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In the Johnny Cash song , A Boy Named Sue, the lad so named by his irresponsible father grew into a spirited, pugnacious individual . In the real life case of a schoolboy burdened by a difficult father and bearing the nickname of a legendary British heroine , he became a decorated soldier and an audacious Northern Territory editor.
He was Frederick James Bowditch , born July 27, 1920 , at Lewisham , south-east London. His bloodlines included printers' ink . The second eldest of five children , he had been named after his maternal grandfather, Frederick Manning, who lived in and ran a printery in a large Victorian building in the High Street, Lewisham.
Grandfather Manning had an uncle and cousin in the printing and stationery trade . In the 1881 British census Manning was listed as being 17 years of age and a bookbinder. He grew into a large , tall man . Because of his bulk , he was called “Frederick the Great. ”
As the grandson named after him grew his family called him “Big Jim”, not because of any outstanding physical characteristic, but simply because he was slightly taller than most boys , though lean. Like all the children in the family , four boys and a girl, Jim inherited his mother’s somewhat prominent nose . He was very fond of his mother- a gentle, placid but tenacious woman who was bullied by his father , Captain Hugh Bowditch , a former British Army boxing champion . Captain Bowditch , awarded the Military Cross in World War 1, boasted of quelling a revolt by Indian troops by shooting dead a number of the unfortunate men on or near the front line. Much to the consternation of neighbours, he blazed away at stray cats with his Service revolver which he had kept . Even when police called to investigate the shots , Captain Bowditch was able to bluff them out of taking any action .
When he was about five, Jim was found to be suffering from anaemia, a condition common on his father’s side of the family ; his father had been anaemic . Jim was placed on an iron – rich diet of chopped raw liver and watercress.
A frightening experience for him had been the removal of his tonsils and adenoids in an operation carried out on the kitchen table. His mother and father stood beside him to make sure he did not jump about while the doctor held a funnel doused with anaesthetic over his face. Immediately, he began to dream that he was in a canoe on a very long, fast flowing river. Somewhere up ahead was a waterfall, and he was going straight over the edge ... He awoke on the kitchen table in excruciating pain, hardly able to breathe or swallow.
Because of his similar sounding surname , schoolmates nicknamed Jim after the prominent figure in British history, Boadicea, the legendary warlike Queen of the Icanti tribe. Popularly depicted carrying a shield and trident, she defiantly fought the Roman invaders. Like the warrior queen , Bowditch had an impressive mane of hair.
The early childhood years were fairly affluent ones for the Bowditch family. His father was an electrical engineer in a large company, Philips, and earned good money,enabling them to live on a wooded estate at Sidcup, Kent. Captain Bowditch wanted one of his sons to continue the family name in the ring . Boxing gloves were kept at home , and he frequently sparred with his sons, strongly urging them to pursue the “ manly art”.
Because of his bigger build, Jim was pressed into the school boxing team and for each win his father rewarded him with five shillings . He received a mind-scarring thrashing from one particularly good boxer with whom his father had him matched to provide the necessary “ backbone ” to become a fighter. Violence, in many forms, would stalk Jim throughout his life.
His father extolled “ manliness ”, and the eldest son, John, because he was artistically and musically inclined , had a difficult time at home. Captain Bowditch liked his drop. Under the influence of liquor, he would indulge his peculiar sense of humour. At random, he would select a “ funny” name from the telephone directory. Smelley , a common name in Britain, gave him considerable entertainment. Late at night, in his cups, Captain Bowditch would call up a Smelley . “Are you Smelley ?”he would would demand in a deep military voice. When the surprised person answered in the affirmative , Captain Bowditch would then bellow, “ Well, what are you going to do about it ?” He would then, in Jim’s words, “ laugh himself silly”. The Smelleys of London were not the only ones to receive such strange calls from his intoxicated father.
In the Johnny Cash song , A Boy Named Sue, the lad so named by his irresponsible father grew into a spirited, pugnacious individual . In the real life case of a schoolboy burdened by a difficult father and bearing the nickname of a legendary British heroine , he became a decorated soldier and an audacious Northern Territory editor.
He was Frederick James Bowditch , born July 27, 1920 , at Lewisham , south-east London. His bloodlines included printers' ink . The second eldest of five children , he had been named after his maternal grandfather, Frederick Manning, who lived in and ran a printery in a large Victorian building in the High Street, Lewisham.
Grandfather Manning had an uncle and cousin in the printing and stationery trade . In the 1881 British census Manning was listed as being 17 years of age and a bookbinder. He grew into a large , tall man . Because of his bulk , he was called “Frederick the Great. ”
As the grandson named after him grew his family called him “Big Jim”, not because of any outstanding physical characteristic, but simply because he was slightly taller than most boys , though lean. Like all the children in the family , four boys and a girl, Jim inherited his mother’s somewhat prominent nose . He was very fond of his mother- a gentle, placid but tenacious woman who was bullied by his father , Captain Hugh Bowditch , a former British Army boxing champion . Captain Bowditch , awarded the Military Cross in World War 1, boasted of quelling a revolt by Indian troops by shooting dead a number of the unfortunate men on or near the front line. Much to the consternation of neighbours, he blazed away at stray cats with his Service revolver which he had kept . Even when police called to investigate the shots , Captain Bowditch was able to bluff them out of taking any action .
When he was about five, Jim was found to be suffering from anaemia, a condition common on his father’s side of the family ; his father had been anaemic . Jim was placed on an iron – rich diet of chopped raw liver and watercress.
A frightening experience for him had been the removal of his tonsils and adenoids in an operation carried out on the kitchen table. His mother and father stood beside him to make sure he did not jump about while the doctor held a funnel doused with anaesthetic over his face. Immediately, he began to dream that he was in a canoe on a very long, fast flowing river. Somewhere up ahead was a waterfall, and he was going straight over the edge ... He awoke on the kitchen table in excruciating pain, hardly able to breathe or swallow.
Because of his similar sounding surname , schoolmates nicknamed Jim after the prominent figure in British history, Boadicea, the legendary warlike Queen of the Icanti tribe. Popularly depicted carrying a shield and trident, she defiantly fought the Roman invaders. Like the warrior queen , Bowditch had an impressive mane of hair.
The early childhood years were fairly affluent ones for the Bowditch family. His father was an electrical engineer in a large company, Philips, and earned good money,enabling them to live on a wooded estate at Sidcup, Kent. Captain Bowditch wanted one of his sons to continue the family name in the ring . Boxing gloves were kept at home , and he frequently sparred with his sons, strongly urging them to pursue the “ manly art”.
Because of his bigger build, Jim was pressed into the school boxing team and for each win his father rewarded him with five shillings . He received a mind-scarring thrashing from one particularly good boxer with whom his father had him matched to provide the necessary “ backbone ” to become a fighter. Violence, in many forms, would stalk Jim throughout his life.
His father extolled “ manliness ”, and the eldest son, John, because he was artistically and musically inclined , had a difficult time at home. Captain Bowditch liked his drop. Under the influence of liquor, he would indulge his peculiar sense of humour. At random, he would select a “ funny” name from the telephone directory. Smelley , a common name in Britain, gave him considerable entertainment. Late at night, in his cups, Captain Bowditch would call up a Smelley . “Are you Smelley ?”he would would demand in a deep military voice. When the surprised person answered in the affirmative , Captain Bowditch would then bellow, “ Well, what are you going to do about it ?” He would then, in Jim’s words, “ laugh himself silly”. The Smelleys of London were not the only ones to receive such strange calls from his intoxicated father.
