Bert Williams: A fitting tribute to a true legend

Terry was among hundreds who queued in the pouring rain to say a final farewell to the English footballing giant, who lived much of his life in Shropshire.

They gathered to showed just how much Bert had meant to them, at a special service to commemorate his achievements.

"I got to know him very well," said Terry. "He's been my hero since 1949. I used to take him a birthday cake every year and he always appreciated it. He was without doubt the greatest goalkeeper that Wolves ever had."

The life of the former Wolves, Walsall and England player, who served at RAF Cosford during the war and lived much of his life in Shifnal was celebrated in Wolverhampton yesterday, with fans and famous faces from the world of football coming together to pay their respects.

Footballing greats, including England World Cup winners, braved fierce winds and a torrential downpour to pack out the city's St Peter's church.

Among them was one-time Telford United manager Gordon Banks, who described Bert as one of the greatest goalkeepers he had ever seen.

"I used to go and watch him and it helped me just by looking at him," he said.

"For his height and weight, his agility was incredible. I don't know where he got it from, I wish I could have been as agile myself. He was remarkable and I learned so much from him."

Several Wolves goalkeepers through the ages were also in attendance to pay their own tribute.

Wayne Hennessey, who recently left to join Premier League Crystal Palace, Phil Parkes, former Shrewsbury Town boss Fred Davies, Malcolm Finlayson and Mick Kearns – better known for his long service with neighbours Walsall – were all inside the church.

They joined Wolves favourites including Peter Knowles, John McAlle, Gerry Taylor and record scorer Steve Bull.

Club England chief executive Adrian Bevington represented the national team, for which Bert played 24 times.

"It is really important as a national association that we show our respects to someone who was a tremendous servant to English football as a top class international player who played in a World Cup and for a club as great as Wolves and during their greatest era," he said.

"I was too young to remember it but he is one of the famous clutch of players from the 1950s that people talk about along with Billy Wright, Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney and Wilf Mannion – he is in that bracket of classic players.

"This is a fitting tribute to such a great person who contributed so much to the game through his life."

Around 700 people were at the church for the service, with many having to sit upstairs.

It was led by The Rev David Wright, club chaplain, who said it was a 'fitting tribute from the city'.

"It's a celebration of his life and that's what the family want," he said. "A lot of people are here for him as a person as well as a footballer. That says so much about him."

Wolves Vice President Baroness Rachael Heyhoe Flint, who as a youngster in the 1950s had a spell working with Bert in his sports shop, read a bible passage from John 1-6 and 27, which was chosen by the Williams family.

She said: "Bert was a real legend. He was so wonderful I will always remember his smile."

Reflections of Bert's life were recounted by television presenters Bob Hall and Ian Winter, who got to know the goalkeeping icon in his later years.

Rev Wright also spoke about Bert's life and his illustrious career. A poem called If I Should Go by Joyce Grenfell was read out by David Crawshaw, the husband of Bert's daughter Ann, followed by hymn Battle of the Republic.

Tania Williams, the wife of Bert's youngest son Paul, read out another poem prior to the commendation and the singing of the hymn 'Jerusalem', and the congregation left the church to the sounds of Land of Hope and Glory.

An eight-page order of service, packed with pictures of Bert, showed him not only in his goalkeeping days but also posing happily in family pictures which his late wife Evelyn and their children Ann, Vaughan, Paul and grandchildren.

In a stellar career, Bert played 420 times for Wolves from 1945 to 1957, a club record for a goalkeeper that stood until 1999.

He won the FA Cup in 1949, Wolves' first League championship title in 1954 and was part of the famous floodlit friendly matches against Honved, Moscow Dynamo and Moscow Spartak that were a forerunner to the modern-day Champions League.

After hanging up his boots, he was just as successful in business, running sports shops in, building a sports centre with goalkeeping coaching and cricket nets, and owning and letting out a string of factories and offices.

When his beloved wife of 60 years Evelyn died in 2002, he devoted his time to raising money for the Alzheimer's Society, reaching his target of £100,000, and was awarded the MBE for services to charity and football in 2010.

His family said they had been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love since his death on January 19.

Son-in-law David Crawshaw said: "It has been a great comfort to the family to learn just how much Bert meant to everybody – we have found it quite overwhelming really.

"I think it has brought home to them all just how well-known he was and how admired he was by football fans from all over really.

"We have had cards from abroad as well as at home and the funeral on Friday was very touching.

"It's the thing they never quite realised about Bert because he was always just 'dad' to everyone. They have been rather amazed at all of this.

"But I think Bert would have enjoyed it. In his later years, he enjoyed his fame. As everyone knows he was quite a modest man but it was nice little pick-me-up for him whenever he got the opportunity to talk about his playing days."