Description

This sporting vest is white, with a small Union Jack emblem on the centre of the chest.

This England International vest was worn by bantamweight boxer Alan Rudkin MBE (1941-2010), who grew up in Dingle, Liverpool. A British and European champion, Alan won the Lonsdale Belt in 1969 and competed for a world title three times.

At around 6 years old, Alan was diagnosed with Perthes disease, and spent around 18 months at Heswall Hospital, Wirral. Perthes disease, a childhood illness, is a disease of the hip where blood supply cuts off and the bone begins to die. It is most common in boys.

His daughter, Rebecca, recalls being told that treatment for Perthes disease at the time was complete bed rest, with one leg up in a stirrup and a weight to pull the leg. Alan said that he had to learn to walk properly again during his recovery. When he eventually went back to school, he was told by the doctors that he could not take part in any strenuous activities or sports.

Alan’s father, a keen boxing fan, decided to take him to the local boxing club, the Florence Institute in Dingle, to build him up. Rebecca remembers her dad saying that he was “a winner all the way”, and that spending time in the hospital had taught him patience and made him who he was, determined to excel and be the best in the ring.

Going forward, Perthes disease did not affect Alan’s boxing career physically, but she believes it gave him the mental strength to prove to himself that anything was possible. Throughout his career, Alan dedicated himself to raising awareness and visiting children in hospital recovering from similar conditions to his. He was awarded an MBE in 1972 not only for being a great ambassador to his sport, but also for his charity work.

Community curation: Alan Rudkin's story was a very unique one to uncover during my time as a Curating for Change Fellow. The label that was displayed alongside objects relating to his career said that Alan had polio in his childhood and had 'overcome a hip disability' to become a boxer. We wanted to challenge this language so I started to research his lived experience of polio - and later found, after connecting with his daughter, that he'd never had it at all. Even the public record has misinterpreted his childhood illness as polio, rather than as Perthes' disease: going as far as official obituaries. Alan's daughter was happy to see us change the label and it felt really special to connect with her and tell his story authentically through his true experiences, through those who knew him best during his lifetime.

- Iris Sirendi, Curating for Change Fellow, Museum of Liverpool