Category Archives: Obituary

Jimmy Rolfe (1932-2025)

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Former Chester winger Jimmy Rolfe has passed away at the age of 93. Jimmy made 50 Division Three North appearances for the club between 1953 and 1955 and also played in the Football League for Crewe Alexandra and Barrow.

Jimmy Rolfe

Jimmy started his football career at Eastham Athletic where his performances attracted the attention of Liverpool who signed him on amateur terms. Over the next two years he featured in both the A and B teams before being called up for National Service. While serving in Germany he represented the Combined Services and also played for Munster 08. After being demobbed, in July 1952, Jimmy returned to Anfield and signed as a professional before being released in summer 1953.

Debut v Workington in September 1953

The Liverpool born player became one of Louis Page’s first signings for Chester and he made his Football League debut in a 3-0 win over Workington at Sealand Road in September 1953. After playing in the following game at Darlington Jimmy returned to the reserves but nine goals in five games, including hat-tricks in consecutive games against Northwich Victoria and Mossley, saw him return to first team action in a side desperate for goals. Unfortunately Jimmy couldn’t translate his goalscoring form for the reserves to the first team and by February he was back in the Cheshire County League team before being reinstated at the end of the campaign when he won a Welsh Cup runners up medal after featuring in the final against Flint Town United.

Jimmy Rolfe returns to the team against Rochdale

The following season Jimmy featured 33 times on the right wing, adding one goal to his previous season’s tally of three, before surprisingly being given a free transfer in 1955. Standing at just over 5ft 6ins he made up for his lack of height with energy and enthusiasm but was probably unlucky to feature in a struggling team that finished bottom of the table in both 1953/54 and 1954/55.

Jimmy Rolfe in rightmost pale top 1954

After departing Sealand Road Jimmy went on to play more than 100 games for Crewe followed by Barrow and then had a very brief spell at Southport. Dropping into non-league football, in 1959, he featured for Runcorn, Buxton, Holyhead and New Brighton. After leaving the game he worked for Littlewoods. 

Barney Daniels (1950-2025)

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Barney Daniels, who became Chester’s record signing in summer 1975, has passed away at the age of 74. A stocky striker with a powerful shot Chester never saw the best of the centre forward and he only managed nine Football League appearances for the club before departing for Stockport County where he was more successful.

Signed as an amateur by Manchester United Barney spent two years at Old Trafford before moving on to Salford Amateurs but it was his goalscoring prowess at Ashton United that attracted the attention of Manchester City who signed him for £1,000. He made an explosive start at Maine Road with two goals on his debut in a 4-1 televised win against Leicester City and went on to make 10 appearances in the 1974/75 season. 

In July 1975 Ken Roberts brought Barney to Sealand Road in order to bolster the attacking options following promotion to Division Three. Chester paid a reported £25,000 for the Salford born player and Roberts saw him as a strong and quick striker who could cause defences problems. After making his debut as a substitute, in a League Cup tie at Wrexham, Barney made his first full start in Chester’s opening Division Three home fixture against Southend United. Although he was on target with a 25 yard effort this was as good as it got and his only other goal for the club came in an 8-1 thrashing of Kidderminster in the Welsh Cup. Four days after the Southend game Barney was substituted in the return leg of the League Cup tie against Wrexham and reacted angrily by throwing his shirt to the ground and storming into the dressing room. Although he apologised for the gesture he was disciplined by the club and thenceforth found it difficult to make an impact.

At the end of the 1975/76 campaign Barney was released by Chester and joined Stockport County where he showed Chester what they had been missing by scoring 11 goals in his first 11 league games. He went on to finish leading scorer for County and after dropping out of the Football League had further spells with Ashton United, Hyde United and Prestwich Heys.

Eddie Loyden (1945-2025)

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Former Chester striker Eddie Loyden, who had two spells with the club during the late sixties and early seventies, has sadly passed away at the age of 79.

A traditional centre forward Eddie was an out and out goalscorer and not the sort of player to track back or link up play. This is reflected in an impressive goal scoring record that saw him score 48 goals in 99 Football League appearances. Dominant in the air, many of his goals were scored with his head and his tall and rangy physique made him an awkward presence and a handful for defenders.

Born in Liverpool, Eddie started his career as a junior at Blackpool and made his debut during 1965 in a Division One fixture against Liverpool. After a season at Carlisle Eddie was snapped up by Peter Hauser, in July 1967, on a free transfer and made a dream debut with two headed goals in a 2-1 victory at Notts County. He went on to score 22 goals in 37 games that season, including four in a 6-0 win over Lincoln City, and comfortably finished leading scorer for a struggling team that had to apply for re-election. At the end of the campaign Ken Roberts, looking to raise funds to rebuild the team, made the pragmatic decision to sell Eddie to Shrewsbury Town for a club record fee of £13,000. 

After only six months Eddie was on the move again when Barnsley signed him for £10,000 but he returned to Sealand Road in November 1970 in unusual circumstances as Ken Roberts looked for a tall goal grabber to play alongside Alan Tarbuck and Derek Draper. Although an agreement had been reached for Eddie to move to Chester the Yorkshire side selected him to play against a full strength Sheffield United team in the Yorkshire Senior Cup. Eddie promptly put the cat among the pigeons by scoring an eight minute hat-trick to overturn a 2-0 half time deficit and give Barnsley second thoughts. Nevertheless Chester insisted a gentleman’s agreement had been in place and handed over £7,000 to the reluctant Yorkshiremen.

The move proved successful as the big man formed an effective partnership with Tarbuck and managed 15 goals in 28 games as Chester finished just outside the promotion places. Unfortunately a missed penalty by Eddie, in a crucial Easter fixture against York City, proved decisive and although the game finished 1-1 Chester missed out on a top four spot by a single point. 


The 1971/72 season saw Eddie once again finish as leading scorer with 11 goals but, as a whole, the team struggled to find the back of the net and after the start of February appearances were limited as Ken Roberts sought to find the answer to the goalscoring dilemma. In June 1972 Eddie signed for Tranmere Rovers for £4,000 and will be remembered at Prenton Park for scoring the only goal in a famous League Cup victory over Arsenal at Highbury. After two years at Tranmere Eddie moved to South Africa to play for Highlands Park and then on to Hong Kong before retiring in 1978.

In later life Eddie resided in his home town city but suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and passed away on June 5th.

A typical goal against Northampton – January 1971
Scoring the first goal in a 2-1 win over Notts County – January 1971
Eddie in action in the FA Cup 2nd Round tie against Crewe – Dec 1970
Playing in the FA Cup 3rd Round tie against Derby County – Jan 1971

Bryn Jones (1939-2025)

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Former Chester full-back Bryn Jones, who made 30 Football League appearances for the club between 1964 and 1967, sadly passed away in January at the age of 85. Bryn will be remembered for an incident on New Year’s Day 1966 when he and fellow full back Ray Jones ended up in Chester Royal Infirmary together after both suffered a broken leg in the league match against Aldershot at Sealand Road.

Born in Bagillt Bryn started his career with local club Holywell Town, becoming a Welsh amateur international in 1961. At the start of the 1962/63 season Bryn signed for Bangor City but his stay proved brief and he returned to Holywell after only a few months. In January 1963 he was offered the opportunity to turn professional with third Division Watford but only made two Football League appearances for the Hornets before being released in summer 1964.

Peter Hauser brought Bryn to the Stadium in August 1964 and was quickly given his debut at right back against Bradford City as a replacement for the experienced Johnny Molyneux. His stint in the first team proved short-lived and following the next game against Torquay he was replaced by Ray Jones and spent the remainder of the season in the Cheshire County League team.

In September 1965 Bryn returned to the first team at left back establishing an effective partnership alongside Ray Jones before the New Year’s Day tragedy when both players broke a leg. With neither player adequately replaced the strong promotion challenge faded and it was December 1966 before Bryn was able to return to first team action. Unfortunately a further leg injury against Lincoln in February proved to be his final first team match and Bryn was amongst eight players given free transfers at the end of the campaign when he signed for New Brighton.

George Davies (1927-2025)

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George Davies, who played 35 league games for Chester between 1956 and 1957, has sadly passed away at the grand age of 97. Playing as a wing back at Sealand Road he made 35 league appearances between 1956 and 1957 and, gifted with a powerful shot, was the club’s regular penalty taker with three of his four league goals coming from the spot. After leaving the game he was a familiar figure in Hoole where he worked as a window cleaner.

Born in Rednall in 1927 George started his career in local football with village team Llanymynech then joined Oswestry Town where he spent the next four years becoming a regular during the 1949/50 season. In June 1950 he secured a move to Sheffield Wednesday and over the next six years made almost a century of Football League appearances for the Yorkshire club. During his time at Wednesday he featured in the team that lost 2-0 in the 1954 FA Cup semi-final against Preston North End at Maine Road, Manchester in front of 75,000 supporters.

In July 1956 George became one of John Harris’ first signings for Chester for what was described as a considerable fee. He made his debut in the first game of the season, a 2-2 draw at Wrexham, and went on to make 33 league appearances during the 1956/57campaign. The following season he appeared in the first two games but was then relegated to the reserves in favour of Aled Williams following a 3-2 victory over Crewe. After a short spell in the Cheshire County League team George joined Wellington Town in the Southern League for a small fee in November 1957. His stay at Wellington lasted one season at which point George left the game.

Interviewed about his career in 1995 George said that on the whole he preferred the game when he was an amateur at Oswestry. When he became professional he felt that some of the fun and enjoyment was lost from the game as money became a more important factor. His preferred position was left half and most of his games at Sealand Road were in this position. He recalled that his most memorable game at Chester was a Welsh Cup 6th Round game at Cardiff City who were then in the First Division. It was a major shock when Chester won 2-0 at Ninian Park with George scoring the first goal, blasting home from 25 yards.

He admitted that he was a bit of a dirty player and would have been sent off a few times in the current climate. Because he was a heavy set individual he had a tendency to use his shoulder a lot and he found that referees often needed to have a quiet word with him although, despite this reputation, he was never booked or sent off throughout his career.