#

Statue to Honour Billy Boston
Y Pwyllgor Deisebau | 13 Mehefin 2017 Petitions Committee | 13 June 2017
 

 

 

 


Research Briefing:

Petition number: P-05-758

Petition title: Statue to honour Billy Boston

Text of petition:

“We call on the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to honour British & Welsh sporting legend Billy Boston with a statue in Cardiff Bay.

He was born & raised in the docks area of Cardiff and it is about time that his sporting achievements were recognised by his home town & country.

At the beginning of his rugby career he was ignored by his home town club Cardiff RFC and as a result he never achieved his dream of playing at the arms. Cardiff & Wales loss was Wigan's gain as Billy went on to score 478 tries in 487 appearances for the club, some of the other highlights of his career are:

Three Challenge Cups and an RFL Championship title in 1960; 24 tries in 31 appearances for Great Britain; and he was a member of the team that won the 1960 World Cup.

Wigan have recently honoured him with a statue and there is also a statue at Wembley stadium highlighting his impact and status within rugby league.

CIAC's RFC (Billy's first club) are willing to help in way we can with fundraising etc., and we have a current player who is a sculptor who would be more than happy to be involved in the project.

It is time previous wrongs are put right and Billy is given the respect and honour he deserves from Cardiff and Wales, and what better to do that than with a statue in the area of Cardiff where he was born and raised.”

 

Background

A number of sources of funding could be pursued for a statue such as this. The Research Service has produced a number of guides for constituents, signposting sources of funding and advice. The following may be relevant to this petition:

§    Community buildings, places of workshop and faith groups - a guide for constituents 

§    Assistance for the arts - a guide for constituents

In addition, Welsh Government tourism funding may be relevant to this proposal, as mentioned below.

Welsh Government action

The Welsh Government has previously provided funding for statues. In 2012 the then Minister for Culture and Sport (Huw Lewis AM) provided £5,000 to help build a statue of former Cardiff City player Fred Keenor, who captained the team to win the FA Cup in 1927.

The Welsh Government provides funding for proposals that will develop tourism through its Tourism Product Innovation Fund. Further information, including eligibility criteria, is available on the Welsh Government’s Business Wales website here. 

Every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this briefing is correct at the time of publication. Readers should be aware that these briefings are not necessarily updated or otherwise amended to reflect subsequent changes.