Walley Barnes

He was born in Brecon to English parents as his father who was a soldier, was at the time stationed there. Barnes initially played as an inside-forward for Southampton in wartime games, making 32 appearances between 1941 and 1943, scoring 14 goals in all

By 1948 Barnes had also become a regular for Wales, winning his first cap against England on 18 October 1947, where he was given the unenviable task of having to mark Stanley Matthews; England won 3–0 and the young Barnes was given a harsh footballing lesson by Matthews. Unbowed, Barnes went on to win 22 caps, and became captain of his country.

During the last two years of his playing career, Barnes was also manager of the Welsh national team, being in the role between May 1954 and October 1956. He was one of many signatories in a letter to The Times on 17 July 1958 opposing 'the policy of apartheid' in international sport and defending 'the principle of racial equality which is embodied in the Declaration of the Olympic Games'. He entered the world of broadcasting, joining the BBC. He presented coverage of FA Cup finals and, with Kenneth Wolstenholme, was one of the commentators for the very first edition of Match of the Day in 1964. He also assisted Wolstenholme in the live commentary to the 1966 World Cup final of England versus Germany to which he provided sporadic expert opinion. Barnes wrote his autobiography, titled Captain of Wales which was published in 1953. He continued to serve the BBC in various capacities, until his death in a London hospital, at the age of 55, in 1975.

Arsenal

Football League First Division: 1947–48 FA Cup: 1949–50; runner-up: 1951–52 FA Charity Shield: 1948, 1953