THE campaign raising funds for a statue to be erected in honour of Newport boxing champion David Pearce have revealed more details of where the statue will be sited.

The fundraising drive, which kicked off nearly two weeks ago, is looking to raise £30,000 to pay for the memorial to David ‘Bomber’ Pearce who was British and Welsh Heavyweight Champion in the 1980s and one the most successful boxers to come out of Newport.

The push to collect £30,000 has already raised £645 in the first few days since the campaign was launched.

The plan is for the statue of the fighter to be erected in the corner of Gilligan’s Island where George Street and Commercial meet. The site is home to the Merchant Navy and a memorial commemorating the end of the Second World War.

One of the people behind the campaign is David Pearce’s nephew, Luke Pearce. He says the planned site of the life-sized statue is a poignant one: “We want the place the statue so it looks towards St Joseph’s Boxing Club where David used to train. As well as this the statue will face the main police station, which is fitting because the police escorted his funeral in 2000 when thousands of people turned up.”

The campaign team was keen that the statue didn’t overshadow the two monuments already on Gilligan’s Island. “The size of the statue and where we hope to put it means it won’t overbear the two memorials already there” says Luke, who is a serving RAF officer. He added: “We’ve taken care to position it where it won’t affect parades or other events there.”

The campaign has already been backed by the Mayor of Newport Councillor David Atwell, with a number of other supporters joining the fundraising committee. They include Newport councillor Kevin Whitehead, businessmen Rob Santwris, Andrew Collingbourne, Nathan Hennah and Steve Morgan Associates.

You can support the campaign now by going to the crowdfunding website justgiving.com/crowdfunding/david-pearce

Cheques payable to ‘The David Bomber statue fund’ can be sent to: Cwm Cottage, Cwm Lane, Rogerstone, Newport NP10 9GQ.

South Wales Argus: David Pearce campaign