Wolves legend Ron Flowers in flying trip to Cosford

Yesterday, the former Telford United player and manager returned to take a look around for the first time since those far-off days.

"I did my initial training in Hednesford for six weeks, then I came here," said Ron, now 78. "After 62 years, you don't really remember much. Looking round, there have been changes, but I keep thinking 'Oh yes, I remember that', like the tea-shop. That was a wooden shed when we were here but it's not now."

The former England and Wolverhampton Wanderers star returned to Cosford to take part in a project which looks at the lives of footballers who served in the RAF during and after the Second World War. The idea is to encourage children to learn more about history, using football as a way in.

Ron and wife Yvonne spent the morning looking around the Cosford museum and saw the kit and bed that were standard issue when Ron was in the air force.

Phil Clayton, education officer at RAF Museum Cosford, said Ron's experiences in the RAF would be recorded and offered as podcasts for people to listen to.

He added: "The thing that makes our artefacts and footballers like Ron similar is that they can both create wonder and excitement in children learning about the past, what I call that sharp intake of breath moment, the inspiration to start finding out more about history."

Also present were Graham Hughes, a retired Wolverhampton Wanderers historian, Pat Quirk, education officer at Molineux and Brian Conway, a veteran who served during the Berlin airlift and now works at Cosford giving talks to schools.

Ron, who these days gets his exercise playing golf and is a keen walker, said he probably found adapting to RAF life slightly easier than other young men.

"I signed for Wolves when I was 17 and moved from Doncaster to Wolverhampton, so I'd already had a year away from home before I started which helped."

But he added: "I was still a young lad leaving home, didn't know where I was going, so it was daunting.

"While I was here I kept thinking, "What am I doing? I'd much rather be playing football and earning money." Of course, it wasn't much money. I did enjoy my time really, and looking back it didn't do any harm and we could do well for it (National Service) to come back."

Ron enjoyed a successful career with Wolves, playing 467 times scoring 33 goals between 1952 and 1967.

It was a golden era for the club who won three Championships during that time and the FA Cup in 1960.

Ron also won 49 caps for England and was part of the World Cup winning squad in 1966. Though he didn't play at the tournament, he received a World Cup Winners medal in 2009. He finished his career at Wellington Town, who became Telford United in 1969, and said he had fond memories of his time in Shropshire. When asked about what Wolves need to get back to their former glories, Ron said: "I suppose we've all got ideas, but if we haven't got the players, we can't do much.

"We need a magician rather than a manager. Someone new can come in and do something different, but in the end it's just the luck.

"It is believing in what you are doing and it needs somebody saying this is it, this is what we're doing, go and do it."

Following Dean Saunders's departure this week, Ron believes Neil Warnock could be the right man for Wolves.

"I just think he strikes me as a good motivator and I would like to have spent more time with him talking about football and getting to know about the game."

But he added: "I wouldn't like to play today. They have beautiful pitches – we used to play in six inches of mud.

"People say it's faster today but really, just the ball is faster, the players aren't faster. I used to play with people who were like lightning, but they could only go as fast as the mud would let them."