Heroes of The Wire: Memorial Bike Ride

Bruce Springsteen is fading out on Cheshire’s Mix 56, the red light is on, and Paul Smith leans into the mic with that familiar warmth in his voice.

It’s a chilly February morning, but the studio feels anything but cold.

Sitting opposite him are two guests with a story that stretches from modern-day Warrington all the way back to the trenches of the First World War: Ben Stiff and club historian Chris Bent from the Warrington Wolves Foundation.

What follows is one of those conversations that reminds you why local radio – and local sport – really matter.

The Power of the Badge

Paul starts with the here and now: a huge home win, a packed Halliwell Jones, and what’s been described as the biggest crowd in over half a century.

The town is buzzing again, and it’s the perfect moment to talk about the Warrington Wolves Foundation – the charity arm that quietly weaves the club into the heart of the community.

Ben is quick to clear up a common misconception. The Foundation carries the Wolves name and badge, but it’s a completely separate charity. It doesn’t receive funding from the club; instead, it survives on donations, grants and support from businesses and individuals.

What it does gain from the club is something Ben calls “the power of the badge” – that instant recognition and trust that opens doors in schools, care homes and community spaces.

Ask what they actually do, and Ben almost laughs: “Oh, what don’t we do?” From rugby league sessions in schools and pathways to scholarship, to disability sport, dance and drama, to health and wellbeing programmes like men’s mental fitness and women’s empowerment groups, to education projects including a Duke of Edinburgh programme – it’s a long list with one theme: using sport and the club’s identity to change lives.

Paul brings that to life with a story that clearly means a lot to him.

He talks about Madge, a lifelong fan who used to go to every game with her husband. After he passed away and she moved into a care home, most people would assume her match days were over. Not with the Foundation.

They collect her by minibus, pair her with a “match buddy” and take her to the game, keeping that precious routine alive. It’s simple on paper, but emotionally huge – a living example of why this work matters.

From the Wire to the Western Front

Then the conversation takes a powerful turn into the past.

Chris, the club’s historian, explains that during the First World War around 90 Warrington players went to serve. Eleven never came home. Remarkably, ten of those died on the Western Front within about 95 miles of each other. These weren’t distant, anonymous soldiers – they were local lads, star players, club heroes.

One name stands out: George Thomas. On the pitch he was a fierce, outspoken character, involved in nearly 400 games and part of Warrington’s first Challenge Cup win back in 1905. He clashed with referees, led from the front and was trusted enough to address the crowd during a club strike.

In uniform, that same fire burned. Chris describes how Thomas was punished for swearing at a non-commissioned officer, subjected to the brutal “field punishment number one”, tied to a sort of crucifix-like frame for hours at a time. Just two days after that ended, he was killed at the Somme.

In the studio, Paul’s reaction – shock, sadness, curiosity – is exactly what you’d expect from anyone hearing that for the first time.

It’s at this point that the Foundation’s next big challenge starts to make complete sense.