Billy Liddell - Early Life

Early Life

Born in Townhill, near Dunfermline, Liddell was the eldest of coal miner James and wife Montgomery's six children. During his childhood, Liddell experienced austerity and poverty, with his family often having to subsist on bread, kail, and salt porridge. His parents became determined that he would not become a miner and helped him to decide a future career. He did not originally consider football as a viable profession, eventually choosing accountancy in preference to the civil service and church. His interest in football developed at a young age, which persuaded his parents, despite financial difficulties, to buy him a pair of football boots as a Christmas present when he asked for them aged seven. Liddell's participation in organised football began at age eight when he joined his school team, which had an average age of ten.

As a pupil at Dunfermline High School, Liddell studied chemistry, mathematics, physics, English and two other languages. He became a reluctant rugby player, under the guidance of retired Welsh international Ronnie Boon, while playing football for local teams and Scotland Schoolboys. By the age of 16, Liddell had progressed sufficiently to earn a contract with Lochgelly Violet football club and be sought after by Liverpool, Hamilton Academical, and Partick Thistle. Liverpool manager George Kay became interested in signing Liddell on the recommendation of the club's Scottish defender Matt Busby, who learned of the teenager from Manchester City's Alex Herd while on a golf trip. Herd had forwent one of their rounds to take Willie McAndrew, manager of Hamilton, to watch Liddell play for Lochgelly. When Busby queried him about his absence and Liddell, Herd told him that a contract had not been agreed because limited resources prevented Hamilton from offering Liddell the assurances his parents insisted upon. Instead, Liddell signed for Liverpool as an amateur on 27 July 1938 and became a professional in 1939 on a weekly wage of £3. Negotiations between his parents and the club guaranteed, as a pre-requisite to acceptance, that Liverpool would permit Liddell to continue his accountancy studies, be housed in suitable accommodation, and be employed part-time an accountant at a company in the club's city.

Liddell entered the youth team on his arrival in 1938. Before he established himself in the side, Liddell had been frustrated at the frequent rotation of players until trainer Albert Shelley advised him to be patient. An injury incurred against Blackburn Rovers threatened to end his career prematurely. He had struck his knee against concrete near the corner flag after being challenged while running with the ball. Doctors informed him of the extent of tissue damage, causing Liddell anxiety about his future. He remained in Blackburn for two weeks, living in the family home of a colleague, before returning to Liverpool to continue his recovery. The Second World War precluded an official debut for Liddell, as the Football Association suspended competitive football from the abandoned 1939–1940 season and instituted a regional system in its place. Until the cessation of hostilities in 1945, Liddell guested for various domestic sides when unavailable for Liverpool and represented select teams, including a Football Association XI and Scottish Services XI. Liddell was capped eight times for Scotland during the war, scoring on his debut in a 5–4 win over England in 1942.

With Liverpool, Liddell competed in the various regional leagues that the FA assigned the club to and scored 82 goals in 152 matches between 1940 and 1946. He debuted on 1 January 1940 against Crewe Alexandra, scoring after two minutes in a 7–3 win. In his formative years, Liddell credited Matt Busby and Berry Nieuwenhuys as significant influences. He volunteered for the Royal Air Force and, despite wanting to qualify as a pilot, was trained as a navigator because of his proficiency at mathematics. After being mobilised in December 1942, Liddell guested with Chelsea and Cambridge Town. He broke his leg in a friendly kickabout while stationed in Bridgnorth, which required admission to the RAF Remedial Centre at Blackpool.

Following his recovery, Liddell travelled to Canada to complete a course at the Central Navigation School and became a pilot officer navigator. While on leave, he was used as a substitute by the Toronto Scottish under an assumed name and scored twice in a semi-final play-off. He was recalled to Moncton, New Brunswick, before the final. After some seven months in Canada, Liddell returned to Britain and, when based in Perth in 1944, accepted an offer to guest for his boyhood favourites Dunfermline Athletic. He subsequently moved to Northern Ireland for further training, where he declined an offer from former Liverpool goalkeeper Elisha Scott to guest for Belfast Celtic because of a prior agreement to play for Linfield. By the end of the war, Liddell had been assigned to 617 Squadron, helping to transport Allied soldiers back to Britain on leave from Italy.