A PLAQUE honouring Stan Cullis – one of the legendary figures of English football – has been unveiled at the Ellesmere Port school he attended.

Cambridge Road Primary School hosted an unveiling ceremony this afternoon (June 17) with special guests including Cullis's son Andrew, outgoing PFA chief Gordon Taylor OBE and former Wolves star John Richards.

Pupils Charlotte O'Toole and Logan McLoughlin helped pull the curtain down to reveal the blue PFA plaque next to the entrance to the school building.

Cullis captained both England and Wolves before becoming the club's greatest ever manager, winning the Football League three times and the FA Cup twice.

An exhibition centred around his journey and career – as well as details about another Ellesmere Port footballing legend, Joe Mercer – was on display in the school hall ahead of the unveiling.

Reverend Andrew Cullis, who travelled up from Bournemouth with his wife Elizabeth to attend the ceremony, said: "I'm very grateful to this school for what it gave my dad. He was the youngest of ten children, his mum was in a wheelchair and his dad wasn't terribly well either.

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"Coming here really helped him and he learned a love of reading. When he was older he went to night school and learned languages, book keeping and shorthand.

"He was captain of the school team and went on to play for Ellesmere Port Wednesday. I understand they were called this because the shops used to shut on a Wednesday afternoon and it was the only time they had to play.

"He linked up there with Joe Mercer. In 1960 he brought the FA Cup to Oldfield Road along with a few Wolves players to show his mum and dad and the neighbours.

"I'm not sure you can do that now, put the FA Cup in your car and take it home, but he never forgot his Ellesmere Port roots.

"What a great motto the school has – 'Be the best you can'. That's what happened with my dad and that's what could happen for you."

A delighted headteacher Darryl Pickering added: "We are so proud that we can say Stan Cullis came to this school. It's an honour to have a plaque put on our school building.

"Children, Stan Cullis was just like you. He had a dream. He had talent and skill. He became one of the legends of British football."

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Ellesmere Port Mayor, councillor Lisa Denson, believes the plaque will have a positive impact on youngsters in the town.

She said: "I'm really pleased that such an icon of football has been recognised. The plaque will remind us of his achievements and inspire the younger generation in Ellesmere Port."

Ex-Wolvcs and England player Richards, who helped unveil the plaque along with the two students and Cullis's son Andrew, described the exhibition put together by the children as "absolutely magnificent" and "a credit to you all".

He added: "In Wolverhampton Stan is remembered with pride and affection. He is a hero. His record is unsurpassable."

Wolves director John Gough said: "It's a real privilege to be asked by the PFA to attend the school he attended as a young pupil. Few men made a greater impact in football than Stan Cullis.

"Ferenc Puskás described him as the most classical centre half of his generation.

"My father used to take me to Molyneux. I sat right opposite the tunnel. I remember as an eleven year old he was the most animated manager."

Outgoing PFA chief Taylor, pictured below, praised the children at Cambridge Road for the "quality of work" they put together for the Stan Cullis exhibition.

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With England set to face Scotland tomorrow in the European Championships, football writer Mark Metcalf – who has worked in conjunction with the PFA on the project to honour Cullis – recalled a fixture between the two rivals back in 1943.

He said: "To keep morale up, international games took place during the war. There was one at Maine Road and it finished England 8 Scotland 0.

"Central to that success was the half back partnership of Joe Mercer and Stan Cullis. Two people from Ellesmere Port."

Although there are no official records, there is anecdotal evidence that Mercer also attended Cambridge Road school as a child at some stage.

Also in attendance at the ceremony was Dr Rob Gandy, visiting professor from Liverpool John Moores University, who helped the school get the project off the ground, Jon Spruce, who assisted pupils with the exhibition and put together a Stan Cullis piece of art which sits below the plaque, Helen Thomas, who provided business sponsorship for the exhibition and funded the school's new Stan Cullis Trophy, Ellesmere Port and Neston MP Justin Madders, and Joe Mercer's granddaughter Susan Lea and her husband David.