English Woman's Journal - Billy Boston, 90, becomes rugby league's first knight

Weather - London 14°C

Billy Boston, 90, becomes rugby league's first knight

THINGS TO KNOW 10.06.2025

Billy Boston, 90, becomes rugby league's first knight / Photo: Aaron Chown - POOL/AFP

Billy Boston has become the first knight in rugby league's 130-year history after being honoured by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.

Change text size:

Boston, 90, who stared for Wigan and Great Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, was a trailblazer for black sportsmen and one of rugby league's greatest-ever players.

He scored 478 tries in 488 matches for Wigan after making the switch from rugby union in 1953.

The ceremony came before the King's Birthday Honours List was publicly announced over concerns for the former player's health. Boston has vascular dementia.

"Billy Boston is a true trailblazer whose contributed hugely to rugby league," said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

"It is a historic wrong that a sport which is the backbone of so many communities has waited so long to receive this honour.

"Boston is a legend of the game who overcame prejudice to represent Great Britain and opened the door to a more diverse game."

The knighthood came after a campaign lead by local politicians and senior rugby league figures.

Wigan Warriors owner Mike Danson said: "Without doubt Billy was a player who was –- and still is –- the biggest crowd favourite in rugby league."

B.Mclean--EWJ

Featured

Disgraced Prince Andrew may face more legal woes: UK biographer

Scandal-hit Prince Andrew could face more legal woes, his biographer Andrew Lownie told AFP Monday, as the British royal family braces for more damaging revelations in a posthumous memoir written by his accuser Virginia Giuffre.

UK lawmakers urge govt to strip Prince Andrew of his titles

UK lawmakers stepped up calls Monday for the government to formally strip Prince Andrew of his titles, as the royal family braced for even more damaging revelations in his accuser Virginia Giuffre's upcoming posthumous memoir.

Clean Air Metals Drilling Confirms Down-Plunge Extension of the Escape Deposit

THUNDER BAY, ON / ACCESS Newswire / October 20, 2025 / Clean Air Metals Inc. ("Clean Air Metals" or the "Company") (TSX.V:AIR)(FRA:CKU)(OTCQB:CLRMF) is pleased to announce that its 2025 summer drilling program at the Company's 100%-owned Thunder Bay North Critical Minerals Project ("TBN") has confirmed the continuation of the Escape Deposit into a previously untested 2.5 km long magnetic anomaly that connects to the known mineral resources. The single hole completed during this program intersected high-tenor sulphide mineralization having comparable thickness and metal grades to the existing Escape Deposit resource. Given its significant size, the Escape down-plunge target represents the highest potential resource addition opportunity for the TBN project.

Kenya buries long-time opposition leader Raila Odinga

Kenya's long-time opposition leader Raila Odinga was buried in a state funeral in the west of the country on Sunday after days of commemorations attended by tens of thousands.

Change text size: