Ivor Allchurch

Youth and wartime

Allchurch was playing local youth football at under-18 Cwm Level Park when he was spotted by Joe Sykes, a scout who worked for Swansea Town under the management of Haydn Green. Following a match, Sykes approached Allchurch, who was only 14 at the time, and asked for his name and address, visiting the family home soon after where he reached an agreement with Allchurch's father that he would join the club when he turned 15 as an amateur and train two days a week. During his time as an amateur at the club, Allchurch was approached on two occasions by scouts from Football League sides to sign for different clubs but turned the moves down as he did not want to break the verbal agreement that he and his father had made to sign for the Swans. In 1948, when he had turned 18, Allchurch was called up to start his National Service and enlisted as a gunner in the British Army. Stationed in Oswestry, he continued to play football for the representative sides of his unit and Western Command. His performances for the teams in November 1948 attracted the attention of Shrewsbury Town manager Leslie Knighton who signed Allchurch to represent the side in the Midland Football League during his military service, describing him as "a future star". He made his debut at Gay Meadow in the same month and remained with the club for the rest of the 1948–49 season. During his time at the club, Knighton turned down numerous offers from Football League sides for Allchurch, as he…

Allchurch was called up to the Wales senior squad for the first time at the age of 21, having made just 30 senior league appearances for Swansea, making his international debut in a 4–2 defeat to England on 15 November 1950 at Roker Park in the 1950–51 British Home Championship. He would remain a regular fixture in the Wales side, making a further 26 consecutive appearances for his country after his debut over the following six years, and was part of the squad that qualified for the 1958 FIFA World Cup by defeating Israel in a play-off match, scoring in both legs of the tie. He was chosen in the squad for the finals in Sweden and scored seven times in a 19–0 victory over a local amateur side during a warm-up match. He played in all three of Wales' group matches, scoring in a 1–1 draw with Mexico, and scored their first goal in a 2–1 victory over Hungary in a play-off match to reach the quarter-finals. They lost 1–0 to eventual winners Brazil in the quarter-finals following a goal from Pelé. Following the tournament, Wales international Dave Bowen commented that they had "surprised a lot of people" with their performance and also praised Allchurch, stating "they looked at Ivor and wondered where he had been hiding. He could have played for any of the teams out there, including Brazil". In 1962, he won his 50th international cap in a match against Scotland, becoming Wales' most capped player of all-time having overtaken the previous record holder Billy Meredith. He played his…

Ivor John Allchurch was born on Waun-wen Road in Swansea on 16 October 1929. His parents, Charles Wilfried Allchurch and Mabel Sarah Allchurch (née Miller), were originally from Dudley in Worcestershire but had moved to South Wales during the Post–World War I recession in search of work, following Mabel's parents to the Swansea area. His father had worked as a banksman in Dudley but found employment in Swansea as a furnace man. Allchurch was the sixth of seven children, with two sisters and four brothers, who grew up in a three bedroomed house on Landeg Street in Plasmarl. Including his parents and his siblings, the house was home to eleven people, including his step brother Willie and his niece Christine who was raised by Allchurch's mother. As a child, he attended Plasmarl School, leaving at the age of 14 to find work. After leaving, Allchurch worked in an office at Baldwin's Foundry, a company that manufactured bomb casings, but grew frustrated in the role and quickly looked to move on. He instead took up work as a porter in a local fish market, after noticing that the younger boys working there were frequently allowed early finishes during winter time due to a lack of stock in wartime which allowed them to play football on a regular basis. The job also allowed him to supplement his income as each worker was allowed to take any remaining stock to sell of their own accord once a week, a task that Allchurch would undertake with his brother Len. Allchurch's brothers were…

Following his return from national service, Allchurch became engaged to Esme Thomas who was 16 at the time, the couple keeping their engagement secret from their parents until she turned 18. The pair publicly revealed their engagement when she turned 18 and eventually married in 1953, settling in the Mumbles district of Swansea. The couple had two sons, John and David. Following Allchurch's transfer to Newcastle in 1958, the family relocated to Kenton, Newcastle upon Tyne. He was named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year in 1962 and, in 1966, he was awarded a Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his services to Welsh football. He is also a member of the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame and the English Football Hall of Fame having been inducted in 1995 and 2005 respectively. Allchurch and his wife moved to a bungalow in Bishopston, Swansea after his retirement from professional football and he worked as a storeman for a stationery company. He died on 10 July 1997 at his home aged 67. His funeral was held at Swansea Crematorium and attracted over 500 people. To celebrate Allchurch's achievements for his local club, it was originally decided that money should be raised for a bust of him, which was raised by Swansea City supporters. However, the strong support eventually saw the plans changed to incorporate a statute outside their stadium. In 2005, a life-sized statue of Allchurch was unveiled outside Swansea's newly opened Liberty Stadium.