Does anyone remember England mascot and cheerleader, Ken Baily, at the 1966 World Cup? He was also present at my first ever R's match in Bournemouth in October 1966 which we won 3-1 with two goals from Rodney Marsh.
Ken Baily
England mascot Ken Baily (Photograph flashbak.com).
Kenneth Henry Highett Baily was best known for being the England mascot. He was also a keen runner, a swimmer, an ardent royalist and wrote a column under the guise of ‘Genevieve’ in the now defunct Bournemouth Times. Although born in Somerset on 8thAugust 1911, Ken Baily became synonymous with Bournemouth and could be spotted around town riding his bicycle, attending social events or cheerleading the local football team, ‘The Cherries’, a job he carried on at International level with the England football and rugby teams. At the 1966 football World Cup, he became known as World Cup Willie (the name of the official mascot) because of his eye-catching John Bull outfit. In fact, Ken was so closely associated with the England team, he had a Subbuteo figure made in his honour. In 1982, Ken famously covered up the ample cleavage of streaker Erica Roe with a Union Jack at Twickenham during a televised England v Australia rugby game.
Ken Baily and Erica Roe, Twickenham 1982 (Photograph twitter.com).
In 1939, Ken ran non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean (a distance of 997 miles in just over 5 days) on the deck of the SS Bremen as part of a relay team with Douglas Brady, John Harris and Noel Griffin. They were carrying a torch and a message to President Roosevelt asking if Germany attacked Britain, would the USA declare war on the Germans? As we all know, the plea fell on deaf ears as the Nazis invaded Poland a matter of days after he returned home and in the spring of 1940, Hitler launched a bombing campaign on Britain. However, their feat appeared in the Guinness Book of Records, along with another record Ken achieved for running the most recorded miles. In 1948, he was one of the Olympic torch-bearers when the games came to London and for many years he ran along the promenade carrying a flame at the start of the Bournemouth Regatta and fireworks. He would also hand out firelighters to children at the annual illuminations in the lower gardens.
Apart from riding a bicycle and jogging, he maintained his fitness by regularly swimming in the sea and every year he would take part in the annual Christmas Day and midnight New Year’s Eve swims with the Spartans. A fervent monarchist, Ken would follow the Queen and other members of the royal family around the country as they carried out their official engagements, even popping up in Sydney, Australia, on one occasion. He worked as a clerical assistant at the telephone exchange in Old Christchurch Road, but funded his extracurricular activities with an inheritance which allowed him to travel the globe following international sporting teams and royalty. Despite overcoming a speech impediment, he would talk to anyone he came into contact with and became a minor celebrity around town. Ken lived in Queensbury Mansions, Parsonage Road but died in a nursing home of cancer on 10th December 1993, aged eighty-two. He is buried in the central Bournemouth cemetery in Wimborne Road.
Ken’s grave in the Ringwood Road cemetery, Bournemouth (Photograph John Cherry).
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Ken Baily
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England mascot Ken Baily (Photograph flashbak.com).
Kenneth Henry Highett Baily was best known for being the England mascot. He was also a keen runner, a swimmer, an ardent royalist and wrote a column under the guise of ‘Genevieve’ in the now defunct Bournemouth Times. Although born in Somerset on 8thAugust 1911, Ken Baily became synonymous with Bournemouth and could be spotted around town riding his bicycle, attending social events or cheerleading the local football team, ‘The Cherries’, a job he carried on at International level with the England football and rugby teams. At the 1966 football World Cup, he became known as World Cup Willie (the name of the official mascot) because of his eye-catching John Bull outfit. In fact, Ken was so closely associated with the England team, he had a Subbuteo figure made in his honour. In 1982, Ken famously covered up the ample cleavage of streaker Erica Roe with a Union Jack at Twickenham during a televised England v Australia rugby game.
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Ken Baily and Erica Roe, Twickenham 1982 (Photograph twitter.com).
In 1939, Ken ran non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean (a distance of 997 miles in just over 5 days) on the deck of the SS Bremen as part of a relay team with Douglas Brady, John Harris and Noel Griffin. They were carrying a torch and a message to President Roosevelt asking if Germany attacked Britain, would the USA declare war on the Germans? As we all know, the plea fell on deaf ears as the Nazis invaded Poland a matter of days after he returned home and in the spring of 1940, Hitler launched a bombing campaign on Britain. However, their feat appeared in the Guinness Book of Records, along with another record Ken achieved for running the most recorded miles. In 1948, he was one of the Olympic torch-bearers when the games came to London and for many years he ran along the promenade carrying a flame at the start of the Bournemouth Regatta and fireworks. He would also hand out firelighters to children at the annual illuminations in the lower gardens.
Apart from riding a bicycle and jogging, he maintained his fitness by regularly swimming in the sea and every year he would take part in the annual Christmas Day and midnight New Year’s Eve swims with the Spartans. A fervent monarchist, Ken would follow the Queen and other members of the royal family around the country as they carried out their official engagements, even popping up in Sydney, Australia, on one occasion. He worked as a clerical assistant at the telephone exchange in Old Christchurch Road, but funded his extracurricular activities with an inheritance which allowed him to travel the globe following international sporting teams and royalty. Despite overcoming a speech impediment, he would talk to anyone he came into contact with and became a minor celebrity around town. Ken lived in Queensbury Mansions, Parsonage Road but died in a nursing home of cancer on 10th December 1993, aged eighty-two. He is buried in the central Bournemouth cemetery in Wimborne Road.
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Ken’s grave in the Ringwood Road cemetery, Bournemouth (Photograph John Cherry).
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