Veteran jockey Bob Champion makes appeal to fans after lifetime of photos destroyed in fire
'All the the photos were in my car and they went up in smoke. It's devastating'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A jockey who beat testicular cancer and went on to win the Grand National is making an urgent appeal to fans after a major fire in a Liverpool car park destroyed a lifetime of his precious photographs.
Bob Champion's car was one of 1,600 vehicles destroyed in a massive blaze at a multi-storey car park next to the Liverpool Echo Arena on 31 December.
The 69-year-old had scores of photographs from throughout his career stored in his car as he was due to take them to his publisher for his forthcoming autobiography.
Mr Champion's story captivated the nation in the early 80s when he won the Aintree race on Aldaniti, just two years after being diagnosed with cancer.
He went on to launch The Bob Champion Cancer Trust, which has raised millions of pounds and gone on to fund two research laboratories at the Royal Marsden and Norwich Science Park.
The veteran jockey is now making an urgent appeal to fans to track down and replace some of the treasured photographs, including pictures with the late actor John Hurt, who played him in the film Champions, which was based on his life.
"I was at the Liverpool Show for the Shetland ponies Grand National for the Bob Champion Cancer Trust and I was going back to the publishers the next morning," he told the Racing Post.
"So all the the photos were in there – press cuttings and things I'd saved for years – they went up in smoke. It's devastating."
Anyone who can help Mr Champion replace his lost photos is asked to email bob@bobchampion.co.uk.
His autobiography is due for release on 13 April.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments