so after one hour and seven minutes of combat, Ned Turner was declared the victor.
Jack Martin had been severely punished and his throat, chest and body all showed the marks of his beating at the hands of Ned Turner. Some of the spectators cast doubt on the notion that Martin was a skilled pugilist, but it would be fairer to say that he had been matched against one of the finest boxers of the day and had been found wanting. Martin had fought valiantly, but in vain, and all his efforts had been stopped by a superior opponent. Turner’s skill with his right hand had been evident throughout, and although he had lost the toss for corners, he had manoeuvred Jack Martin so cleverly that the baker was constantly facing into the sun. Ned revealed himself to be unflappable when taking punishment as well, his punches never swaying from their course. It was thought that had Turner’s knee been undamaged he would have secured the victory inside 50 minutes. Ned Turner retired from the battleground almost without a scratch on his face, despite the fact that Jack Martin was not an easy man to get at, as he was tall and prone to leaning backwards to avoid punishment when setting-to.
Jack Martin, the ‘Master of the Rolls’.
Jack Martin was gracious in defeat, acknowledging his own shortcomings as a pugilist soon afterwards. The bravery of the Master of the Rolls could not be denied, having now tried his arm against both Jack Randall and Ned Turner. Martin had contended with the two greatest lightweights of the day and had been decisively beaten. According to Boxiana, Martin’s reasoning in having chosen to do so was that ‘he would not have been satisfied in his own mind, if he had not fought with Randall and Turner’. He also afterwards stated, with great candour and honesty, that ‘these heroes were too good fighters for him; and he therefore acknowledged, with the utmost sincerity of heart, they were his CONQUERORS!’
With Jack Randall having retired from the prize ring, Ned Turner now stood alone as the greatest of the lightweights. His nearest rivals, Jack Scroggins and Jack Martin, had both been defeated. It would perhaps have been the moment at which the Welshman should have taken a leaf from Randall’s book and chosen to retire from the prize ring. Prior to the fight with Jack Martin, rumour had already spread of Ned Turner’s drinking habits, his love of the ‘blue ruin’, or gin, which he liberally consumed while enjoying the entertainments and night life of London. With no challengers on the horizon, Ned was a popular figure, famous throughout the land, good natured and kind, and found himself with no shortage of drinking companions. Caution was not a word readily associated with Ned Turner. Pierce Egan would say of him in Boxiana that, ‘A higher courage man does not exist; nor is there a more feeling or generous fellow to be met with in the whole circle of British pugilists than NED TURNER. Taking care of himself, he has no idea of; indeed, NED is a perfect creature of the moment. He knows nothing about the value of TIME, (except it is in the Ring, and there, it may be asked, who keeps it better, or any thing like so well, as TURNER?) As a game man, not the slightest dispute exists on that point; and it is only in the space of 24 feet, when in battle, that he may be viewed as a terrific character. In society, he is truly inoffensive; and, as a tradesman he is an excellent workman.’
While Ned Turner apparently continued working as a skin tanner, his nights were spent in the company of his fellow pugilists and rubbing shoulders with the Fancy. Ned was a frequent visitor at the meetings of the sportsmen who comprised the famous Daffy Club, where the gin flowed and the songs followed, and Ned was as keen a drinker of the ‘blue ruin’ as any. The year after Ned Turner’s defeat of Jack Martin, a meeting of the Daffy Club was held at the Bear and Ragged Staff public house in Smithfield, which had recently been taken over by Ned Turner’s old opponent, Cyrus Davis, and a one-off meeting of the club at Davis’s establishment was organised to support him in his new endeavour. On the evening of the meeting, 9 August 1820, a challenge was issued to Ned Turner from an unexpected quarter. Tom Belcher was accompanied by a well-known member of the Fancy, and both had been drinking heavily throughout the afternoon. Following a number of glasses of gin, Belcher announced his desire to fight any 11st man in England for 500 guineas a-side. This astonished the members of the club, as on most occasions Tom Belcher’s conduct was without reproach, and with several of the leading lightweights being present, the President of the Daffy Club, Mr James Soares, asked Tom if he was being ‘personal’, but his answer was ‘No!’ The matter having seemingly now been settled, a few more glasses were drunk, and rousing chaunts followed, at which point Tom Belcher stated his willingness to fight Jack Randall or Ned Turner for 500 guineas a-side. Jack Randall was quick to dismiss Belcher’s words as having resulted from drunkenness, and did not take offence at his foolishness. Ned Turner appeared at the public house soon afterwards, and after he had been told of Belcher’s challenge, Ned stated his willingness to engage him, but said that he would rather ‘run a mile, or spend a guinea, than fight Belcher’ from the respect that he had for him. ‘But if you wish it,’ said Ned, ‘I am ready’. Five guineas were swiftly put down on both sides and articles of agreement for the proposed match were drafted.
Tom Belcher announced that he would rather fight Jack Randall, and wanted to present the Nonpareil with two guineas to make a match for £500. Win or lose against Turner, he was willing to fight Randall three months afterwards. Jack Randall then consented to fight Belcher in the event that he defeated Turner. After a spirited disagreement with Tom Shelton, Belcher belligerently stated his willingness to fight Shelton there and then, although Shelton politely declined, explaining that he was not in a fit enough condition to fight.
The following Saturday, both Jack Randall and Ned Turner came forward to make the match, but General Barton, Randall’s great friend and patron, stepped forward to reason with Tom Belcher. Belcher admitted that it had been the liquor that had been at fault, and offered to pay for the training expenses of Turner, and apologised to Randall. The matter having been put to rest, all parties sat down together for a friendly drink, and laughed at the thought that the Bear and Ragged Staff had been well prepared for another lively meeting of the Daffy Club. Belcher said that he had made the challenge after having been upset that his cousin had been overlooked to perform at a benefit event held at the Fives Court, so the whole notion of a fight between Tom Belcher and Ned Turner quickly went up in a puff of smoke.
Ned Turner’s kind and friendly nature would make him a popular figure amongst his fellow pugilists, and it was said by his supporters that his skills were even more apparent on those occasions when Turner had felt compelled to raise his hands outside the confines of the prize ring, as recalled by Pierce Egan in Boxiana:
It is…urged by the friends of TURNER that his boxing requisites have been seen to greater advantage in his accidental skirmishes than in those PRIZE FIGHTS which have so much enhanced his milling reputation, owning to labouring under those peculiar feelings which he cannot get the better of for some time after his entering the ring with an opponent, merely to obtain a purse.
Turner’s skills were such that that despite his sometimes wayward lifestyle, there were few who would wish to fight him, sober or otherwise. West Country Dick had once challenged Turner to a turn-up, and despite Ned having been drunk, he polished off Dick in three rounds. Another impromptu fight would occur a few months after the aborted contest between Tom Belcher and Ned Turner, against Josh Hudson, who had fought a ‘swell’ by the name of Williams at Moulsey Hurst on 5 December 1820. Despite having been a novice in the prize ring, the swell was thought to have a great deal of skill with the gloves. Josh Hudson had been suffering from a shoulder injury and it was thought that Williams might be able to benefit and triumph over Hudson. This notion was disproved when Hudson, seconded by Ned Turner and Tom Owen, completely destroyed Williams in six brutal and bloody rounds. Hudson celebrated the victory in fine style, drinking liberally for a number of days after the contest. Perhaps a little too emboldened by the manner in which he had defeated Williams, and with his pride having been fortified by drink, Hudson mistakenly believed that he was more than ready to stand up against Ned Turner himself. Pierce Egan relates the incident in Boxiana as follows:
MORE WONDERS. – A fight for Love between two distinguished heroes of the Prize Ring; perhaps, it might be more correct to say, “for honour.” – JOSH HUDSON, who so recently disposed of the Swell in such a swellish manner … and who, in consequence, had been making “too free” for a few days, when almost as groggy as a sailor three sheets in the wind, being in company with Turner, Shelton, Randall, Martin and Purcell, at the house of a Swell, near Lincoln’s-Inn Fields, on Thursday evening, December 14, 1820, JOSH talked of thrashing the Welshman, Shelton, &c. at which they only smiled in the most perfect good humour. JOSH, however, would not be denied; fight he would, observing, at the same time, that he could beat both the Nonpareils. Turner declared over and over again, he had much rather not fight; but Ned was compelled to take a turn. The action immediately commenced. The science of Turner was fine and effective; and, in two instances, where he might have punished JOSH in a severe manner, he tapped him on the shoulder, and said, “Josh, I will not hit you.” There was no closing. JOSH went down heavily several times; and he was also punished sharply about the mouth. The game of JOSH was excellent; but he had no chance; and Turner had not a scratch. After fighting about a quarter of an hour, it was observed to the combatants, “they were not fighting for a prize, and it was better to tie it up.” JOSH was taken away, and shed tears on being defeated. He, however, talked about fighting another day. It was the Daffy in JOSH that kicked up all the row.’
Having beaten Josh Hudson in 15 minutes, Ned Turner was shown to be more than capable of defeating a pugilist of above-average ability, even when under the influence of alcohol. With his reputation having been cemented by his victories over Jack Scroggins, Cyrus Davis and Jack Martin, Turner was the toast of the Fancy. Having no reason to fear that there were any opponents waiting in the wings, Ned continued to enjoy his success and lived life on his own terms. He did not guess that one of his opponents would soon return, emboldened by a string of victories, and with a burning desire to claim the Welshman’s crown.