Travels And Honours Made Him The Envy Of His Mates

More information has come to light about Gerry Harris, the highly decorated former Wolves defender whose funeral is held at the end of this week.

We are indebted to Gerry’s son Marvin for filling in some of the gaps in the life and career of the man on whom we wrote at length a week and a half ago.

The questions we had included a check on whether he really was as contented over the decades as his quiet country life suggests he was – and whether there was ever a chance of a next-generation family impact on the game.

“I wish I had a pound for every time I have been asked whether I ever looked like having a career in football,” Marvin said.

“The simple answer to that is that I was more of a rugby boy! I seemed more suited to that, although it was only at school really because I didn’t consider myself that sporty.

“People talk about there being a gene in certain families and Dad obviously had to have a fair amount of natural talent to achieve as much as he did with Wolves.

“But I know for sure that a lot of hard work and practice also went into what he did and am sure Stan Cullis wouldn’t have allowed him to be any different.

“Dad certainly didn’t drive me hard to try my luck at football. He knew that only a small number of people make it and the fact that he was busy in his post-football career by the time I was growing up meant that we only occasionally went to matches together.

“I drove him to some of the Former Wolves Players Association events over the years and we are very grateful to Glyne Wetton, who plenty of supporters will know about, for inviting us into his executive box on occasions.

“Living in Claverley means I always hear what is going on at the club but I am involved in garden and maintenance work and can get calls about that at any time.

“Dad did some work with me and other bits and pieces for people and was always happy being busy at that. He’s not one of those who went to a lot of matches after he stopped being directly involved with the game.”

Gerry separated from his wife while Marvin was still a young boy and did not remarry. How close father and son were is underlined by their living arrangements.

“They bought this place in 1972, so I did my growing up here and then returned to it in about 2000 when we extended it and basically split it in two.

“We were next door to each other therefore and he lived here all his life apart from going into a home for the last three years or so.

“He never stopped being grateful for his life and knows what a fantastic time he had travelling the world and winning things with Wolves while other chaps in the village were picking potatoes!”

Among Gerry’s regular visitors to the care home were Ted Farmer, Glyne Wetton and friends from Bridgnorth Town Football Club, where he was manager after a playing career that also took in Walsall and Wellington Town.

If you haven’t already done so, please read the long tribute we added recently to our Obituaries section.

The funeral is this Friday at 2.30pm at Claverley Church, where numbers are restricted because of coronavirus but where family and friends would be delighted to see Wolves-supporting well-wishers near the entrance.