Darkie Ellis

{{short description|British professional boxer, from 1929 to 1940}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox boxer

| name = Darkie Ellis

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| birth_name = Cyril Hills

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|12|15|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Belper, Derbyshire, England

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1946|12|14|1914|12|15|df=yes}}

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| total = 91

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Darkie Ellis (born Cyril Hills; 15 December 1914 – 14 December 1946) was a British professional boxer, from 1931 to 1940.{{cite web|url=http://www.boxinghistory.org.uk/Boxer_Darkie_Ellis_Manchester.htm|title=Darkie Ellis (Manchester)|accessdate=20 May 2016}} He was the son of William Hills and Elizabeth Farnsworth. His birth was registered in the December quarter of 1914.{{cite web|url=http://www.ancestry.co.uk/boards/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=3045&p=surnames.gibbs|last=Atsulamui|first=Joyce|title=Re: Cyril (Darkie) Ellis|date=28 December 2011|website=Ancestry|accessdate=29 January 2018}}

He was at various times a welterweight; middleweight and light-heavyweight, and fought in 91 professional bouts. He was promoted as "middleweight champion of England".{{Cite episode |series=Antiques Roadshow |series-link=Antiques Roadshow |title=Bridlington |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gg0xz |network=BBC |series-no=31 |number =16 |accessdate=20 May 2016}} He represented England at a tournament in Antwerp, Belgium on 21 March 1939.

He served in the military in the Second World War.

Ellis, who was black, married a white woman from Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, Joyce, and retired there.{{cite web|url=http://www.bridlingtonfreepress.co.uk/news/local/former-pub-landlady-dies-1-1712489|title=Former pub landlady dies|publisher=Bridlington Free Press|accessdate=20 May 2016}} They had two daughters. He died in his early thirties.[https://books.google.com/books?id=9ER8DgAAQBAJ&dq=Darkie+Ellis+1946&pg=PA146 More than just a name, p. 146] His wife later remarried.

A collection of Ellis memorabilia, owned by his granddaughter, was shown on the BBC programme Antiques Roadshow in December 2008.