Stan Willemse

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Stan Willemse (born 23 August 1924) is a retired English footballer who played as a left-back.

Born in Brighton, Willemse served in the Royal Marines during World War II and began his career with Brighton & Hove Albion before signing for Londoners Chelsea in 1949 for £6,500. He earned a reputation as a hard-tackling defender whilst with the club, and formed the backbone of the team which won the League Championship in 1954-55, alongside the likes of Roy Bentley, Ken Armstrong, Eric Parsons and Derek Saunders, playing 39 games that season.

Willemse also featured in the representative London XI side which reached the final of the 1955-58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. He only remained at Chelsea for one more season after that, and signed for Leyton Orient in 1956.

When Chelsea won the title again in 2004-05, Willemse and fellow 1955 title winner Roy Bentley carried out the trophy at Stamford Bridge for it to be presented to current Chelsea captain John Terry. He continues to live in Brighton.