Dad's boxing career was cut short by a freak injury.

JOHN TARRANT sent in these memories of his father Les, who was well-known in Coventry.

One photo shows him with his amateur cups at about the time of the 1924 Olympics and the other is at the start of one of his professional contests where he is second left.

John, of Malvern, Worcestershire, said: "Between the wars Les Tarrant had a meteoric rise from being a 15-year-old boy working at the Armstrong Siddeley factory, to being a chief contender for the British flyweight title, then having to retire from boxing with a freak nose injury at the age of 23."

As an amateur Les won three British titles at flyweight and bantamweight, was runner-up twice and lost only five times in 300 contests at a time when amateur boxers were often called to box several times in quick succession.

It was one of the golden ages for boxing. Les Tarrant represented Great Britain in the Olympic Games in Paris in 1924 and boxed an exhibition at 17 in Birmingham against the great Jimmy Wilde, then coming to the end of his distinguished career. When Les Tarrant turned professional he lost narrowly in Edinburgh to the experienced Elky Clarke, the British Champion, and was everyone's tip as the next champion.

The flyweight division included some of the best boxers in the country and Les, at 22, and living in Foleshill, had lost only three professional fights against formidable opposition. He was winning an eliminator for the title when he received a blow on the nose from an opponent's head. It did not seem catastrophic at the time, but subsequently he blacked out whenever he received even the slightest blow on the nose.

As an amateur Les had beaten the legendary Nel Tarleton three times. It was inevitable that they should meet again as professionals and they met before a big crowd at the Liverpool Stadium on May Day 1926 in an eliminator for the British title. Les was ahead on points when he took a light blow on the nose and blacked out. Les never boxed again. Nel Tarleton in his memoirs, said that he never felt confident he could be a champion until after Tarrant had retired. He was my "bogey man" he wrote.

As a 10-year-old boy, John, Les Tarrant's elder son, vividly recalls being taken to Liverpool Stadium to see Tarleton win the British featherweight championship.

"My father rarely mentioned his boxing career and I had no idea at that time that he had beaten three times this great Nel Tarleton, one of my idols. After the contest, my father took me into the dressing room where the elated Tarleton was getting his breath back. When he saw my father he threw his arms around him. 'It is your father who should be here,' he said 'he was always too clever for me'."

At the age of 23 Les became manager at the Swanswell Pub in Coventry and promoted tournaments for charity. After war service in the RAF he was manager of pubs in Birmingham before returning to Coventry where he died in 1979.

His younger son Walter is a retired builder who lives in Tile Hill and is a leading Crown Green bowler for the Standard Club and his daughter Mrs Janet Goudie is a retired social worker who lives at Fillongley.