A LIVERPOOL FC legend who settled in Ellesmere Port was mourned by the Anfield crowd last week.

Bill Jones died aged 89 on Boxing Day and fans remembered his passing on Wednesday December 29 with a minute’s applause as the Reds lined up against Wolves.

Bill lived at The Oval, Ellesmere Port for some 60 years, first with wife Vera and since her death with daughter Jaqueline.

Bill, who was once playermanager of Ellesmere Port Town, passed away from natural causes at the Countess of Chester Hospital at 10pm on Boxing Day.

Bill, whose grandson Rob Jones played for Liverpool in the 1990s, stacked up 277 appearances and 17 goals during the 1940s and 1950s.

Rob, who runs children’s nurseries in Warrington, said: “When we went to see him on Christmas Eve he was fine.

“He was in The Cottage and we went to see him because he’d fallen over and broken his hip a couple of months before.

“On Boxing Day we got a phone call

“He wasn’t in any pain, that was the main thing.

“He was a quiet man, it was tough trying to get stuff out of him. It was only recently somebody told me he scored 17 goals for Liverpool.

“He was a gentleman and didn’t have a bad word to say about anyone. He adored my three kids. As soon as the kids walked in his eyes lit up.

“He had a good life.”

Bill sent both of his children, Peter and Jackie, through Stanney High and worked for many years at Monks in Stanlow.

With two England caps he joined Liverpool in 1938 but immediately saw some of the prime years of his career wiped out by the war.

By the time the Football League resumed ‘normal service’ on the last day of August 1946, Bill was 24 years old.

He immediately made up for lost time by helping his club win the First Division, playing in 26 of the 42 league matches.

Bill was a regular for the next seven seasons and was a versatile man who could play well in several positions.

He played in Liverpool’s first-ever Wembley FA Cup Final against Arsenal in 1950.

He went on to scout for Liverpool, his most famous catch being Roger Hunt who he spotted playing for Stockton Heath.

Rob said: “Roger always asks how my grandad is when I see him at the ground.”