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| Charlie Watkins |
 Charles Watkins was born on Friday, 14th January, 1921, in Glasgow. The midfielder appeared for Donald Turner's Thistle in December, 1941, having most recently been with St Anthony's. Aged 20, he made his only appearance on Saturday, 6th December, 1941, in a 2-1 win at home to Heart of Midlothian in the Southern League. There were no goals for Charlie in his one-off appearance for Thistle. His club-list included St Anthony's, Partick Thistle, Rangers and Luton Town. Charlie died on Sunday, 22nd February, 1998, in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, aged 77. |
 At the tail end of 1941, Thistle got first dibs on this St Anthony's junior, but it was Rangers who signed the newly turned 21-year-old in February 1942. Described as a clever and skilfull right half, he was a prominent player at Ibrox for a few seasons, but faded out of the picture in the post-war period, especially as staff numbers swelled with returning soldiers. One of his Rangers teammates, Billy Arniston, had recently joined Luton Town and, following his advice, Charlie fixed up a similar move for himself. He had a great time there, making over 200 League appearances into the mid-1950s. Luton would be the town that he called home, although he had a five-year spell coaching in South Africa in the late 1950s. Re-joining Luton in the early 1960s as part of the coaching staff. Watkins spent a short spell during the 1964–65 season as caretaker manager and subsequently served as a coach under George Martin the following season. Away from the football, Charlie owned a newsagents for many years, family-run, in the Warden Hills area of Luton. He also held a physiotherapist and chiropodist practice in the town. The football bug never left him though, and he was still playing football for the local Round Table well into his 60s. |
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