World Cup pay to winner Ray

He added: “He had a really dry wit... and was a recluse in some ways. He wanted to be out of the public eye. He was a naturally shy man but beneath all that was a very dry sense of humour.”

Mr Helm said Wilson had preferred to watch Town from the terraces in recent years rather than attend as a VIP.

“The extraordinary thing is that Ray Wilson, a World Cup winner, wouldn’t go in the VIP area because of that shyness. He used to go and get a pie and a pint and go in one end of the ground. There would be people standing next to him who didn’t know they were standing next to a World Cup winner – how extraordinary is that?

“He was shy but he did have a wicked sense of humour.”

Mark Ramsey, whose father Bob played alongside Wilson for Town, said: “He was a lovely family guy who enjoyed a few beers like all the lads did.”

Close friend Andrew Ward, who led the tributes at the service, described his friend as a “national hero” who had been supported during his illness by his wife Pat.

“Ray was a national hero for his football exploits but Pat looked after our hero 24/7 for so many years through this vicious disease.”

Mr Ward read a tribute from Derek Gibson who watched Ray Wilson as a player.

Mr Gibson said: “It was pure ballet watching him catch the ball on his magnetic foot..his sliding tackles were the stuff of legend.”

Wilson, who played for England 63 times and more than 250 times for Town, was laid to rest in a service conducted by the Reverend Canon David Ward.

Ray Wilson, who lived at Slaithwaite after a post-football career as an undertaker, is the fifth member of England’s World Cup-winning squad to have died following the passing of Alan Ball, Bobby Moore, Jimmy Armfield and John Connelly.

In 2000 he was awarded an MBE for his services to football.