Harry Hughes

Harry Hughes was born in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and raised on a farm. He loved football from when he was very young and played with his friends in the fields around the farm.

After school he did his national service with the parachute regiment, and joined the army football team.

On leaving the army he was signed to Southport for a few years, before he was spotted by a scout and moved to Chelsea in February 1951, making his First Division debut against Liverpool six months later.

It was at this time he met his future wife Joyce, while he and his fellow players were at a dance organised with a London youth club where she worked.

In June 1952 he went to Cherries on loan, which later became permanent, and there he scored twice in 78 League games.

Centre-half Hughes captained Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic in their giant-killing FA Cup run in 1957, which saw his Third Division side beat top flight teams Wolves and Spurs to reach the quarter finals. The Spurs game was described by reporters at the time as “the Cup upset of the century”, and left the team just two games away from Wembley and footballing glory.

He moved to play for Gillingham in July 1958, then Guildford City in July 1963, but an injured ankle put an end to his playing career.

He went on to manage Woking and Guildford, as well as coaching teams, including the England youth side and various clubs.

After several years living in Guildford the family moved to White Hart Lane, where he managed Spurs’ club shop for many years, also devoting his time to Christians in Sport. He was a regular churchgoer in Guildford, and his son Simon later became a church minister.

In his later years Mr Hughes increasingly suffered from the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and he and his wife moved to Weymouth in 2006 to be by the sea, which they had grown to love during their time in Bournemouth.