Tommy Charlton pays emotional tribute to Jack and Bobby – and reveals why he missed the 1966 World Cup final
Tommy Charlton said his siblings Jack and Bobby “died as my brothers – not as famous footballers”, as he remembers the legacy they left behind.
Speaking to Sky News, Charlton shared memories of his brothers and his sadness since their deaths – as well as how he missed the 1966 World Cup final because he couldn’t afford the fare to Wembley.
Sir Bobby Charlton died last month at the age of 86 and is remembered as one of the heroes of England’s World Cup-winning 1996 squad.
His brother, and fellow World Cup winner, Jack died in 2020 aged 85, after a long career both on and off the football pitch.
“They were real big brothers,” Tommy said of Sir Bobby and Jack, telling Sky News he “hated it” when they left home to go and play football.
Jack, Tommy and Bobby Charlton
“I didn’t know what was happening,” he said.
“I didn’t know why he had to go away. I didn’t know why Jack had to go.
“My uncles, Jack, George, Jim and Stan all went away to play football, so I’ve experienced the fact that we had relatives who didn’t live at home. They had to travel all over the place playing football, and I was quite used to that.
“But when Bob left, I didn’t really understand it because it was my brother leaving, and it was like: ‘where’s he going?'”.
Tommy added: “They were my brothers, and I was proud of them. I always have been sincerely proud of my two brothers.”
The Charlton brothers with their mother – Jack, Tommy, Gordon and Bobby
England’s Jack Charlton and Sir Bobby Charlton
‘Heart-warming’ to hear from people
In the weeks since Sir Bobby’s death and the years since Jack died, Tommy said it has been heart-warming to hear people talk so fondly about his brothers, and expects people to line the route for Sir Bobby’s funeral this month.
“It’s been very heart-warming to have so many people telling me that they were really proud of Bob.
“I’ve never thought of Bob and Jack as anything but my brothers – they died as my brothers, not as famous footballers.
“And that is difficult for me. It’s difficult to separate the two. And it’s heart-warming to see that the number of people, thousands of people, telling me that they respected Bob and they respected Jack.”
Tommy said he expects people to line the procession route for Bobby’s funeral “and they’re going to clap”.
“Wonderful. That’s my brother they’re clapping.”
Sir Bobby and his mother. Pic: Daily Mail/Shutterstock
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‘End of an era’: Fans pay tribute to Sir Bobby
‘He remembered the life’
The trio were brought up in Ashington, Northumberland, where Tommy explained despite their “hard” upbringing, Bobby never spoke ill of his home town.
“He always spoke in a proud way he always remembers those mates from Ashington, and he remembered the life.
“It was a hard life. We had a hard upbringing. My dad worked at the pit, he didn’t make a lot of money… Bob remembered that with pride.
“He didn’t speak in a derogatory manner about Ashington ever.”
Sir Bobby in Ashington after the Munich Air Crash. Pic: Daily Mail/Shutterstock
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‘A champion on and off the pitch’
‘We both started crying’
Tommy recalled the last time he spoke to Sir Bobby on the phone before he died.
“It got to be that we only conversed on the telephone because I’ve stopped driving, and we used to meet at football matches… but Bob didn’t end up doing that,” he told Sky News.
“Bob never got very far.
“And I remember the last time I spoke to him. We were on the telephone, and he broke down and started crying while I was crying.
“His wife, after that, Norma, said, ‘it’s probably best not to put Bob on the phone’, so she kept us updated on how he was, and, well, she was a saint.”
Read more:
‘Never a more popular footballer’: Sir Bobby Charlton obituary
Sir Bobby Charlton was ‘forever a gentleman of English football’
England players including Sir Bobby and Jack Charlton, right, parading Wembley after winning the World Cup
Sir Bobby in his Manchester United days
‘It was just my brothers playing a game’
Despite both his brothers playing in the 1966 World Cup final, Tommy revealed to Sky News he never actually made it to Wembley to watch them.
“Before the final, Bob managed to get me a ticket to the final,” he said.
“And I lived in Ashington and Ashington is a long way from London. I’d never been to London. I’d very rarely been out of Ashington, if the truth was known.
“I didn’t have any money to get there. Nobody in the family had that sort of money, and I didn’t want to ask brother Jack to help me, because they had far too much on the plate at the time.
“And that was just not the thing that I was willing to do, so I watched the match at home on the TV, and, well, it was actually with my girlfriend at the time – it was at their house
“But I regret that now. I regret that I should have, actually got a bank loan or something to get there.
“But to me, it was just my brothers playing a game… it was playing for England again, you know?
“I don’t know what he probably makes of that.”
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
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Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
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