Randall Burnell 'Barry' Watkins (30 November 1921–20 June 2004) was an association footballer, who played in The Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 for Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers F.C.

Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....

 after the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Having been born in Bedlinog

Bedlinog

Bedlinog is a small village located in the Taff Bargoed Valley 10 km north of Pontypridd, 10 km west of Caerphilly and 10 km south east of Merthyr Tydfil in south-east Wales...

, South Wales, Watkins played local football for Merthyr and Bedlinog before joining Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

 as an amateur wartime player in 1939. Towards the end of the conflict he joined Bristol Rovers, also as an amateur, before becoming a part-time professional with the club in October 1945. He went on to make 116 League appearances for The Pirates and scored seven goals, playing as both an inside forward

Inside forward

In football, the position of inside forward was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries. The inside forwards would support the centre forwards, running and making space in the opposition defence, and, as the passing game developed, supporting him with passes...

 and a full back

Defender (association football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 during this spell, before finally retiring from football in 1957, aged 35.

He remained a part-time pro throughout his football career, combining this with a job in the engines division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company

Bristol Aeroplane Company

The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...

 in Patchway

Patchway

Patchway is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, situated northwest of central Bristol. The town is a housing overflow for Bristol being contiguous to Bristol's urban area, and is often regarded as a large outer suburb. Nearby are the other Bristol satellite towns of Filton and Bradley Stoke....

. He died in June 2004.

Sources