Rare American boxing inscription and autograph, 1918, included in: First World War autograph/memorabilia book, with Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry interest. The rare inscription with autograph is of Johnny Kilbane (1889-1957), the American boxing legend who was World Featherweight Champion for a record 11 years, from 1912-23. In Kilbane's hand: "Here's to it and to it again/If you don't do it, when you get a chance to do it, you may never get to it to do it again/All good wishes/Johnny Kilbane/Sgt Major American Aviation Corps/Featherweight Champion of the World/24-3-18." The book was apparently compiled by Sergeant J. R. Roberts of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. The book has about 50 signed inscriptions and paintings by injured soldiers from various British regiments and by a number of nurses, who were at the Maudsley Military Hospital at Camberwell, London and the King's College Military Hospital, which was sited opposite it. Both hospitals are mentioned a number of times in the book, and Sergeant Roberts' military service record shows that he was a patient at the King's College Hospital.

Johnny Kilbane's inscription is intriguing and important, and relates to a phase of his life previously unknown to his descendants, whom the vendor contacted and informed about his research. The United States Army Air Service, before it was established on 24 May 1918, was known as Aviation Section, Signal Corps. It seems that Kilbane was attached to this section, and that the "Aviation Corps" of his inscription is his shortened version. A large number of US Army Aviation Section ground crews were sent to the UK on the Olympic (sister-ship to the Titanic), arriving at Liverpool on 5 March 1918. The squadrons were split into smaller "flights" and sent to train at different bases. The US Army Air Service men arrived in the UK just 19 days before Kilbane's inscription. This is speculation, but it seems likely that Kilbane was sent over with the men to train them in boxing skills, similar to the training duties he is known to have performed at Camp Sherman, Ohio, where he trained American soldiers in fitness and self-defence from October 1917 (qty)