We just received this lovely letter from the Grandson of one of our former Players from Wales the late Great Les Williams.
Hi Stuart,
I hope you are well.
My name is Matt Williams and I am the grandson of an ex
Hunslet player, Les Williams. I believe Les played for Hunslet between 1949 and
1956.
I’ve been made aware of your site by another ex-player, Ken
Sykes. Despite being raised on the Isle of Wight, I moved to York 9yrs ago and
am now very good friends with Ken’s son, Andrew – he was an usher at my wedding
last October. I also work in Leeds so it’s funny how things can sometimes go
full circle.
I’ve found a couple of pictures which might be of interest
for the website. You may be aware that Les became an international class veteran
athlete in his 60’s, and spent much of his time travelling the world competing
in various competitions. He became world record holder for veterans over the age
of 60 for the 60 and 200 metres events.
The first photo is of Les with a trophy from an athletics
meet; whilst I can’t be sure, I think it is from the World Veterans
Championships in Puerto Rico in 1983 at the age of 61 . 
The second photo is of his trophy cabinet. This held pride of
place in the dining room of his home in Penryn, Cornwall, and his now in Penryn
Museum. He was awarded the freedom of Penryn for his services to
sport.
I hope they are of interest to you.
Best regards,
Matt
They sure are Mattew, and this Sunday Hunslet play a welsh team and there should be an article about the Wesh players who played for Hunslet and Les should get a mention in Jarvo and OLD Mother Bensons column “One Short of a Front Row”
Thanks
OLD MOTHER BENSON.
Yes, Les Williams was my PE Teacher when I attended (and started at) Cockburn High School in 1954. I had been following Hunslet since I was ten years of age so you can imagine my excitement when I got to Cockburn and was being taught by one of my heroes. Les was followed at Cockburn by Cyril Villiers who also had a most illustrious career in Sport generally. Obviopusly the old Cockburn School was a great breeding ground. RIP Les.
I remember coming on leave from Germany sometime in 1948/9, and learned that Les Williams had been signed from Rugby Union after playing for Wales. Being young, fit and probably a bit stupid or naive but full of testosterone, on seeing Les in the (one) Hunslet bath after training, and noticing later that he wasn’t the largest of men, I imagined myself to be worth something, when he had commanded the fee he got for signing (was it ! thou or two?) However my dreams went awry when knee problems put paid to that. But in a another sport, that of bowling, I was fortunate to amass a fair record of success, and a considerable amount of trophies, and latterly cash, but on seeing Les’s trophy cabinet for his success at rugby and athletics, I have to confess I must have been totally deluded. What a magnificent display Les collected. And what is more he was a very likeable man, who did I believe teach at Cockburn high school in Hunslet. He was class act in every department of sport and life. RIP.