The Life and Times of a Working-Class Rugby Hero

Bobby Windsor - The Iron Duke

A vivid account of Bobby Windsor's life as a rugby player in the pre-commercial era of rugby union

One of the best rugby books of any era. An epic story of how the game used to be, of laughter and tears, from one of the most colourful men ever to play the game

Bobby Windsor was born in Newport in 1948. He won 28 caps as a hooker for Wales between 1973 and 1979. 
 
Peter Jackson, a sports journalist since he left school in 1960, retired in 2009 as rugby correspondent of the Daily Mail after 35 years. His books include Bread of Heaven and Lions of Wales.

Lions legend Bobby Windsor has enjoyed triumphs beyond the dreams of most international players but has also suffered personal tragedy. His rugby career as the best hooker in the British Isles during the second golden era of Welsh rugby in the 1970s is a turbulent tale of blood and thunder on the pitch. There are riotous incidents off the pitch, including unscheduled fights with professional boxers, revelations about illegal payments during the so-called amateur era and what Windsor did to upset the Establishment and become blackballed by one of the most famous clubs in the world. 
 
Windsor's irrepressible sense of humour comes shining through on every page, except when he gives chapter and verse on the personal crisis that drove him to plan suicide. 
 
Bobby Windsor – The Iron Duke is the no-holds-barred, warts-and-all story of a working-class Welsh folk hero who rose from humble beginnings to become a permanent member of the greatest Lions team in the history of rugby union.

Welsh Sporting Legends

Triumph and Tragedy

Veteran sports journalist Peter Jackson profiles 20 of the most significant Welsh sporting greats

Jackson . . . brings his subjects back into vivid focus

Peter Jackson, a sports journalist since he left school in 1960, retired in 2009 as chief rugby correspondent of the Daily Mail after 35 years on the paper. His books include Bread of Heaven, Lions of Wales, Lions of England and, most recently, Bobby Windsor - The Iron Duke, the acclaimed autobiography of the Welsh rugby hero, which was shortlisted for the 2011 British Sports Book Awards.

This collection of revealing profiles captures the essence of a galaxy of Welsh world-beaters from across the sporting spectrum: athletics, boxing, cricket, football, golf, horse racing, motor racing, rugby union, rugby league and tennis. 
 
 Those featured include arguably the best Welsh rugby union player of the twentieth century; the greatest bowler never to play for England; the farmer's boy who became a master golfer; the Cardiff boy from Splott who made such a name for himself in Hull that they named a thoroughfare after him; the 'Gentle Giant' from Swansea still revered in Italy some 50 years after his last match for Juventus; the only post-war Welsh jockey to win the Grand National twice; and the unsung hero from the Rhondda who became the saviour of Manchester United in the weeks after the Munich air disaster. 
 
 Their stories, based on exclusive interviews and coloured with anecdotes, will inspire future generations to believe that nothing is impossible.

Bobby Windsor - The Life and Times of a Working-Class Rugby Hero

The Iron Duke

Bobby Windsor was born in Newport in 1948. He won 28 caps as a hooker for Wales between 1973 and 1979. 
 
Peter Jackson, a sports journalist since he left school in 1960, retired last summer as rugby correspondent of the Daily Mail after 35 years. His books include Bread of Heaven and Lions of Wales.

Lions legend Bobby Windsor has enjoyed triumphs beyond the dreams of most international players but has also suffered personal tragedy. His rugby career as the best hooker in the British Isles during the second golden era of Welsh rugby in the 1970s is a turbulent tale of blood and thunder on the pitch. There are riotous incidents off the pitch, including unscheduled fights with professional boxers, revelations about illegal payments during the so-called amateur era and what Windsor did to upset the Establishment and become blackballed by one of the most famous clubs in the world. 
 
Windsor's irrepressible sense of humour comes shining through on every page, except when he gives chapter and verse on the personal crisis that drove him to plan suicide. 
 
The Iron Duke is the no-holds-barred, warts-and-all story of a working-class Welsh folk hero who rose from humble beginnings to become a permanent member of the greatest Lions team in the history of rugby union.

Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson laboured for five years on this book on English icons - it was worth the effort ***** (Book of the Month)

England has contributed some of the greatest players and most colourful characters to the rich history of the Lions, and never more so than in recent years. During the course of little more than a decade, a golden era for the Red Rose yielded four Grand Slams en route to the thrilling climax of the World Cup victory in Sydney, a triumph which has catapulted some of the side's stars to a higher plane in the nation's affections. It is not surprising, therefore, that English players have dominated the last four Lions tours in a way which none of the home countries has done before. 
 
Lions of England presents the country's most famous players in a series of revealing portraits, each telling a fascinating story woven around monumental Test matches. Rich in previously untold anecdote and humour, these accounts illustrate the lives and times of the greats spanning three-quarters of a century - from one pre-war knight of the realm, Carl Aarvold, to a more recent one, Clive Woodward. All the evocative names of English rugby are featured here, from Dickie Jeeps to Martin Johnson, Jeff Butterfield to Jason Robinson, Dean Richards to Lawrence Dallaglio. Other chapters are devoted to Peter Jackson (a rather better player than the author), John Pullin, Roger Uttley, Fran Cotton, David Duckham, Bill Beaumont, Peter Wheeler, Jeremy Guscott, Rob Andrew, Jason Leonard and, of course, Jonny Wilkinson. 
 
Peter Jackson, the Daily Mail's award-winning rugby writer, has drawn on all his experience and eye for the unusual to give the reader an insight into what makes these talented players tick as people, the early influences which shaped their careers and the momentous events which made them household names. 
 
Bang up to date with the inclusion of the summer 2005 series against the All Blacks and a comprehensive records appendix, Lions of England is sure to inform and entertain rugby lovers of every generation in equal measure.

Peter Jackson

Praise for Lions of England

Peter Jackson laboured for five years on this book on English icons - it was worth the effort ***** (Book of the Month)

Books by Peter Jackson

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