Thomas Hickman, ‘The Gas-Man’.
A new opponent for Ned Turner had been suggested at the end of November in 1820, in quite unusual circumstances.108 A leading member of the Fancy gave a dinner at his residence in Chancery Lane for a number of prominent pugilists, to discuss possible future matches. Ned Turner, Jack Randall, Jack Martin, Tom Hickman, Phil Sampson, Harry Holt and Jack Scroggins all attended. A proposal had been made for Scroggins, who was suffering with a bad cold, to fight Harry Holt in six weeks’ time. Scroggy proved himself to be as pugnacious as ever, responding, ‘Why as to that there matter, it is no match between me and Holt, I can lick him like a baby. I never was so ill with a cold in my life; but I will fight him any time you like, even now, bad as I am’. Harry Holt was diplomatic in his response, thanking Scroggins for his candour but stating that he felt the sailor had no chance of beating him. Scroggins was eager to fight, so a contest was made on the spot for 20 guineas with the winner to take the whole of the purse. The room quickly divided, with the supporters of Scroggins moving to one side of the room, and the followers of Harry Holt taking to the other. The floor having been cleared, Ned Turner and Jack Martin stepped into the breach to second Scroggins, and Bob Purcell and Phil Sampson, ‘The Birmingham Youth’, attended to Harry Holt, while Tom Spring was chosen as the timekeeper. Although Holt demonstrated noticeable science, he was unable to contend with the ferocity of the attack of Scroggins, who followed his usual rushing strategy of engaging his opponent. In the 33 rounds that followed, Holt was soundly beaten. Scarcely able to make it on to the knee of his second at the end of the final round, Phil Sampson gave in for Harry Holt, saying that he should not fight on. Scroggins was the first to approach Holt at the end of the battle and said, ‘Harry, give us your hand; you are a good fellow and here’s a guinea for you!’
After the battle had ended, discussion took place as to what future contests might be agreed, and a fight was suggested between Ned Turner and Tom Hickman, the ‘Gas-light man’ who agreed to fight for 150 guineas to 80. A few eyebrows were raised at the match, as Turner was under 11st, and ‘Gas’ was above 12st. Despite this, Turner was convinced that he had the measure of Hickman, and Hickman was seen to be equally as confident that he would thrash Turner. Bets were taken and favoured Hickman at 2/1.109 Once news of the proposed match had reached the ears of the Welshman’s supporters, they were quick to try to persuade Turner that he did not have a chance of victory, although Turner was apparently ‘too game to forfeit’.110 Despite the well-meaning advice of his friends, Ned wished to continue with the match, and the stakes were increased at a subsequent meeting at Jack Randall’s public house. Turner decided to train111 alongside Tom Oliver and Bob Purcell in Essex.112 Turner’s contest against Tom Hickman was called off soon afterwards due to ‘forfeiture’ that caused Ned a great deal of anger, as related by Pierce Egan in Boxiana:
TURNER AND HICKMAN – During some conversation one evening early in December, 1820, the friends of the Gas-Light Man offered to back him £150 to £80 against Turner, when a small deposit on each side was immediately put down. A second meeting took place, when the former deposits were increased; but upon the third meeting, at Randall’s, to the great mortification and even anger of Turner, a forfeiture was the result. In consequence of Ned being engaged at the Royalty Theatre, to exhibit the art of Self-Defence with Harmer, he was not present; but he asserts, that he commanded an amateur to make the stakes good for him, and who also promised to attend the meeting. The person alluded to did attend, but when called upon to cover, said, “He had no authority to put any money down; indeed, he had nothing to do with it.” It was thus this match went off. The amateurs in general entertained an opinion, that Turner in opposition to Hickman, would not have had the slightest chance to win; nay, that he must have been smashed all to pieces. However, on Monday evening, Jan. 22, 1821, at Parish’s benefit, at the Woolpack Tavern, in Cornhill, Turner and Hickman set-to. The general opinion then expressed by the spectators was, that Turner “had decidedly the best of it.” But the Gas-Light Man, in answer, said “he gammoned it.”
Despite Ned Turner’s good showing against Hickman at the Woolpack Tavern, it seems likely that his supporters breathed a sigh of relief that he was not to meet the Gas Man with the knuckles. It had been over a year since Turner’s last battle in the prize ring against Jack Martin, and outside his appearances sparring at the Fives Court, Turner had rested easy and continued to indulge his love of the ‘blue ruin’ and the company of his fellow pugilists with little thought to the future. His reckless lifestyle would appear to have been noted by one wily ex-opponent who had been exceedingly busy throughout the time that Ned had been enjoying his place at the top of the tree. Jack Martin had found himself at a loose end following the cancellation of his contest against Bob Purcell, although he was £50 the richer after Purcell’s supporters had been forced to forfeit the deposit as a result of Bob having fallen sick. Martin was quick to announce his willingness to engage Ned Turner, for £100 a side, with the money waiting.113
Game as ever, Ned Turner was as willing as always to fight when challenged, and the match was made on the evening of Monday, 5 March 1821 for Turner and Martin to fight for 100 guineas, with the battle to take place on Tuesday, 5 June, the day before the Epsom races.114 Despite the previous reluctance of Turner’s supporters for their champion to engage the Gas Man, the match against Martin was widely viewed as a ‘gift’ of 100 guineas to the Welshman, whose followers keenly recalled how cleverly he had beaten Martin in an hour and seven minutes in 1819, when Turner had fought with an injured knee. They believed that Ned was sure to triumph and bets were quickly wagered in his hand being raised in victory in under an hour. Odds of 6/4 had been laid on Ned’s triumph, and despite the confidence of the Turnerites, there were a few who thought that Ned should view the match with greater caution, believing that Martin would ‘prove a much more troublesome customer to Turner than heretofore’.115
Thomas Hickman, ‘The Gas-Man’.
Those who confidently predicted a win for Turner would have been best advised to look with greater scrutiny at the string of victories the baker had notched up since his defeat by Ned. In December of 1819, less than two months after having fought Turner, Jack Martin had defeated Josh Hudson in nine minutes, dislocating Hudson’s left shoulder in the second round with a ‘tremendous hit’. Sadly, the Fancy were not satisfied that Martin had proved himself, feeling that the shortness of the contest had given limited opportunity to measure Martin’s skill against Hudson, and most were of the opinion that if Hudson had not been injured, he would have thrashed Martin. In March of 1820, the Master of the Rolls had engaged Jack Strong, known as ‘Iron-hitting Cabbage’. Cabbage had gained a great deal of notoriety following his previous victories and was considered to be the champion of the Bristol lightweights. Against Jack Martin, however, Cabbage was found to be wanting. Despite having been extremely weak and sick through rheumatism, and being scarcely able to walk in the week prior to the fight, Martin triumphed after 76 rounds in a battle lasting two hours.116 Cabbage was dreadfully punished and was left unconscious for a quarter of an hour at the end of the battle, with blood pouring from his right ear. The Bristol pugilist was in a bad way for a number of hours afterwards and for a time it was feared that he might not recover at all.117 Although the abilities of Cabbage were thought in hindsight to have been much inflated, being a rushing fighter of similar quality to Scroggins, albeit of lesser quality, Jack Martin’s standing was greatly improved by the ferocity of his performance given his poor health at the time of the fight.
Ned Turner should perhaps have been taking more careful note of the manner in which Jack Martin was steadily improving his record in the prize ring, particularly as Turner had served as one of Phil Sampson’s seconds in his fight against Martin in July of 1820. It is possible that Ned was unimpressed with the manner in which Martin secured victory over the ‘Birmingham Youth’ in 29 rounds. In a rough and ready fight, characterised by more ‘pulling and hauling’ than hitting on Jack Martin’s part, the baker had at one stage pulled Sampson to the turf by his thighs to shouts of ‘Foul’, but the cries of the spectators had been ignored by the referee. Although the contest ended in a win for Martin, his poor performance brought murmurs of criticism amongst the spectators, and had cast further doubts on his standing as a scientific boxer.
Despite the naysayers, Jack Martin had also conquered David Hudson, Josh Hudson’s brother, in October of 1820, although it was thought a certainty that Hudson would emerge victorious. Hudson was decisively beaten in 18 rounds, lasting 39 minutes and ten seconds, and was severely damaged by Martin’s heavy blows, which were as hard as ‘a horse’s kick’. Martin had such an easy time of it that it was said he could have afterwards beaten another David Hudson in the same ring. The success of Jack Martin led the sporting world to conclude that his merits as a boxer had been held ‘much too cheap’, and by conquering Hudson, considered one of the best lightweights of the day, the baker finally succeeded in raising his profile sufficiently to be considered amongst those men of the first rank. Having toiled continuously to improve his pugilistic record in the year and a half since he had been defeated by Ned Turner, the Master of the Rolls relocated to train at Hertfordshire for the rematch against Turner, and was reportedly in fine form the week before the contest.118 The day of reckoning against his Welsh rival was drawing ever nearer.
A fairly select number of the Fancy took to the road on the day of the battle and headed from London to Crawley Hurst, a little over 30 miles away. The distance and the fact that the date of the fight had fallen so close to Epsom races meant that a sizeable number stayed away. Additionally, as it was thought that Ned Turner was almost certain to win, the match failed to attract a great deal of speculation, many contenting themselves with the knowledge that they would hear of Turner’s victory later. The power of the morning sun was so strong that those horses that had been used for the journey suffered terribly, and were forced to a standstill at every mile along the road. Some didn’t even manage to make it to Crawley, and fell by the side of the road exhausted, where they lay, doomed to being sent to the knacker’s yard.119
The bad omens continued. Ned Turner was the first to appear on the battleground and tried to throw his hat into the ring, but the wind blew it away, forcing him to pick it up and throw it in for a second time. Turner must have felt some alarm – a hat falling outside the ring had always been viewed as a sign that a pugilist’s efforts would be doomed to failure.120 Tom Belcher and Jack Randall accompanied Turner as his seconds. A few minutes afterwards Jack Martin appeared on the scene, accompanied by Tom Spring and an amateur from Norwich, all of whom were wearing white top hats and looking exceedingly ‘swellish’. The colours were quickly tied to the stakes, dark blue for Turner and a lighter blue for Martin, and the men stripped for battle. At the call of time, both men approached the scratch and the fight began without delay.
Jack Martin was the first to launch an attack with his right hand, Ned Turner skilfully avoided it, but the baker continued to throw punches and push forwards so quickly that Ned nearly lost his balance and a fast exchange of blows occurred. So determined was Jack Martin’s attack that Ned Turner was heard to cry out, ‘Hollo! Hollo! Go it my lad!’ in surprise. Martin then launched a heavy blow that landed on Turner’s throat, although Turner got in one of his own with his left on Martin’s eye, nearly closing it. Undeterred, the baker landed a heavy body shot and followed it up with another to the face. Turner quickly went about his work, and sharp punches passed between them until at length both combatants went down.
In the second round, Ned Turner hit Jack Martin’s guard down and afterwards landed a telling punch to the head with his left hand before getting away, although in the close at the ropes, he was sent down. It was now evident that the baker was determined to fight and both men pursued each other in turn all over the ring. Grasping Turner in the close, Martin punished him until he either slipped or went down from a slight blow. The battle was now beginning to turn in Jack’s favour as he landed further blows in the fourth round just as Ned was nearly falling down. Ned Turner’s knees were trembling, and it was clear that despite initial appearances, he was not in good condition. Seizing the advantage, Jack Martin bored into close range and got Ned down again. In the rounds that followed, although Turner was landing punches, they did not appear as strong as in his previous battles, although he somehow managed to score first blood. Every blow from Turner was matched by Martin, and from the 12th round onwards, Martin landed several hurtful punches to the kidneys of Turner. He followed these with a number of ‘facers’ to the head. By now, the Master of the Rolls was clearly having the best of it, but the supporters of the Out-and-Outer could not perceive it, so confident were they of Turner’s skill.
In the 16th, Jack Martin landed three blows to the face without return and although Ned Turner attempted to rally, he was sent down after another severe clout. ‘I’ll have Martin to win for five hundred guineas,’ said Tom Spring, gratified by his man’s performance. Martin again proved to be the better man in the following round; blood was now streaming from Turner’s nose and he was sent down awkwardly once more. Martin had the best of it, taking all the rounds that followed, and by the 30th it was evident that Ned could no longer stop the body shots of his opponent and was weakening under each onslaught. The referee announced that the fight had now passed the one-hour mark. Martin’s confidence was growing with every round, and he nonchalantly replied, ‘I can fight for six hours.’
The odds were rapidly changing to reflect Jack Martin’s dominance and now stood at 2/1 in his favour. Ned Turner continued to go down, once seemingly without a blow, and an appeal was made to the umpires. ‘You are mistaken,’ one replied, adding, ‘I should not like to have had it.’ By the 41st round, it was obvious that Ned could not fight against the tide much longer, and after an exchange of punches he went down after having been pursued all over the ring. In the 43rd round, it seemed as though Ned was finding his second wind, landing a hard left hand on Jack Martin’s forehead that made the blood flow profusely. ‘It’s all right now,’ cried a few of the spectators. ‘Give him the Bermondsey screw, Ned.’ Although Martin had the worst of this round, Turner went down again. The 46th round was marked by dispute. Turner hit Martin hard in the head before getting away, and after a brief exchange Martin followed Turner, who dropped, causing the baker to remark that ‘Ned went down without a blow,’ and he complained to the umpires. ‘Fair, fair’ and ‘Foul, foul’ resounded from all around the ring. In a fit of passion, the Master of the Rolls complained that ‘he was not used well’ and tried to leave the ring. One of Martin’s legs was already between the ropes before he was seized by Tom Spring, who refused to let him leave, saving him from forfeiting the battle. At this point, Mr Jackson stepped in and said that neither the combatants nor their seconds had any right to interfere, and that the only people who could do so were the umpires appointed to observe the contest, with final appeals being made to the referee.
An engraving of Ned Turner published by Samuel William Fores (1827), entitled ‘Edwd. Turner’, which is captioned ‘A Welchman about 27 Years of Age, stands 5 feet 7 Inches high, he weighs about 10 stone 5 pounds’. Note Turner’s unorthodox stance with right foot forward.
Jack Martin appeared very angry as he came up in the following round, but his temper soon cooled and a good round was the result. Turner was again sent down at its termination to loud shouts from the baker’s supporters, who jubilantly cried, ‘It’s all right again, and Jack’s alive.’ Their elation did not appear to reach the ears of Turner, who seemed to think he was winning the battle as he sat on his second’s knee, and he smiled with confidence at his supporters, although he was again sent down in the next three rounds. In the 51st round, although Turner started proceedings with a sharp ‘facer’, following an exchange, Ned went down again, and Jack Martin complained that he had done so without having been hit. Mr Jackson was again forced to intercede, saying, ‘I shall decide fairly, depend upon it, he not only received a hit, but his foot caught in a hole,’ and pointed to the depression in the ground that had caught Turner’s foot. The next three rounds were well fought, although Martin made another appeal to the umpires, and Jackson was forced to step forward again and say that if there was anything amiss the umpires would notice.
Jack Martin landed a severe ‘facer’ in the 55th round following an exchange, and there was a short pause in proceedings, and the baker was heard to exclaim, ‘You are a game man, Ned, but you must lose it.’ Shortly afterwards, Turner was sent down once more. It now appeared as though one of Turner’s hands had gone, and Martin’s right hand was also in very poor condition. Weakening by the second, Turner was again sent down in the following round and now appeared ‘terribly distressed’. The 58th was another punishing round for Turner, and he tumbled to the turf following a severe blow to the body and another ‘sharp one’ to the head. The next round saw Jack Martin do as he pleased with Ned Turner; he grasped Ned around the neck with one arm and ‘fibbed’ away with his free hand, punching him repeatedly until Turner finally went down. Martin then fell on him with his knee, landing nearly at Turner’s throat, prompting Tom Belcher to cry, ‘What do you call that? Is it foul?’
The 60th round proved to be the last, and Jack Martin terminated the round by falling with all his weight upon Ned Turner. The brave Welshman was picked up and placed on his second’s knee, as Martin nervously looked first at his opponent and then at the umpires, waiting for the call of ‘Time’. When the call finally came, it went unheeded by Turner. After being given the victory, Jack Martin gave a jump of joy and he ran out of the ring towards his carriage. Ned Turner’s injuries were then attended to and he was gently led from the ring, having battled against Martin for 88 minutes.121 The reason for Ned’s defeat was clear to all, with a number of newspaper reports on the contest remarking that, ‘Sooner or later the Daffy will find them all out, and fighting men will be floored by it’.122 Ned Turner’s constitution had suffered because of his heavy drinking, and he lacked the punishing power that had previously won him such fame. Jack Martin received a great deal of credit for his noticeable improvement in science, and was thought to have demonstrated a great deal of cleverness in the manner in which he had defeated Ned Turner, although drew some criticism for having taken an hour and 28 minutes to do so. Ned Turner’s abilities were thought to be on the wane; keen eyes had noted the fact at one point he had received 14 body blows without stopping one. A collection was afterwards made for the fallen hero, to which a number of his supporters contributed, despite many having lost considerable sums as a result of Turner’s defeat.
None of the spectators were as angry at Jack Martin’s victory over Ned Turner as the Welshman’s second, and one-time rival, Jack Randall. After Turner had been taken from the ring, the Nonpareil threw his hat in the air and announced his willingness to fight Jack Martin in three months time for £300 a-side. ‘I’ll bet 5/1,’ said a spectator, ‘no one dares to make it’.
The day after the battle, Ned Turner and Jack Martin met on the return journey home at Riddlesdown, and after shaking hands they drank to each other’s health in a friendly manner. Ned Turner’s friends refused to concede that he had been decisively beaten, maintaining that as Ned had beaten the baker, and Martin had then defeated Turner, ‘the test of it is yet to be decided’ and were prepared to put down £100 on a third match against Jack Martin, when Turner was fit enough to engage him.123 The Master of the Rolls was not without options, as his old opponent Josh Hudson was waiting in the wings for a second shot, and Cyrus Davis had also been put forward as a potential challenger for £100 a-side. It remained to be seen whether Martin might be so bold as to take up the challenge of Jack Randall, the celebrated Nonpareil – who seethed at the thought that Jack Martin had uncrowned his close friend, Ned Turner.
