Local Heroes

Port Vale chairman Bill Bratt was awarded the MBE in the Queens Birthday honours 2009 for his services to sport. He told BBC Radio Stoke that it came as a complete shock.

He said, "It was a surprise. I'm very proud I've got it for the club and everybody else, but personally it's a bit of an embarrassment, because I know there's a lot of people who do more than I've ever done, and there's more deserving people out there."

It's that modesty that's endeared Bill Bratt to many people in Stoke on Trent, along with his sheer hard work and tenacity which he's had from a very young age.

Determination

"As a lad I was in and out of childrens homes in Penkhull, and also a working boys home in Spark Terrace in Stoke - where I started work as a miner at Chatterley Whitfield pit. I biked the 14 miles from Stoke to the pit every day."

While his determination and drive to get his hands dirty, which would make him a successful businessman in the future, was shaped down the pit, his philosophy on life came from a much more traumatic part of his upbringing.

Bill Bratt's step-father was a World War 2 veteran who was taken by the Japanese as a prisoner of war. After the war his father appeared to be scarred mentally from his time in POW camps and regularly beat him. 

He said, "I didn't understand this until probably I was round about 25 to 30, that instead of taking it out on my mother, he took it out on me. If you're in that environment you get to accept it as the norm - it's only when you get outside that environment you see it isn't the norm."

"You go to school with a broken nose or a cauliflower ear or black eye and you make excuses to the teachers."

His step-father apologised to him whilst on his deathbed, where he died from cancer. "He held my hand and he just said sorry. All my hate then evaporated because I could see that he'd gone through a hell of a lot in his life."

Philosophy on life

Bill Bratt admits he could've reacted completely differently to such a traumatic upbringing, but his philosophy on life is now very much about putting his family first.

"I've got a son and daughter and I love them very much. I had a lot of good luck in care homes - people would take me out at weekends to sit with their families and I was able to see how families should be. I've brought my family up to be like that - a loving caring one that thinks a lot about the environment and other people."

His Christian faith is also another factor that's helped him in his life. From a young age he was helped by people in the church who provided him with clothing, food and advice.

"I think having a belief helps," he said. "The Christian faith is a good one to have. I believe you are judged on the way you think, talk and treat people. I think you should always do right by people, no matter what they do to you."

Port Vale

After working at Chatterley Whitfield, Bill Bratt became an insurance broker for more than 30 years. It was in 2001 he got involved with the Port Vale supporters trust 'Valiant 2001', and after the club went into administration he was appointed chairman.

"I've been a supporter since the age of 4 - and I've watched the games from the terraces ever since. Being chairman does entail a lot of work and unsocial hours. It involves a lot of community work, as well as trying to ensure the club runs satisfactorily and reporting to the board to ensure they're happy as well."

There's no doubt that Bill Bratt's philosophies on life are also used when looking after his extended family - Port Vale FC.

"I'm a Vale supporter. I love the club and I want to see it get further on, into the next, higher division. I want it to go forward off the pitch as well as on it - and to turn the club into a proper community club that is an asset to the local area."