“Khyber” – The Ben Williams Story

Everton FC lays claim to an impressive list of players who pulled on the famous red shirt of Wales. This cohort spans the eras, from the days of its joint-first professional, George Farmer in the 1880s, to Neville Southall in the 1980s and Gary Speed a decade later.

Unsurprisingly, due to the geographical proximity, many of the Merseyside club’s Welshman have hailed from the north of the nation – like Leigh Roose, Tom Griffiths, Tommy G. Jones, Roy Vernon, Kevin Ratcliffe, Barry Horne and the aforementioned Southall and Speed. Mid-Wales was represented by Kevin Sheedy, but he pulled on the international shirt of the land of his father. South Walians wearing the royal blue shirt have been relatively few and far between. Keith Webber, from Cardiff, made a handful of appearances in the early 1960s while Dai Davies was from Glanamman near Carmarthen. Mark Pembridge – affectionately dubbed Merthyr Maradona, gave doughty service to the Blues in the late 1990s and early 2000s. More recently, Simon Davies’ time at Goodison, after his arrival from Spurs, was disappointing for player and club.

We must go back nearly 100 years for, arguably the Blues’ best player from the Valleys. Penrhiwceiber, lying south of Aberpennar within the Cynon Valley was the birthplace of Benjamin David Williams on 29 October 1900. Ben’s father, Owen (originally from Caernarfonshire) was a coal miner at Nixons Colliery Co. Ben, living on Penybryn Terrace in the village, followed in his footsteps and was listed in the 1921 census as a below ground coal miner/hewer at the Penrhiwceiber Colliery Co.

In addition to demonstrating great promise at boxing in his youth, Ben played his first football on Glanbrook playing fields, going on to represent his hometown club in Welsh League competition. He was offered but declined amateur terms after a trial at Cardiff City but was offered an alternative route into the big time by Swansea Town in February 1925. A £25 transfer fee and a wage of £5 a week secured his services and he debuted at right-back for the Jacks at the tail end of the 1925/26 season. Described as ‘sturdy’, he was 5ft. 10ins, in height, and 12 ½ stone in weight. No doubt, his teenage pugilistic experience made him a football opponent to be approached with respect and no little trepidation.

Although hampered by injury at times, he racked up nearly 100 Swans appearances and earned a call up to the Welsh League XI which played the Irish Free State in April 1927. Seven months later came the first of four Welsh appearances while with the Vetch Field-based club. Replacing the great Moses Russell, he featured in a 2-1 win over an England side containing Dixie Dean and all, at Turf Moor.

Everton, league champions of 1927/28 - thanks in large part to the goalscoring prowess of Dixie Dean, were enduring a torrid 1930/30 season. After several scouting missions, the Toffees entered negotiations to sign 28-year-old Ben from the cash-strapped Swans, who, a few months previously, had invited offers for several players. Negotiations concluded at the end of the match between Swansea Town and Notts County on Boxing Day, £4,300 being the fee settled on. Everton then went back to Swansea a few days later to sign Lachlan McPherson, a wing-half. Ben was replaced at The Vetch by Sid Lawrence, another son of Penrhiwceiber who made over 300 league appearances and earned 8 international caps.

Ben’s new teammates wasted little time in teasing him over his strong accent - something he took with good grace. He was soon rechristened ‘Khyber’ – a humorous nod by the fellow Toffeemen to where he hailed from. He debuted for the Blues’ first team in an FA Cup victory over Carlisle United on 11 January. According to the Post and Mercury: ‘the new back opened up well, tackling stoutly and heading accurately’. In his nine outings, Ben - described as a very serious player - was unable to exert enough influence to see the Merseysiders beat the drop, and the founding members of the Football League found themselves facing second-tier football for the first time.

For the Blues first campaign in Second Division, the South Walian full-back was appointed captain, ostensibly on account of his experience in lower league football with Swansea, although his leadership skills in the troubled relegation season must have impressed the club’s directorate. With Ben now confirmed as the club’s first choice right-back, Warney Cresswell, a former England international in that position, moved over to the left flank.

‘Khyber’ led the Merseysiders back to the First Division at the first attempt, the Toffees also reaching the semi-final of the FA Cup. Back in the big time, Dixie Dean was installed as captain, but Ben remained integral to the team which would win the Football League Championship for the second time in four years – a remarkable turnaround after the humiliation of 1930. He would return home to Wales in the close season to see his family but, according to family recollections handed down, Dixie Dean would come to visit him in Penrhiwceiber on more than one occasion.

He took the captaincy of his national side when Fred Keenor stepped down, and led Wales to the Home Championship, with a defeat of Scotland in Edinburgh being a standout performance. In the wake of winning the competition, the proud skipper was presented with a dragon ornament by the FAW.

Alas, Ben's career was derailed on Boxing Day 1932 when he was carried off the pitch at Molyneux having suffered a severe knee injury. With cartilage surgery required for the Welshman, Everton moved swiftly to sign a replacement in Irishman Billy Cook from Celtic. In mid-February, the Evening Express newspaper reported on Ben’s recuperation:

‘It was a treat to see Ben Williams out training. Ben did not do sprinting, but was walking around the ground, as he termed it,” heel and toe.” He first rolled his trousers up to his ankles and then right up to his knee in order to give him more freedom. His trousers then reminded me of the improvised plus fours. When he caught sight of a ball, he could not resist the temptation to kick, and he did so with his left leg – the one on which the operation was performed. It stood the test. Dixie Dean then induced Ben to go in goal while Dean, Johnson, Bocking and Critchley forced in shot after shot from point-blank range. “That's the way to give him confidence,” said trainer Harry Cooke, as a mighty drive flashed over Ben's shoulder.’

Although just about fit by the season’s end, Ben was a mere spectator when the Toffees lifted the FA Cup at Wembley. He had been on standby for a sensational comeback, though, when Billy Cook was carpeted for breaking curfew on the eve of the match, but the directors, persuaded by Dixie Dean, gave the wayward Irishman a reprieve.

Having needed a second operation on the troublesome cartilage, after breaking down in training in August 1933, Ben returned to the Toffees first team in a 2-1 defeat of Chelsea in December 1933. The Evening Express correspondent, Pilot, noted: It was his 200th appearance for Everton, and after a shaky first half-an-hour he settled down to play with all his old-time brilliance. He required confidence at the outset, but once he had gained it, he was there with those wonderful intrepid tackles, the quick intervention and the sure-kick. It was a most encouraging reappearance.’ In spite of this encouraging report, it would only be in the final three months of that 1933/34 season that the full-back re-established himself as a regular in the Blues side. At the end of the season, he was in the Toffees party sailing to the Canary Islands for several matches to be played against CD Tenerife. He was captured on a number of photos taken by teammate Cliff Britton of the squad enjoying relaxation on the islands.

He went on to make a dozen appearances in the following, 1934/35 season, but age and the chronic knee issues had robbed him of some pace and mobility. He started the subsequent season as the club’s right back but played through the pain of a groin injury in a 6-0 defeat to Liverpool in September 1935 – being moved to right-wing for the second half. The injury put him out for a number of weeks and he would never reclaim a spot in the first eleven.

His international appearance tally reached a surprisingly modest 10, with three outings as captain. His first selection since the double knee surgery came in March 1935 in a team captained by former Everton clubmate Tom Griffiths (then of Middlesbrough). Sadly, the 3-1 defeat of Ireland at The Racecourse was overshadowed by Ben’s accidental collision with Everton teammate and Irish winger Jack Coulter, which resulted in the latter sustaining a badly broken leg. Williams was seen cradling his stricken clubmate until the trainer arrived on the scene. Thus, Ben bowed out from international football in the most maudlin of circumstances.

In the close season of 1936, having initially been placed on the transfer list at £500, Ben was granted a free transfer - a kind gesture in recognition of the yeoman club service rendered. He elected to return to his homeland, signing for Newport County, going on to make 18 Division Three (South) appearances in his customary defensive position. Although he would remain with the Newport side, he would not make any further senior appearances after his first season, instead he would focus on coaching, playing for the reserves, and scouting the valleys for promising footballing talent.

When the National Register was taken at the start of the Second World War, Ben was living with brother, Owen, and their widowed mother, Mary, at 4 Danygraig Villas, Mountain Ash. Apparently, he had used some of his career earnings to purchase houses for his parents and sister. In the Register he gave his occupation as ‘professional footballer’ - some two years since he’d last kicked a ball in anger as a Newport County first teamer. It was also noted on the forms submitted that he was in the Police War Reserve. Ben was a bachelor throughout his life, although there was no shortage of potential suitors for the village’s good-looking, yet shy, sporting celebrity. His brother Owen, meanwhile, was a notable character in the area, known as ‘dickie-bow’ on account of always wearing a bow tie.

A Liverpool Echo article in the 1950s reported that Ben had become ‘a prosperous businessman in his native Penrhiwceiber’. This was, probably, inaccurate. Certainly, by the mid-1950s he was employed at the local pithead, working as a ‘screener’ - someone who checked the quality of the coal hewn from the subterranean seams.

By the early 1960s, the former Everton star was residing at 5A Vaughan Terrace, the home of his sister, Blodwen (he had two other sisters: Lettie and Nellie). Sadly, he was living with dementia - although that word was not used at the time. He would wander up to the local shops and give away whatever money he had if people asked. As the condition worsened, he was admitted to an institution in Bridgend for those with mental health issues, and spent his final years there. Blodwen, who adored her brother, would take three buses to visit him every week and he would be brought home to stay for Christmas, but rarely spoke.

Ben Williams passed away on New Years Eve 1967, he was 67. For many years a framed photo of Ben with two young footballers from the area (Ray Walton and Ramsey Williams) adorned a wall in Penrhiwceiber Royal British Legion Club. We are not sure where it now hangs, but we have obtained a digital copy of the image for this presentation.

We will leave it to the words of noted Merseyside sports journalist ‘Stork’ to sum up Ben’s impact at Everton Football Club:

‘Ben Williams may not have been one of the scientists of football, but he was one of the most reliable defenders Everton ever had. His link-up play with Warney Cressell made the perfect partnership for Everton. Williams was a strong player, scrupulously fair, but a hard tackler. Such men are difficult to beat.’

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Author’s note: This item is adapted from an article written on behalf of Sporting Heritage for the National Eisteddfod, held in Pontypridd in 2024. It was translated into Welsh by Russell Todd and presented by Huw Marshall.

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to:

Linda Jones
Wayne Dixon
Malcolm Morgan
Russell Todd
Ceri Stennett
John Britton
Nick Jones (Wrexham Museums)
Huw Marshall

Sources used:

bluecorrespondent.co.uk
evertoncollection.co.uk
findmypast.co.uk
evertonresults.com
Liverpool Echo, Daily Post, Post and Mercury
The Cliff Britton Collection
Wrexham Museums (Nick Jones)
The Soccer Dragons – Ceri Stennett (1987)
The Everton Encyclopedia – James Corbett (2012)

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