Darkie Ellis

Cyril Hills, under the professional name of Darkie Ellis, was a British professional boxer, from 1931 to 1940. He was at various times a welterweight; middleweight and light-heavyweight, and fought in 91 professional bouts. He was promoted as "middleweight champion of England". He represented England at a tournament in Antwerp, Belgium on 21 March 1939. He served in the military in the Second World War. Ellis, who was black, married a white woman from Bridlington, Yorkshire, Joyce, and retired there. They had two daughters. He died at the age 32. His wife later remarried. A collection of Ellis memorabilia, owned by his grand-daughter, was shown on the BBC programme Antiques Roadshow in December 2008.