Helen Francis, wife of the first million pound footballer Trevor Francis has passed away today, Wednesday (Apr 5) after a long battle with cancer. Helen was a Llanelli girl who used to run a hairdressing salon in Pottery Street for many years.
The story of how the couple met is straight out of a romantic novel. They met while on holiday but did not exchange telephone numbers. This was after all the 1970’s long before Facebook. Francis knew that she was a hairdresser and that she was from Llanelli. Rumour has it that he called every hairdressers in Llanelli to try and track her down.
Helen was also by her husband’s side when he met Brian Clough on the day he joined Nottingham Forest in 1979 – becoming Britain’s first £1million player.
The comedian Jasper Carrott was one of a number of people paying tribute to Helen today. Carrott described Helen Francis, a long-term friend, as a “very precious human being” known for her warmth and strength of character.
“It maybe a cliché, but when Helen walked into a room it just lit up and when she left someone had to turn a light on. RIP to a very precious human being.”
Birmingham City said that it was “saddened” to learn that Helen had lost her fight with the disease.
Helen and Trevor were married in 1974 and she has been by his side throughout his career.
She leaves two sons Matthew and James.
