CHARLIE WILLIAMS MBE

Scouring through the Barnsley Chronicle as one does on a Friday, I came across the name Charlie Williams, whom some of you will remember. Charlie's name crops on TV from time to time because he was a performer, a comedian who told tales in his thick Barnsley accent. He lived at Royston, a short trip from Oakwell, which is where I go occasionally for a sports' massage. Charlie was a centre half of the old school who played for Doncaster Rovers and always played within the spirit of the game.

On October 28th 1957, he played at Belle Vue (the old Donny ground) in a Division Two game against Barnsley before 19,000 supporters. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. The Barnsley team that day included Duncan Sharp, sadly no longer with us, who lived at the top of our Carlecotes village in the "Hall". Duncan made a bit of money from football and owned a business or two, so he invested wisely when he retired and therefore was able to become "lord of our manor". Duncan was a very modest man and I was lucky enough to meet him on his constitutional walks which he took daily. Duncan had been a bright scholar who studied the Classics and might have done something else rather that kick a pig's bladder about a field! He enjoyed talking about playing against Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney.

After playing 171 times between 1948 and 1957 for Donny and scoring 1 (ONE) goal against Barnsley at Oakwell, in a 1-1 draw on March 24th 1956, Charlie moved on. He went to Skegness Town and although the bracing sea air will have invigorated him, he eventually retired and began a career as a stand up comedian appearing in working men's clubs. His famous catchphrase, "Me old flower", caught on and in 1999 was awarded the MBE for his charity work. he died in 2006 aged 78.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHInGjkcxFc