Shropshire Wolves legend Bert Williams off to get his MBE
Monday 8th November 2010, 12:35PM GMT.
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Wolves legend Bert Williams set off in style with a cheeky joke as he headed for Buckingham Palace to receive his MBE from the Queen.
The 90-year-old said as he left his Shifnal home in a stretch limo: “I’m thinking of speaking to Her Majesty in a broad Black Country accent and saying: ‘Ow bin yow Liz?’”
Bert, wearing a Wolves scarf, added: “I’m not nervous because I don’t know what to expect but it’s a tremendous honour and I could not feel more proud.”
Seven close friends joined the former England goalkeeper for the short ride to Cosford railway station where he was met by his children, Anne, Paul and Vaughan and their partners, who accompanied him to London.
“It was marvellous to win the League and FA Cup with Wolves and it was nice to play for England,” said Bert.
“But my greatest pleasure in life has been my family and friends and it is marvellous to be able to share this honour with them,” he added.
Bert, who has raised over £100,000 for the Alzheimer’s Society in memory of his late wife Evelyn, was awarded the MBE in The Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to football and charity.
He will be presented with it by The Queen during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace tomorrow.
Tonight he and his family will be guests of the former Wolverhampton MP Lord Bilston at a celebration dinner at the House of Lords.
Bert spent the majority of his playing career at Molineux, making 420 appearances in all competitions and winning the league title and the FA Cup.
Nicknamed “The Cat”, Bert also won 24 caps for England and played in the 1950 World Cup where the Three Lions were famously humbled 1-0 by a then fledgling USA side.
He is the oldest living English international to have played in a World Cup.
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