Shropshire charity fundraiser Ray dies aged 75

Eccentric Ray Williams also once came close to breaking the world record time for eating a block of cheese.

Ray loved to court publicity to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

He died last month, aged 75, and his funeral last week was full of affectionate stories about his flamboyant stunts.

Born in Ruyton-XI-Towns on the Welsh border before eventually settling in Aston Road, Shifnal, Ray lived a life as colourful as his character.

Ray had an insatiable appetite to push his body to the limits, and looked for weird and wonderful ways to challenge his endurance.

As a middle-aged man he joined a travelling circus as a strongman and was soon given the nickname Ray "Willpower" Williams for his world record attempts.

Success did not always follow but for Ray it was all part of the show, which helped him to raise thousands of pounds for charities, like Save the Children, along the way.

His funeral was held last Wednesday because sadly, despite his heroic deeds, his battle with cancer was eventually one too many and he died on July 26.

During his amazing life, Ray also battled to get the best for Shifnal and would go out of his way to particularly help the elderly and infirm.

His compassion also spread to his late wife, Edna, who suffered with MS when he met her and was already wheelchair-bound because of the illness.

Close friend Jill Davies said: "In 1980 he spent six months working as a circus strongman.

"He later pulled a bus with his teeth along Southport Promenade and was billed as the 'man with the iron jaw'.

"He married Edna in 1984, who was already confined to a wheelchair with MS, and they entered the Shifnal Carnival for 23 years together, dressing up in many different styles.

"Over the years he has raised thousands of pounds for charities with his marathon walks and strongman acts.

"In 1986 he walked 1,000 miles in 30 days along the roads of Shifnal, pushing Edna for 100 miles.

"He also ran the London Marathon in his wellies aged 61 in 2002.

"Ray was a real showman and his acts are too numerous to mention them all."

Ray often pulled in huge crowds during his acts of strengths, with one of the more dangerous stunts seeing him balancing two sledgehammers on his teeth.

His teeth remained his strongest selling point and he once bent a steel bar held with them and pulled a Land Rover for 26 miles.

Ray's career as a strongman began in 1965 when, while working as a farm hand, he discovered an extraordinary talent for picking up milk churns with his mouth.

In 1971, he decided to attempt to break the world record for eating a pound of cheese at his local pub in Ruyton-XI-Towns – but only managed 14 ounces in a stunt that raised £15 for blind charities.

In 1974 he entered a talent contest in Chirk and his career developed from there. He carried a one hundredweight sack of wheat for four miles and then ran six miles in a time of one hour and 25 minutes. His circus career was short-lived and lasted one summer in the West Country but it gave him the courage to bring his act within Shropshire.

On his return he pushed Edna in a wheelchair for 20 miles while pulling a Landau car at the same time and took 12 hours to complete a tri-marathon where he ran, cycled and walked 26 miles. In 1979, he pushed one dried pea two-and-a-half miles with his nose in Shrewsbury's Riverside Shopping Centre, raising more than £650 for Save the Children.

He was eventually forced to retire in 2003 following more than 30 years because of a back injury and was not left with much cash as he donated all his proceeds to charity. He never charged for expenses. Other than the back injury, Ray managed to live most of his life without a major scares other than breaking a tooth on two occasions when a weight rolled down his arm.

He will be remembered as one of Shropshire's great eccentrics, who brought great fun to the county and helped a number of good causes along the way.