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National Football Museum video featuring objects related to Dick, Kerr Ladies from our collection.

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11 Museum Objects on the Pioneering Dick, Kerr Ladies | First 11

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Worksheet used in our Lily Parr school session, analysing newspaper articles of Women's Football from the era.

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One of the the museum's Lily Parr artists is residence, Billy Colours, uses Lily Parr as the inspiration for a simple creative activity!

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Make Bunting Flags inspired by Lily Parr

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Make Bunting Flags inspired by Lily Parr

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CBBC Horrible Histories Feature on Lily Parr

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CBBC Horrible Histories Feature on Lily Parr

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CBBC introduce viewers to Dick, Kerr legend Lily Parr. A funny way to start the topic.

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England's Greatest Football Striker | Troublesome Twentieth Century | Horrible Histories

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ITV Granada Reports feature on Dick, Kerr Ladies

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ITV Granada Reports feature on Dick, Kerr Ladies

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Featuring National Football Museum curator Belinda Scarlett

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The last century of football's history could have been so very different, if those in charge of the game 100 years ago had not hindered a remarkable women's team.

Dick, Kerr Ladies FC was formed at a munitions factory in Preston during the First World War, as a way to improve both morale and health. Team founder Grace Sibbert soon realised her side could outplay their male counterparts, according to her grandson David Coulton.

They rapidly became one the most popular teams - male or female - of their time, attracting crowds of up to 53,000 and playing the very first women's international against France.

Their success encouraged numerous women's clubs to open nationwide.

Dick, Kerr Ladies' matches acted as charitable fundraisers for soldiers who had been injured in the First World War Credit: British Pathe

Those running the Football Association soon noticed the growing popularity of Dick, Kerr Ladies - and the women's game as a whole. In 1921, they banned women from playing at FA members' grounds.

Officials claimed it was for health reasons, the game was dangerous to women, and because charitable donations from matches had been too low. Gail Newsham, the team's biographer, takes a different view.

The ban lasted for 50 years. It did not stop Dick, Kerr Ladies from playing, nor women in general, but it deprived clubs of quality pitches, financing and media attention.

By the time it was lifted in 1971, the Preston side had ceased to exist and many fans believed the myths that football was not a women's game. Belinda Scarlett, curator of the National Football Museum, explains why the road back was then a long one.

The anniversary of the ban, and those continuing myths, prompted one of the most successful women's teams of today to set matters straight.

A Manchester City staff member penned a poem called "My Place Is On The Pitch." It is read by star striker Ellen White.

The passion and ability of a team forged in wartime changed women's football forever. If Dick, Kerr Ladies FC had been allowed to shine even brighter, who knows how much further forward the sport would be today.

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The pioneers of women's football who were banned 100 years ago | ITV News

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The last century of football's history could have been so very different, if those in charge of the game 100 years ago had not hindered a remarkable women's team. Dick, Kerr Ladies FC was formed at a munitions factory in Preston during the First World War, as a way to improve both morale and health.

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Make a Football Timeline - Inspired by Lily Parr

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Make a Football Timeline - Inspired by Lily Parr

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Simple craft activity from the National Football Museum, inspired by Lily Parr. Make your own football timeline.

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Make Your Own Football Timeline | Lily Parr | Football Craft Activities

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Dangers of Working in a Munitions Factory

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Dangers of Working in a Munitions Factory

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Article from the Imperial War Museums explaining the dangers of working in a munitions factory - the same dangers Lily would have faced.

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Munitions workers played a crucial role in the First World War. They supplied the troops at the front with the armaments and equipment they needed to fight. They also freed up men from the workforce to join the armed forces.

Following a shortage of shells in 1915, the Ministry of Munitions was founded to control Britain's output of war material. It oversaw all aspects of the production and supply of munitions, under the forceful and energetic Minister for Munitions, David Lloyd George.

A number of new initiatives were soon introduced to improve production levels. One of these was an appeal to women to register for war service work. Thousands of women volunteered as a result, and many of these were soon employed in the growing number of munitions factories across the country. By the end of the war, over 700,000 - and possibly up to one million - women had become 'munitionettes'.

The munitionettes worked long hours in often hazardous conditions. Hear stories of some of the dangers and difficulties they faced by listening to these former munitions workers.

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9 Women Reveal The Dangers Of Working In A First World War Munitions Factory

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Munitions workers played a crucial role in the First World War. They supplied the troops at the front with the armaments and equipment they needed to fight. They also freed up men from the workforce to join the armed forces.

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Sporting Heritage card game, featuring two trailblazers from the museum: Kerry Davis and Lily Parr. Free to print and play.

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Sporting organisations from across the country have nominated 20 female sporting heroes which have been celebrated through illustrations with lots of interesting facts.

3 ways to enjoy this resource

Play the memory games below. Can you match the sports women? Tap the squares to reveal the pairs!

Play the card challenge game (attached below). Download the female Sporting heroes card game, print, cut and play. Who will be the champion?

Fact file (attached below) - download and read the fact file about each sports woman.

The creative resource is part of the Hidden Histories Illustrated project. Sporting Heritage is working in partnership with freelance illustrator and education consultant, Jessica Hartshorn on the Arts Council England funded initiative to celebrate women and disability in sport.

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Play the memory games below. Can you match the sports women? Tap the squares to reveal the pairs! Play the card challenge game (attached below). Download the female Sporting heroes card game, print, cut and play. Who will be the champion? Fact file (attached below) - download and read the fact file about each sports woman.

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AIM History Makers Website - featuring Lily Parr

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AIM History Makers Website - featuring Lily Parr

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Tifo video explaining the history of women's football and how Dick, Kerr Ladies were formed.

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BBC Sport - Short Profile of Lily Parr for LGBT+ History Month

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BBC Sport - Short Profile of Lily Parr for LGBT+ History Month

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This short video is an interesting watch, where different women speak about the life of trailblazing Lily Parr.

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A nicely illustrated and informative video on Lily Parr.

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Lily Parr: The Greatest Female Footballer Of All Time

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Anita Asante on why Lily Parr is a football and LGBT+ icon

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Anita Asante on why Lily Parr is a football and LGBT+ icon

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Anita Asante explains why Parr was one of the first female icons in football. Includes a video featuring museum curator Belinda Scarlett and Parr statue.

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When people think of the best English footballers from a century or so ago, they tend to think of England great Stanley Matthews rather than Lily Parr.

But Parr's tale is every bit as storied as Matthews' or that of Plymouth Argyle legend Jack Leslie - he had been called up by England in the 1920s only to later have his name withdrawn for selection due to the colour of his skin.

Playing for Dick, Kerr Ladies while barely a teenager - alongside working in a Preston munitions factory bearing the same name - Parr would go on to dazzle in front of sold-out crowds, often playing against men, earning herself a reputation as one of the game's most fearsome ball strikers.

Writing exclusively for Sky Sports News, Aston Villa Women's defender and 71-cap England international Anita Asante explains why Parr can rightfully be regarded as one of football's first female icons.

"The emergence of the Dick, Kerr Ladies team was hugely significant in itself. A lot of people associate women's football kind of in the context of the modern era because of the level of visibility we have now.

"But, for me, Dick, Kerr Ladies were pioneers of the women's game, participating in sporting activities that women were not really seen to do at the time. They worked in the Dick, Kerr & Co factory during the week, and on weekends sometimes played in front of 50+ thousand people.

"And Lily Parr was the first female football icon in a way - she's the predominant figure that people have referred to as the starting point of the women's game, not least because of her notable talent.

"She was referred to as having one of the hardest shots when she was a footballer playing against other teams, which included men's sides as well. That's the best indicator of Dick, Kerr Ladies' ability and how good they were - that thousands of people wanted to come and watch them.

"Lily Parr is one of the defining faces of that era for what they were doing and for the barriers they were breaking down for future generations. It's phenomenal what she was able to achieve during that period in and around wartime.

"The sacrifices she made and her preparedness to work in a munitions factory during a difficult time for Britain showed her character as a person. She also travelled with Dick, Kerr Ladies to America and beyond. Lily was dedicated to football, earning plaudits for her crossing ability and the goals that she scored as well as the milestones that she reached.

"Not only that, but according to some historians Lily was also part of the LGBT+ community at a time where there was a widespread lack of tolerance. On that basis, I presume it would have been very difficult to live as her complete self, yet she was still able to hit real heights.

"I think it's important to always see a person as more than one thing. We are human beings and not defined purely by our sexuality or just by being athletes. We're a lot of different things to a lot of different people in our lives.

"I'm sure even Lily in her day was that for the people around her. She was a strong, determined, passionate woman with a lot of skill and ability as a footballer. But to others, she was someone's friend, sister, daughter, and all of those things.

"I think it's important to acknowledge people who may have been in the LGBT+ community during a time like that to illustrate and understand the reality of people and their relationships in history. You're always going to get debates but it's more important to underline the fact that she was a genuine trailblazer in a male-dominated sport, at a time where lots of things were still taboo and not fully understood like sexuality and gender barriers.

"Lily Parr and Dick, Kerr Ladies attracted audiences of men and women who wanted to come and watch because they saw them as talented. It was genuine entertainment and that shows a level of respect during a time period where we're told gender and society was not as evolved as today.

"From that perspective, Lily Parr showed an ability to walk through walls, showing people that it's possible to do the things you want to do. Whether that was to live with her life partner or not is perhaps debatable but her determination and will is not.

"Lily probably hasn't got the credit she deserves, in all honesty.

"I love football and have been watching it forever since I was little. I know of and have been taught about the legendary names we hear about in the men's game, the Maradonas, the Zinedine Zidanes, the Zicos - people know about the historical context of the men's game.

"But the women's game is so under-archived, I think. And historically, it has not really been shared across mainstream channels so that it can reach a wider audience. That limits our knowledge about the precursors for the women's game today.

"Lily is part of that history and it's important for us to know and to understand when the game started, where we're going, and actually why the game is at the place it is today."

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Lily Parr: Anita Asante on why Dick, Kerr Ladies forward is both a football and LGBT+ icon

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One hundred years on from the ban on women's football, Dick, Kerr Ladies forward Lily Parr is one of the faces of UK LGBT+ History Month; writing exclusively for Sky Sports News, Aston Villa & 71-cap England defender Anita Asante explains why Parr was one of football's first female icons

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Lily Parr: First Female Footballer to be Celebrated With a Statue

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Lily Parr: First Female Footballer to be Celebrated With a Statue

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Newsround provide a short introduction to Lily Parr, including a 50 second news feature showing the unveiling of the statue.

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Can you guess which footballer has scored more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo and had a 32-year career that included playing in the first England international?

No? Well, there's a good chance you've never heard of the footballer Lily Parr.

Lily, who died aged 73 in 1978, played professionally in the 1920s. A life-sized statue of the football legend was added to the National Football Museum last year and the museum will now be introducing a new permanent gallery dedicated to Lily's life and legacy.

"I think that people may have heard the name Lily Parr and that she played football.

But many have no real understanding of her dramatic story or influence. And more importantly, how her story fits into the narrative of women's football," said Belinda Scarlett, who is a curator of Women's Football at the National Football Museum.

"The impact and legacy of women like Lily on the development of women's football regionally, nationally and internationally, is highly significant and under-represented."

The gallery is set to open in Spring 2021.

In 2002, Lily became the first woman to be inducted into the National Football Museum's Hall of Fame.

And, in 2019 Lily also became the first female footballer to be celebrated with a statue in her honour in the UK.

Who was Lily Parr?

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The former Dick, Kerr Ladies FC striker scored a whopping 986 goals in her career.

That's about 280 more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo has managed!

In her debut season as a 14-year-old, she scored 43 goals - Kylian Mbappe's first full season with Monaco saw him score only 15 goals.

Parr played in the first recognised women's international match between England and France when Lancashire team Dick, Kerr Ladies FC, represented the national England team.

They won the match 4-0 in 1920.

She also played for St Helens and Preston in a career that lasted an amazing 32 years.

When she wasn't bossing the football field, she trained as a nurse and worked in Preston's Whittingham psychiatric hospital.

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Lily Parr: Football's female superstar will be honoured at museum - CBBC Newsround

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Can you guess which footballer has scored more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo and had a 32-year career that included playing in the first England international? No? Well, there's a good chance you've never heard of the footballer Lily Parr. Lily, who died aged 73 in 1978, played professionally in the 1920s.

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From the National Football Museum Collection.

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Photo of the Dick, Kerr Ladies, Featuring Lily Parr - 1921

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Photo of the Dick, Kerr Ladies, Featuring Lily Parr - 1921

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From the National Football Museum Collection.

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Sound of the 1921 FA Statement Being Read Aloud

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Sound of the 1921 FA Statement Being Read Aloud

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The FA Statement released in 1921, banning women's football.

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Photo of Dick, Kerr International Ladies, Featuring Lily Parr

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Photo of Dick, Kerr International Ladies, Featuring Lily Parr

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From the National Football Museum Collection.

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These Football Times Article on Lily Parr and The Dick, Kerr Ladies

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These Football Times Article on Lily Parr and The Dick, Kerr Ladies

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A brief history on the Dick, Kerr Ladies and Lily Parr.

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There are cupboards at the Football Association where skeletons reside. Shadowy enclaves that English football's governing body is never particularly comfortable about when they are forced to open them up so the public can peer inside.

On 5 December 1921, the FA banned women's football from taking place at the grounds and stadiums of its member clubs. A little under a year earlier, Dick, Kerr Ladies had played before a crowd of 53,000 spectators at Goodison Park, on a day when an estimated 14,000 more were locked out. The popularity of the women's game was at its peak. To put those numbers into context, the 1920 FA Cup final between Aston Villa and Huddersfield was attended by a crowd of 50,018.

When World War One ended in November 1918, if the FA had expected the inexorable rise in popularity of women's football to subside in the wake of the return of the Football League and FA Cup, then the events of 1920 had delivered a serious shock to the system. Citing the ludicrous and spiteful claims that football was physically unsuitable for women and raising hypocritical questions over how and where the gate receipts to matches were absorbed, the FA big-wigs of the early-1920s, in an act of self-preservation toward the men's game - and perhaps in a bid to kill off a growing social and sporting women's revolution - delivered the ultimate hammer blow to women's football.

On a busy Monday at 42 Russell Square, London, the former, and reputedly haunted, headquarters of the FA, the powers that be also discussed the concept of professional footballers being allowed to turn out in amateur games, without impacting upon the amateur status of those teams involved. They also passed on the recommendation to the finance committee that the 1922 FA Cup final take place at Stamford Bridge.

While news of the planned venue of the FA Cup final and the politics of professionals playing in amateur games were warranted as being noteworthy, in the limited sports pages of the following day's newspapers, the damaging turn of events revolving around the women's game was given little mention.It was nothing short of a cruel and underhand ban, which took the FA 50 years to begrudgingly reverse. By then, of course, the damage had been done to women's football, and of those who could remember the glory days of Dick, Kerr Ladies, they were definitively of an ageing generation.

Founded in Preston, at Dick, Kerr & Company, a locomotive and tramcar manufacturer in peacetime and a clandestine munitions factory in wartime, Dick, Kerr Ladies were the product of a war which was raging across the world. With thousands of women employed, taking the place on the factory floor of the men who had taken up arms, Dick, Kerr and Company were making 30,000 shells a week at the height of the war. It was physically demanding and dangerous work. Explosives could go off without warning and workers risked their lives to provide weapons for their loved ones on the frontlines.

In a way to raise their own morale, the women of the factory floor began to play impromptu games of football in the yard against the men who had been spared the battlefields to instead train this new army of women munitions engineers.These games soon inspired the forming of a works team, which reached out to other factories across the region with the idea of staging charity games, largely to raise funds for injured soldiers and their families, who had little in the way of systematic financial support.

In 1917, Dick, Kerr Ladies played their first organised game. St Helen's Ladies were the opponents and they would soon become a regular on-pitch rival. The game was a success and around 10,000 spectators showed up to watch the game and support the cause.

Under the guidance of Alfred Franklin, they went from strength to strength and they were flooded by invitations to play across the country. Within this, they were able to attract talented players from other teams. One such player was the iconic Lily Parr, an outside-left of immense skill and power. Plucked from St Helen's Ladies, she was a phenomenon by the age of 14.

Billed as possessing one of the most powerful shots in the history of the game, across both sides of the gender divide, she reputedly broke the wrist of one Football League goalkeeper after the validity of her talents with the ball were challenged by him. Legend has it that she also broke a crossbar during another game.

Parr was a trailblazer of women's football, while she also became an icon to the LGBT community, having openly embraced her love for her partner, Mary, at a time when community sensibilities were set to intolerant. Parr took to football and life with wonderful enthusiasm, often with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

Other stars of the team included Alice Woods, a tough tackling and driven midfielder, a woman who was still showing her family how to kick a ball into her 90s, and Joan Whalley who, like Parr, was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame.

Order | These Football Times magazine

That the women's game escalated so quickly between 1917 and 1920 was a testament to the skill and talents of Dick, Kerr Ladies. They became so valued that on one trip to London the team stayed in a modern and stylish hotel, where Parr and Woods were so amazed by the concept of electric lights that they stayed up all night switching them on and off.

During 1920, in what was an unofficial women's league, Dick, Kerr Ladies scored 133 goals in 30 games and ventured onto the continent, where they beat a French representative team, in what has since been recognised as the first women's international game. Over the course of the games they played in the name of charity, Dick, Kerr Ladies raised the equivalent of approximately £10m, of which detailed financial records were meticulously kept.

Behind the closed doors of the FA, however, on 5 December 1921, there was no interest in such "trivialities" as evidence. The story had been spun and the verdict handed down. Rather than prove their bizarre theories, the FA opted for the propaganda of conjecture from Harley Street doctors, who were more than happy to see their names in print.

Dick, Kerr Ladies defiantly played on and in 1922 they set off for a tour of Canada and the United States. When they reached Canada, however, they found that their games had been cancelled, while in the United States they were pitted against men's teams. On their return to England, Dick, Kerr Ladies were reduced to playing their games at dog tracks and at local parks; all a far cry from playing in front of 53,000 at Goodison Park.

In 1926, after a dispute between Franklin and the Dick, Kerr and Company, the team changed its name to Preston Ladies FC, and while they carried on playing until 1965, inclusive of the continued involvement of their star player, Parr, until 1951, as they drifted into obscurity. It is ironic that Preston Ladies disbanded a year before the England men's team won the World Cup. The tournament acted as a catalyst for a renewed push for the overturning of the FA's draconian ban on women's games being played in professional stadiums.

While the women's game of today continues to grow, it is still suffering due to the dark arts performed by the FA in 1921. The reasons why Dick, Kerr Ladies came together were noble; the reasons why the FA banned women's games from taking place at their club's stadiums were nothing short of pitiful.

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Lily Parr and the Dick, Kerr Ladies: the banned women's team who raised almost £10m for charity

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There are cupboards at the Football Association where skeletons reside. Shadowy enclaves that English football's governing body is never particularly comfortable about when they are forced to open them up so the public can peer inside. On 5 December 1921, the FA banned women's football from taking place at the grounds and stadiums of its member clubs.

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Teammates at St Helens Girls and Knowsley Saints explain what made Lily Parr special.

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Commentary from a munitionettes football match.

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Lily Parr: An in depth article on Spartacus Educational

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Lily Parr: An in depth article on Spartacus Educational

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This detailed article on Lily Parr's life features quotes and references, creating a timeline throughout.

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▼ Primary Sources ▼

Lily Parr was born in St Helens on 26th April, 1905. Her brother was a keen sportsman and he taught her how to play football and rugby.

Barbara Jacobs has pointed out in The Dick, Kerr's Ladies: "She (Lily Parr) was as adept at rugby as she was at football, spending hours on her own perfecting the technique of the power kick. She'd sorted that out by the time she was thirteen and in football could score from any place on the pitch, or in rugby kick the finest penalty or drop goal. A left-footer, her ability was natural, magic, but honed by her refusal to conform to the art of being a woman. She wasn't having any of it."

In 1919, the 14 year old Parr started playing football for the St Helens Ladies football team. Her second game was against Dick Kerr Ladies. St Helens lost 6-1. Alfred Frankland, the manager of the team from Preston, was very impressed with the performances of Lily Parr and her team-mate, Alice Woods. After the game Frankland asked the two women to join his team. He also offered to arrange for them to live in Preston. Lily agreed to live in the home of fellow player, Alice Norris.

Frankland agreed to pay Lily 10 shillings every time she played for the team. This worked out at about £100 in today's money. Lily was a great success and in her first season scored 43 goals for the club. Gail J. Newsham wrote in her book on the team, In a League of their Own (1994) about Lily: "Standing almost six feet tall, with jet black hair, her power and skill was admired and feared, wherever she played. She was an extremely unselfish player who could pin-point a pass with amazing accuracy and was also a marvellous ball player. And she was probably responsible in one way or another, for most of the goals that were scored by the team".

In 1920 a local newspaper wrote about this talented 14 year old: "There is probably no greater football prodigy in the whole country. Not only has she speed and excellent ball control, but her admirable physique enables her to brush off challenges from defenders who tackle her. She amazes the crowd where ever she goes by the way she swings the ball clean across the goalmouth to the opposite wing."

One of her team-mates, Joan Whalley, remarked on Parr's sense of humour: "When the older players were getting ready for a match, there were elastic stockings going on knee's and strapping up of ankles, there were bandages here there and everywhere. Then Parr walked in, and she stood looking around at them all and said, "well, I don't know about Dick Kerr Ladies football team, it looks like a bloody trip to Lourdes to me!"

In 1920 Alfred Frankland arranged for the Federation des Societies Feminine Sportives de France to send a team to tour England. Frankland believed that his team was good enough to represent England against a French national team. Four matches were arranged to be played at Preston, Stockport, Manchester and London. The matches were played on behalf of the National Association of Discharged and Disabled Soldiers and Sailors.

The two teams travelled to Stockport by charabanc. This time England won 5-2. The third game was played at Hyde Road, Manchester. Over 12,000 spectators saw France obtain a 1-1 draw. Madame Milliat reported that the first three games had raised £2,766 for the ex-servicemens fund.

The final game took place at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club. A crowd of 10,000 saw the French Ladies win 2-1. However, the English Ladies had the excuse of playing most of the game with only ten players as Jennie Harris suffered a bad injury soon after the game started. This game caused a stir in the media when the two captains, Alice Kell and Madeline Bracquemond, kissed each other at the end of the match.

On 28th October, 1920. Alfred Frankland took his team to tour France. On Sunday 31st October, 22,000 people watched the two sides draw 1-1 in Paris. However, the game ended five minutes early when a large section of the crowd invaded the pitch after disputing the decision by the French referee to award a corner-kick to the English side. After the game Alice Kell said the French ladies were much better playing on their home ground.

The next game was played in Roubaix. England won 2-0 in front of 16,000 spectators, a record attendance for the ground. Florrie Redford scored both the goals. England won the next game at Havre, 6-0. As with all the games, the visitors placed a wreath in memory of allied soldiers who had been killed during the First World War.

The final game was in Rouen. The English team won 2-0 in front of a crowd of 14,000. When the team arrived back in Preston on 9th November, 1920, they had travelled over 2,000 miles. As captain of the team, Alice Kell made a speech where she said: "If the matches with the French Ladies serve no other purpose, I feel that they will have done more to cement the good feeling between the two nations than anything which has occurred during the last 50 years."

Soon after arriving back in Preston, Alfred Frankland was informed that the local charity for Unemployed Ex- Servicemen was in great need for money to buy food for former soldiers for Christmas. Frankland decided to arrange a game at between Dick Kerr Ladies and a team made up of the rest of England. Deepdale, the home of Preston North End was the venue. To maximize the crowd, it was decided to make it a night game. Permission was granted by the Secretary of State for War, Winston Churchill, for two anti-aircraft searchlights, generation equipment and forty carbide flares, to be used to floodlight the game.

Over 12,000 people came to watch the match that took place on 16th December, 1920. It was also filmed by Pathe News. Bob Holmes, a member of the Preston team that won the first Football League title in 1888-89, had the responsibility of providing whitewashed balls at regular intervals. Although one of the searchlights went out briefly on two occasions, the players coped well with the conditions. Dick Kerr Ladies showed they were the best woman's team in England by winning 4-0. Jennie Harris scored twice in the first half and Florrie Redford and Minnie Lyons added further goals before the end of the game. A local newspaper described the ball control of Harris as "almost weird". He added "she controlled the ball like a veteran league forward, swerved, beat her opponents with the greatest of ease, and passed with judgment and discretion". As a result of this game, the Unemployed Ex Servicemens Distress Fund received over £600 to help the people of Preston. This was equivalent to £125,000 in today's money.

The game at Goodison Park raised £3,115 (£623,000 in today's money). Two weeks later the Dick Kerr Ladies played a game at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, in order to raise money for ex-servicemen in Manchester. Over 35,000 people watched the game and £1,962 (£392,000) was raised for charity.

The Dick Kerr Ladies did not only raise money for Unemployed Ex Servicemens Distress Fund. They also helped local workers who were in financial difficulty. The mining industry in particular suffered a major recession after the war. In March, 1921, the mine-owners announced a further 50% reduction in miner's wages. When the miners refused to accept this pay-cut, they were locked out from their jobs. On April 1 and, immediately on the heels of this provocation, the government put into force its Emergency Powers Act, drafting soldiers into the coalfield.

The government and the mine-owners attempted to starve the miners into submission. Several members of the Dick Kerr team came from mining areas like St. Helens and held strong opinions on this issue and games were played to raise money for the families of those men locked out of employment. As Barbara Jacobs pointed out in The Dick, Kerr's Ladies: "Women's football had come to be associated with charity, and had its own credibility. Now it was used as a tool to help the Labour Movement and the trade unions. It had, it could be said, become a politically dangerous sport, to those who felt the trade unions to be their enemies.... Women went out to support their menfolk, a Lancashire tradition, was causing ripples in a society which wanted women to revert to their prewar roles as set down by their masters, of keeping their place, that place being in the home and kitchen. Lancashire lasses were upsetting the social order. It wasn't acceptable."

The 1921 Miners Lock-Out caused considerable suffering in mining areas in Wales and Scotland. This was reflected by games played in Cardiff (18,000), Swansea (25,000) and Kilmarnock (15,000). Dick Kerr Ladies represented England beat Wales on two successive Saturdays. They also beat Scotland on 16th April, 1921.

The Football Association was appalled by what they considered to be women's involvement in national politics. It now began a propaganda campaign against women's football. A new rule was introduced that stated no football club in the FA should allow their ground to be used for women's football unless it was prepared to handle all the cash transactions and do the full accounting. This was an attempt to smear Alfred Frankland with financial irregularities.

On 5th December 1921, the Football Association issued the following statement:

Complaints having been made as to football being played by women, the Council feel impelled to express their strong opinion that the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged.

Complaints have been made as to the conditions under which some of these matches have been arranged and played, and the appropriation of the receipts to other than Charitable objects.

The Council are further of the opinion that an excessive proportion of the receipts are absorbed in expenses and an inadequate percentage devoted to Charitable objects.

For these reasons the Council requests the clubs belonging to the Association refuse the use of their grounds for such matches.

This measure removed the ability of women to raise significant sums of money for charity as they were now barred from playing at all the major venues. The Football Association also announced that members were not allowed to referee or act as linesman at any women's football match.

The Dick Kerr Ladies team were shocked by this decision. Alice Kell, the captain, spoke for the other women when she said: "We play for the love of the game and we are determined to carry on. It is impossible for the working girls to afford to leave work to play matches all over the country and be the losers. I see no reason why we should not be recompensated for loss of time at work. No one ever receives more than 10 shillings per day."

Alice Norris pointed out that the women were determined to resist attempts to stop them playing football: "We just took it all in our stride but it was a terrible shock when the FA stopped us from playing on their grounds. We were all very upset but we ignored them when they said that football wasn't a suitable game for ladies to play."

As Gail J. Newsham argued In a League of their Own: "So, that was that, the axe had fallen, and despite all the ladies denials and assurances regarding finances, and their willingness to play under any conditions that the FA laid down, the decision was irreversible. The chauvinists, the medical 'experts' and the anti women's football lobby had won - their threatened male bastion was now safe."

Alfred Frankland responded to the action taken by the Football Association with the claim: "The team will continue to play, if the organisers of charity matches will provide grounds, even if we have to play on ploughed fields."

Frankland now decided to take his team on a tour of Canada and the United States. The team included Lily Parr, Jennie Harris, Daisy Clayton, Alice Kell, Florrie Redford, Florrie Haslam, Alice Woods, Jessie Walmsley, Molly Walker, Carmen Pomies, Lily Lee, Alice Mills, Annie Crozier, May Graham, Lily Stanley and R. J. Garrier. Their regular goalkeeper, Peggy Mason, was unable to go due to the recent death of her mother.

When the Dick Kerr Ladies arrived in Quebec on 22nd December, 1922, they discovered that the Dominion Football Association had banned them from playing against Canadian teams. They were accepted in the United States, and even though they were sometimes forced to play against men, they lost only 3 out of 9 games. They visited Boston, Baltimore, St. Louis, Washington, Detroit, Chicago and Philadelphia during their tour of America.

Florrie Redford was the leading scorer on the tour but Lily Parr was considered the star player and American newspapers reported that she was the "most brilliant female player in the world". One member of the team, Alice Mills, met her future husband at one of the games, and would later return to marry him and become an American citizen.

In Philadelphia four members of the team, Lily Parr, Jennie Harris, Florrie Haslam and Molly Walker, met the American Women's Olympic team in a relay race of about a quarter of a mile. Even though their fastest runner, Alice Woods, was unavailable through illness, the Preston ladies still won the race.

Dick, Kerr Engineering was eventually taken over by English Electric. Although they allowed the team to play on Ashton Park, it refused to subsidize the football team. Alfred Frankland was also told that he would no longer be given time off to run the team that was now known as the Preston Ladies.

Frankland decided to leave English Electric and open a shop with his wife in Sharoe Green Lane in Preston where they sold fish and greengroceries. He continued to manage Preston Ladies with great success.

Some of the players also lost their jobs with English Electric. Over the years Frankland had raised considerable sums of money for Whittingham Hospital and Lunatic Asylum. The hospital was always willing to employ and provide accommodation for Frankland's players. This included Lily Parr, Florrie Redford, Jessie Walmsley, Lily Lee and Lily Martin. In 1923 Frankland persuaded Lizzy Ashcroft and Lydia Ackers, two of St Helens best players, to join Preston Ladies. Both women went to work for Whittingham Hospital.

While working at the hospital Lily Parr met her partner Mary and together they bought a house in Preston. Lily continued to work and eventually became a Ward Sister at the hospital.

During the General Strike English Electric stopped Preston Ladies from playing on Ashton Park. Alice Norris pointed out: "It was our training night and we were told not to go up to Ashton Park anymore. Something must have gone wrong between him (Frankland) and the firm."

Despite the lack of sponsorship, Preston Ladies continued to be the best team in England. In 1927 they beat their rivals for the title, Blackpool Ladies, 11-2. Lily Parr, Florrie Redford and Jennie Harris all scored goals in the game.

Alice Woods stopped playing for Preston Ladies when she married Herbert Stanley in September, 1928. Other players like Alice Kell got married and gave up football. Florrie Redford emigrated to Canada in 1930 to pursue her career as a nurse whereas Carmen Pomies returned to France. Jennie Harris kept playing until the mid-1930s.

Lily Parr, who never got married, continued to play football for Preston Ladies. Lydia Ackers, who played for many years with Parr argued that: "I have never seen any woman, nor many a man, kick a ball like she could. Everybody was amazed when they saw her power, you would never believe it."

Joan Whalley was another one who played in the same team as Lily Parr later wrote: "She had a kick like a mule. she was the only person I knew who could lift a dead ball, the old heavy leather ball, from the left wing over to me on the right and nearly knock me out with the force of the shot.... When she took a left corner kick, it came over like a bullet, and if you ever hit one of those with your head... I only ever did it once and the laces on the ball left their impression on my forehead and cut it open."

Some shrewd observers believed she was good enough to play for a club in the Football League. Bobby Walker, a Scottish international player, belied that she was the "best natural timer of a football I have ever seen." Alfred Frankland went further describing her as the "best outside left playing in the world today."

On 8th September, 1937, Preston Ladies beat Edinburgh Ladies to win the "championship of Great Britain and the World". Preston won 5-1 with Lily Parr scoring one of the goals. Joan Whalley, who was only 15, also scored. A World Championship Victory Dinner was held at Booths Cafe in Preston.

Alfred Frankland made a speech where he claimed: "Since our inception we have played 437 matches, won 424, lost 7 and drawn 6, scored 2,863 goals and had only 207 scored against. We have raised over £100,000 in this country and in foreign lands for charity. We have won 14 silver cups, 5 of them outright, and hold a trophy awarded for the most meritorious assistance given to ex-servicemen."

In 1946 Lily Parr was made captain in recognition of 26 years service. She had only missed 5 games since joining the team in 1920. The local newspaper reported that she had scored 967 goals out of the teams total score of 3,022.

The Football Association refused to lift its ban on women players. In 1947 the Kent County Football Association suspended a referee because he was working as a manager/trainer with Kent Ladies Football Club. It justified its decision with the comment that "women's football brings the game into disrepute".

In 1950 Alfred Frankland calculated that since 1917 Preston Ladies had played 643 games. Of these, they had only lost 9 games. He also claimed that that the team had raised £140,000 for charity.

Lily Parr was aged 45 when she played her last game on 12th August, 1950. She scored a goal in an 11-1 victory over Scotland. During her long career she had scored more than 900 goals. Preston Ladies folded in 1965. Five years later the Football Association agreed to lift its ban on women's players.

Lily Parr retired from the hospital in the early 1960s. A life-long smoker she developed cancer and in 1967 had a double mastectomy. Lily commented: "It's taken me 62 years to grow these, now they have taken them off me!" She refused to give up smoking and asked her friends to bring in packets of Woodbines while she was in hospital.

Lily Parr died of cancer in her home in St Helens on 24th May 1978. In 1992, Lily Parr, England's best ever woman player, was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame at the National Football Museum in Preston.

I am indebted to the research carried out by Barbara Jacobs (The Dick, Kerr's Ladies) and Gail Newsham (In a League of their Own) for the information in this article.

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▼ Primary Sources ▼ Lily Parr was born in St Helens on 26th April, 1905. Her brother was a keen sportsman and he taught her how to play football and rugby. Barbara Jacobs has pointed out in The Dick, Kerr's Ladies: "She (Lily Parr) was as adept at rugby as she was at football, spending hours on her own perfecting the technique of the power kick.