Bella Burge

Bella Burge (born Leah Belle Orchard; 29 September 1877 – 3 September 1962) was an American-born British music hall performer and actress and friend and colleague of Marie Lloyd and her sisters. Later in life she was the world's first female boxing promoter

Marriage In June 1901 at the age of 24 she met Richard "Dick" Burge (1865—1918), a former professional boxer and English Lightweight Champion between 1891 and 1897 who had fought unsuccessfully for the World Lightweight Title in 1896 and who had also boxed for the English Middleweight and Heavyweight Crowns. Dick Burge quickly found himself in financial difficulties and to remedy this he made the mistake of joining the Liverpool Bank Fraud, a scheme which involved using the cash obtained from forged cheques to make high-stake bets at racecourses. The fraudulent scheme was quickly uncovered by the authorities, and having only been married for three weeks Dick Burge was arrested in October 1901 for his part in the fraud and received a sentence of 10 years with hard labour. Bella Burge returned to her former career in the music halls, appearing as Ella Lane, performing and saving as much of her salary as she could until her husband was released from prison in 1909. Nevertheless, the building's circular design made it ideal for a boxing venue.

In 1915 during World War I Dick Burge enlisted in the 1st Surrey Rifles, leaving Bella to manage their boxing business alone. Later transferring to the Military Police, he died of pneumonia in the Spanish flu epidemic on 15 March 1918, and after his death Bella continued to manage The Ring, maintaining its reputation as London’s leading fight venue for twenty years after her husband's death. At first she worked with Ted Pritchard, her late husband’s business partner, and after his death in 1925 she appointed Dan Sullivan as general manager, a boxing promoter with links to the London-based mobster Charles Sabini. In 1928 the Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward VIII, requested for a boxing contest to be arranged at The Ring between Jack Hood and Len Johnson. The Prince was very interested in boxing and had a desire to visit The Ring, so the bout was specially arranged for his visit. and live theatre.

Bella Burge died in Blackfriars in London in 1962 aged 84. She was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium where her ashes are held in a marble urn with those of her husband.

A play based on her life, Bella – Queen of the Blackfriars Ring, was performed at the Unity Theatre in Liverpool in 2014.