This week Bill Carne went across to the superb new headquarters of Pembroke & Pembroke Dock Amateur Boxing Club and met up with Chris McEwen, who has worked so hard to obtain the necessary funding to help them finally find a suitable home of their own . . .
 
There was great delight amongst the sporting fraternity in the south of the county last when, after many years as enforced nomads, the Pembroke and Pembroke Dock Amateur Boxing Club finally settled into its new home in the old snooker hall and fitness suite in Water Street in the Pater town.
 
Small wonder then that coaches Ralph Gammer, Nathan Probert and Andy Edmondson were delighted because they now have space aplenty, not only for their sparring ring, wall-fitted punch bags and speed balls but are able to execute circuit training and generally have room to breathe in nice surroundings.
 
Joining them in their delight is Chris McEwen who, with business partner Rhian Cowan, obtained the necessary grant funding to purchase the large building and is the overall chairman of the club - and what he hopes will be a centre for a variety of other sports and activities to promote well-being for the towns and their environs.
 
Chris originally hails from Portsmouth and came to our county with the Royal Air Force and settled here since his wife Elaine is a local girl. They have two sons in Lewis (21), who used to play football but is now looking forward to going off to university, and Rhys (18) who has recently returned from a snowboarding course and hopes to be an instructor in the winter sport.
 
During his time in HM Forces he had boxed (but admits that he loved the hard training more than anything else) and played football in Scotland and other places he was stationed - so when he settled into this area he decided he wanted to put something back into sport and dipped his toes, so to speak, with a few visits to the club.
 
But two years ago he suffered a life-changing accident and was told he couldn't run anymore and decided that instead of sitting back and feeling sorry for himself he would really plough his energy into helping the boxing club out of their tired old headquarters.
 
"So I began my trawl of areas where I could obtain funding through grants and I must admit that I have received terrific help in obtaining the necessary £120,000, especially with some support from the 14th Signals Regiment at Brawdy.
 
"So we now have a secure home for the boxing club and as well as that we have been joined by Aaron Hoskings and his colleagues from the local power-lifting club, who are using one of the many rooms available - and we are currently negotiating with Mikey Newman, from the local Free Running group, about their using of the facilities and the chance to develop the first Welsh Academy of that exciting new activity."
 
The delight at the boxing club is evident and Nathan Probert, a great club man who travels over 25 miles each evening to train the boxers and doesn't take a penny for it, told us.
"The facilities are now second to none thanks to Chris McEwan and as well as having 16 boxers with medical cards that enable them to take to the ring, we also have several others soon to be 'carded' and upwards of 45 regulars, including girls, who love to use the facilities for fitness or relaxing after a hard day's work.
"We have boxers like my son James, who is ranked third in the world in the 48kgs class, and Ryan Christopher, both ready to challenge for British titles, and 11 year old John ‘Sarge’ Probert as one to watch out for in the future."
 
"We also have real strength in depth in our coaching set-up because as well as Ralph, Andy and I we now have  Ian Grant and former head coach Roy Witts, back from North America and lending his vast experience to us.
 
Outside of the boxing club, Chris also has plans for more use by the community and is willing to consider it as a venue for recruitment to HM Forces.
"They gave me a good start in life and with high unemployment it might be a chance for young people in the area to consider following me into the forces - and we have also had a youngster brought in by the local police community support officers who has started to develop nicely since he joined us, so there might be links as well with the Job Centre and local college for work experience.
 
"There used to be a tattoo shop next to us and we eventually hope to use it as a 'Sports Protein Bar' to encourage healthy eating and raise awareness of what constitutes good food, using my experience as an RAF chef.
 
The club has also installed CCTV security cameras recently and Chis told us,
"The Welsh Amateur Boxing Association were impressed when we told them about this development, their first in any Welsh club, and are now suggesting to other clubs across Wales that they might like to consider following suit.
 
"We haven't had our official opening yet because there still areas that need a little touching up with regard to painting but that will come soon so that local people can see what we have on offer to others, perhaps like the Parkinson's Disease Group with a view to helping with motor skills, or our senior citizens to use during the day.
 
“We have also been delighted to receive young visitors from two local schools and would be happy to work with them in the future - so there is much we could do for the community in years to come.
 
“But in the meanwhile we are delighted to see our young boxers having the training
facilities they deserve and seeing the name of Pembroke and Pembroke Dock Amateur Boxing Club growing to even greater stature than it already holds across the county and even further afield to places like Germany, Southern Ireland and all parts of England and Wales
.
It is indeed a wonderful treat to see such excellent training headquarters for a thoroughly decent club and we wish Chris McEwen, Nathan Probert, Ralph Gammer, Andy Edmundson and the rest at Pembroke and Pembroke Dock Amateur Boxing Club continued success!