It’s full time for this local legend with a heart of gold
FOOTBALLER AND FAMILY MAN JIMMY CARDNO WAS TAKEN AWAY FROM ANGIE TOO SOON – BUT SHE WILL REMEMBER HIM FOR HIS DRIVE AND DETERMINATION, LAUGHTER AND LOVE
JIMMY Cardno inherited much more than his name from his father – he was also born with a lifelong love of the beautiful game that would later see him inducted into Rhyl’s Football Hall of Fame.
Centre forward Jimmy, the eldest of seven children born to parents Margaret and Jim, spent his earliest years in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, before moving to Rhyl. His Scots heritage remained hugely important to him throughout his lifetime, and he would go on to score a Scottish Amateur Cap, playing for the national side against Ireland in Paisley in 1972.
Jimmy’s dad was an engineer – but also a passionate semiprofessional footballer, who turned out for Macclesfield and Southport, as well as helping Rhyl win the Welsh Cup in 1952.
FOOTBALL SKILLS
Jimmy was a good student and was particularly known for his language skills – he went on to study German, French and Russian for a year at Aberystwyth University.
But it was earlier, while at Rhyl Grammar School, that the football skills which would see him go on to represent Wales Schoolboys were first scouted. “Jimmy played for both Liverpool and Everton as a schoolboy,” says Angie, his wife of more than 40 years. “He was offered
contracts but his father Jim said no. He wanted Jimmy to concentrate on his studies.” Jimmy’s love of football saw him embark on a decade-long journey, playing across the globe. He first travelled to Canada to stay with his uncle George Cardno, where he played for the Toronto Royals, before taking to the pitch in Sydney, Australia, Santa Monica, California – and finally for Holland’s HFC Haarlem. “Eventually he returned to north Wales because of his dad’s ill health – and that’s when I met him, during a night out at the pub,” Angie recalls fondly. “I was 18, he was 32, and it was love at first sight. He was playing for Caernarfon Town at the time, but went on to score 50 goals for Rhyl in the 1971/72 season.” Angie and Jimmy married in 1980. Sons James, now 36, Calum, 34, and Alex, 30, followed. They also shared five grandchildren, Kaitlin, 13, Chloe, 11, James, nine, Jack, seven, and five-year-old Sienna.
DECLINE
After Jimmy finished his semiprofessional football career, he went on to work as a financial adviser, and for the Royal Mail in Chester, before retiring. Tragically, at 69, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. “In July 2019, Jimmy’s condition began
to decline,” Angie says. “I cared for him at home for as long as I could, but that October he moved into Plas Derwen Nursing Home. Due to Covid we could only see him through the window for the past year. We last saw him on Christmas Day. Very sadly, Jimmy ended up catching coronavirus, and it was this that finally took him from us.”
Jimmy’s funeral was held at Rhyl’s St Thomas’ Church, with 60 people attending and many more lining the road outside. “We had a piper playing Flower of Scotland and I chose I’ll Never Love Again by Lady Gaga,” Angie says. “I feel like I’ve been grieving for him for a long time, but what I remember is Jimmy’s drive and determination, his bone-crushing hugs, his laughter and love for his family. I’m thankful that he’s at peace now.”
I met him during a night out at the pub. I was 18, he was 32, and it was love at first sight Angie, Jimmy’s widow