Outside of his job, Harry put his abundant energies into various sporting activities, including sculling, swimming, boxing and cycling. He was a member of the West London Rowing Club and won several prizes for swimming at the St. James’s Club. At the age of eighteen, he joined the West End Boxing Club.
He and his friends enjoyed travelling to Brighton and back on their penny-farthing cycles, leaving early in the morning and getting back to London at seven or eight at night. It must have been quite some feat back then, perched on a tiny saddle above the huge spoked front wheel, some 5 ft in diameter, with its solid rubber tyre and no gears. The London to Brighton bike ride is now an annual event, and quite a challenge for many even today on a conventional modern bicycle.
But Harry’s main enthusiasm was for boxing; at only 5 foot 1 inch in height though, and weighing just 8 stone he was extremely disadvantaged because at the time there were only three fighting classes, light (over 9 stone), middle, and heavy. But Harry completely ignored such considerations and battered many a taller and heavier opponent into submission!
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