Fred Keenor, Welsh and British Hero of Football and Two World Wars - plus Liz Taylor and more about what to see in Wales

Statue of Welsh Foodball player, Keenor, in front of Cardiff Stadium, Wales, UK

I had never heard of Fred Keenor when I read that his statue had been placed outside Cardiff Stadium in Wales. Keenor was a keen football player who was one of eleven children and so poor that they could not not afford a football but played with tennis balls and bunches of rags. As a child he shared a room in a typical Welsh terraced house with three others in the bedroom, no electricity and an outside toilet.

However, despite all his disadvantages, his enthusiasm for football inspired others and the team he played in reached first division.
Wartime Trials
In World War II he was at the battle of the infamous and relentless battle of the Somme, in trenches filled with rats and raining shrapnel. His leg was so badly injured that doctors considered amputating it.
After the war he married and had seven children.

WWII
World War two when he was too old to be at the front lines brought no respire. Two of his sons were killed and after the war he travelled to France to see where one of his sons had been shot down.
he developed diabetes. Throughout his life he and his wife continued to work and literally feed themselves and others, growing vegetables and raising poultry to sell at Christmas. Alas his wife died when there was a gas leak and he was lucky to survive it.

I can relate to this. We had gas smells for years in my house. We were told that it was just the Years  flue. Years later we called the gas company again. this time the gas pipe was re-routed outside the house instead of along the inside. I have pictures of our garden dug up by the gas company.
later in life he continued working despite the problems with his diabetes, at one point walking five miles to work - with a leg severely injured in WWI.

Keenor's surviving sons included two who went on in the football world.
Truly a remarkable character with an extraodinary life.

If you are passing though Cardiff and go to reflect on the determination of this man to work and play and make the best of life.


What else is there to see in Wales for a tourist? Sites associated with Dylan Thomas, a whole trail, not just the boathouse where he lived with his wife. If you take the train to Wales from Paddington, London, on Paddington station you will see the statue on the station of Brunel who built the railway, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and railway right across Wales to the port where the ship he built linked Britain and Europe to the USA.

What To See And Do In Wales
The final stop of that section of the railway is Fishguard Bay where you can catch a boat across to Ireland, or stay at the clifftop Fishguard Bay Hotel and read about how Liz Taylor and Richard Burton appeared in movies filmed here, such as Moby Dick and Dylan's Thomas's Under Milk Wood.

Poster of Liz Taylor and Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole in Under Milk Wood, by Dylan Thomas.

Every February a writers' Holiday takes places in the hotel. Arrive early for breakfast or dinner if you want to get a romantic window seat at a table for two overlooking the bay.

Fishguard Bay Hotel. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

If you drive, you will see Welsh bilingual signs on the road and plaques about local history. If you take the train you will see bilingual signs in English and Welsh on the stations. Wales is a wonderful green break, with white sheep on the green hillsides in Springtime. Train fares vary according to season and you can reduce the price by booking early, changing your day of travel or taking time to shop around and taking a different route and seeing even more of this cute little country. It's the land of legends, the red dragon on the flag,

Welsh cakes, if you buy them on the train, cold, save them until you get home. They are half way between a pancake and a scone, delicious served hot or warm with melting butter.

Which Welsh characters do you already know? You might know Dylan Thomas the poet, Richard Burton the actor, Katherine Zeta-Jones the actress, singers such as Jones.

Another feature of Wales is the male voice choirs. But Wales is not all about men and mining and football. In Fishguard you can see the long embroidery featuring the indominatable Welsh ladies in red dressed and black hats who captured the invading French soldiers a few hundred years back.

Useful Websites
Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Wikitravel, Tripadvisor, Welsh Tourist Board, Cardiff Tourist Board
Fishguard Bay. Fishguard Bay Hotel, Writers Holiday. Duolingo to learn Welsh. You will see

Wales
About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. I have many more posts, on Fishguard, Brunel, Wales, learning languages, the UK and the world. Please share links to your favourite posts.