A Blue plaque and other tributes to the pioneering women’s football team Manchester Corinthians will be unveiled at noon today (6 October 2023) at the site of their formation, Fog Lane Park, Didsbury, Manchester. In attendance will be over 20 women who played for the club between 1949 and 1983 and representatives from the Football Association, Manchester Football Association, Manchester City Council, football fans, members of the public and former England international Kerry Davis.
I’ve talked about the women often and what they achieved but here are several interviews with a few of the women who played for Corinthians. This link includes filmed interviews we did with Gail Robertson, Jan Lyons and Lesley Wright (all Corinthians) plus there’s an interview with Jane Morley who played for United Ladies and went on to coach City Ladies too:
Manchester Corinthian Ladies FC was an English football club founded in 1949 by Percy Ashley. He established the club because his daughter Doris wanted to play football but couldn’t find a team. At this time The FA ban on women’s football using FA affiliated grounds was in place (from 1921; lifted in 1970). During the inaugural seasons the Corinthians played friendlies and in small scale competitions in the UK, but during the mid to late 1950s they embarked on a series of European tours.
Manchester Corinthians mural by artist Gavin Renshaw
Their fame grew and they received invites to play across Europe, in Africa and in South America. Occasionally playing as an unofficial England side in tournaments (these were the days before there was an official England team), they found success often, becoming the most successful women’s team by some distance.
Under the management of Percy Ashley, followed by Gladys Aikin and then George Aikin, the Corinthians were important representatives of women’s football, both internationally and domestically, always contributing to the game’s growth and development.
Washing in the duck pond, Manchester Corinthians by Artist Gavin Renshaw
PIONEERING WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM TO BE RECOGNISED WITH A BLUE PLAQUE TOMORROW!
Manchester Corinthian Ladies Football Club to be recognised with a blue plaque
Unveiling will take place at Fog Lane Park, Didsbury, their home for over 20 years from formation in 1949
The plaque, two murals of the team and other tributes will be unveiled at the park tomorrow (Friday 6 October) at noon
The plaque and murals were funded by an appeal which included significant donations from the Football Association and Manchester City Council, alongside dozens of individual donations including one from the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation, demonstrating the great community of women’s football that existed in North West England
Over 20 players, including a 92 year old who joined the team at formation, will be in attendance
A Blue plaque and other tributes to the pioneering women’s football team Manchester Corinthians will be unveiled on Friday 6 October at noon at the site of their formation, Fog Lane Park, Didsbury, Manchester. In attendance will be over 20 women who played for the club between 1949 and 1983 and representatives from the Football Association, Manchester Football Association, Manchester City Council, football fans, members of the public and former England international Kerry Davis.
One of the former players in attendance will be 92 year old, Dorothy Alcock, who first joined the team at formation in 1949. Others present on the day participated in trophy winning tours across Europe and South America during the fifties, sixties and seventies.
The Corinthians raised significant amounts of money for charity during their existence while also promoting football and female endeavour at a time when participation in the sport was often frowned upon.
During the 1950s, playing as an unofficial England side, the Corinthians won a major European tournament in Germany and were supported on their travels by legendary Manchester City men’s goalkeeper Bert Trautmann.
In 1960 they found success in an unofficial ‘World Cup’ (officially the first ‘Torneo Internacional De Futbol Femenino’) in Venezuela as part of a significant tour of the West Indies and South America. Former player (outside right) Margaret Whitworth recalls: ‘We were treated like film stars. There were crowds everywhere we went. Playing in front of 56,000 was thrilling and the way women’s football was treated was so different to how it was back in England at the time. Here we had to play on park pitches or at other sports grounds, but there we played in major football stadiums.’
During the late 1960s the club’s management played a leading role in the creation of the Women’s Football Association. Both the Corinthians and their sister club the Nomads were founder members but their manager Gladys Aikin became a member of the governing body’s committee. By this time their determination was to see the growth of the game and lifting of all barriers.
The Corinthians continued to play and by the end of the 1970s they were frequently coached by the Manchester City 1956 FA Cup winner Dave Ewing at City’s Platt Lane training complex.
During the 1980s a ground move led to the club being renamed Woodley Ladies, and that club ceased to exist by the end of the decade. Many of the Corinthians from the late 1970s and 1980s became players with Manchester City’s women’s team during its inaugural season of 1988-89.
Today at least one former Corinthian, Lesley Wright, plays walking football at the highest level possible and continues to coach women’s football, continuing the Corinthian influence through to the modern day development of the sport.
The plaque and murals were funded by an appeal which included significant donations from the Football Association and Manchester City Council, alongside dozens of individual donations. The community group, the Friends of Fog Lane Park, have been instrumental in ensuring the Corinthians are remembered and that this aspect of the park’s life is properly recorded and acknowledged. The murals were designed and painted by artist Gavin Renshaw.
Manchester Corinthians mural by artist Gavin RenshawWashing in the duck pond, Manchester Corinthians by Artist Gavin Renshaw
About Manchester Corinthian Ladies Football Club
Manchester Corinthian Ladies FC was an English football club founded in 1949 by Percy Ashley. He established the club because his daughter Doris wanted to play football but couldn’t find a team. At this time The FA ban on women’s football using FA affiliated grounds was in place (from 1921; lifted in 1970). During the inaugural seasons the Corinthians played friendlies and in small scale competitions in the UK, but during the mid to late 1950s they embarked on a series of European tours.
Their fame grew and they received invites to play across Europe, in Africa and in South America. Occasionally playing as an unofficial England side in tournaments (these were the days before there was an official England team), they found success often, becoming the most successful women’s team by some distance.
Under the management of Percy Ashley, followed by Gladys Aikin and then George Aikin, the Corinthians were important representatives of women’s football, both internationally and domestically, always contributing to the game’s growth and development.
There has been some good publicity for the Manchester Corinthians blue plaque unveiling which will take place on 6 October. The latest is an article in She Kicks. Follow the link for the story and images:
The club toured the globe representing England and promoting female endeavour, football and Manchester and now, over 70 years after they were established, their achievements have helped generate significant improvements to a park and helped foster a great community spirit. Through the dedicated work of a group of volunteers, especially the Friends of Fog Lane Park, a blue plaque, two murals and other tributes telling the Corinthians story will be erected and revealed on Friday 6 October at noon.
We all know how our public parks, particularly in cities, often suffer vandalism and other anti social activity and through the Corinthians’ story he Friends of Fog Lane Park have changed the look of a vandalised building and have built on the good work they had already performed to make Fog Lane Park, Didsbury a safe, well used and popular park.
There’s so much to say but both the Friends of Fog Lane Park and the Corinthians deserve significant praise. In total over £6000 was raised for these tributes and this came from a large number of individuals as well as the FA, Manchester Council and the Corinthians’ old friends (and on the pitch rivals) Dick, Kerr Ladies (see below for names of those who made donations).
The Corinthians won major tournaments in Germany, Venezuela, France and elsewhere. They were the link team between the world renowned Dick, Kerr Ladies and the modern era, playing a significant role in football’s development. Often they played as England in these tournaments too, adding a bit of international significance in the days when formal England teams did not exist.
Another major achievement was that at formation of the Women’s Football Association not only was Gladys Aikin, the Corinthians’ manager, playing a key role but the club joined the WFA as two clubs – Corinthians and Nomads. This demonstrated their commitment to the long term development of the sport.
A year or so ago Will McTaggart, who hosted a number of football film shows with me in the years before Covid, alerted me to a clip that’s been found by the BBC of the Manchester Corinthians women’s team of the 1960s. This clip is from March 1965. You can watch it here:
As a reminder here’s more on the story to erect the plaque:
In 2019 I wrote an article for the Manchester Evening News on the women’s achievements and hoping for FA recognition and had meetings with a variety of local organisations about promoting the Corinthians further. Covid slowed everything down but then in 2021 I publicly announced for the first time the desire to have a plaque erected to the pioneering Manchester Corinthians. This was at a celebration evening at Hebden Bridge organised with Geoff Matthews. Our guests included several former Corinthians players and the mood of the audience was encouraging and supporting, which then led on to rekindling discussions with Manchester based bodies.
Support came from Manchester City Council and we discussed erecting a plaque at Fog Lane Park, the initial home of the Corinthians. In fact the women were based there for over twenty years. Via the council the Friends of Fog Lane Park came on board and we set up an appeal under their name, as custodians of the park. I wrote to contacts at the FA and elsewhere and within next to no time donations came flooding in from a variety of former players, family, friends, journalists and the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation via Gail Newsham. It was gratifying to see so much support (a full list of those who donated appears below – thanks to you all!).
My discussions with the FA eventually resulted in them agreeing to fund the plaque, the unveiling and to support other tributes. This meant we’d reached our goal. The plaque is a reality and will be unveiled soon.
The Friends of Fog Lane Park managed to get matching funds from Manchester City Council too and so now, as well as the plaque and a lectern providing a Corinthians’ timeline, there will be two impressive murals painted by artist Gavin Renshaw.
On October 6 at noon the blue plaque will be unveiled with over twenty of the Manchester Corinthians present.
The club’s entire history, including its final years over 40 years after it was founded, will be documented in a book that will be published in 2024. You can find out about that here:
If you appear on the following photos then please get in touch or if you played for the Corinthians at any point between 1949 and 1982 we’d love to hear from you. I’m also keen to track down more photographs and items of memorabilia associated with the team. Please email me at gary@GJFootballArchive.com or contact via this page: https://gjfootballarchive.com/contact/
Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting further stories about the Corinthians. Recently I was fortunate to interview a 90+ year old who played for the Corinthians from formation in 1949.
Those who have donated to the appeal to erect permanent tributes to the Corinthians include:
Pam Barnes, Dan Mooney, Adam Turgoose, ‘Ben’, ‘Jean J’, Jonathan Kaye, Megan Riley, Helena Byrne, Dawn Burrows, Clare Wilkins, Linda Foley, Debbie Enever, John Carrier, Jacqui McAssey, Michael Cottam, Karen Ohanco, David Hoyle, Daniel Rubin, Heidi James, Gary James and the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation. There were also a small number of anonymous donations – thanks to all of you too. Everyone has contributed to this appeal. Please come along to the unveiling if you can.
We will be unveiling a blue plaque to the Manchester Corinthians on 6 October. The club toured the globe representing England and promoting female endeavour, football and Manchester and now, over 70 years after they were established, their achievements have helped generate significant improvements to a park and helped foster a great community spirit. Through the dedicated work of a group of volunteers, especially the Friends of Fog Lane Park, a blue plaque, two murals and other tributes telling the Corinthians story will be erected and revealed on Friday 6 October at noon.
We all know how our public parks, particularly in cities, often suffer vandalism and other anti social activity and through the Corinthians’ story he Friends of Fog Lane Park have changed the look of a vandalised building and have built on the good work they had already performed to make Fog Lane Park, Didsbury a safe, well used and popular park.
There’s so much to say but both the Friends of Fog Lane Park and the Corinthians deserve significant praise. In total over £6000 was raised for these tributes and this came from a large number of individuals as well as the FA, Manchester Council and the Corinthians’ old friends (and on the pitch rivals) Dick, Kerr Ladies (see below for names of those who made donations).
The Corinthians won major tournaments in Germany, Venezuela, France and elsewhere. They were the link team between the world renowned Dick, Kerr Ladies and the modern era, playing a significant role in football’s development. Often they played as England in these tournaments too, adding a bit of international significance in the days when formal England teams did not exist.
Another major achievement was that at formation of the Women’s Football Association not only was Gladys Aikin, the Corinthians’ manager, playing a key role but the club joined the WFA as two clubs – Corinthians and Nomads. This demonstrated their commitment to the long term development of the sport.
A year or so ago Will McTaggart, who hosted a number of football film shows with me in the years before Covid, alerted me to a clip that’s been found by the BBC of the Manchester Corinthians women’s team of the 1960s. This clip is from March 1965. You can watch it here:
As a reminder here’s more on the story to erect the plaque:
In 2019 I wrote an article for the Manchester Evening News on the women’s achievements and hoping for FA recognition and had meetings with a variety of local organisations about promoting the Corinthians further. Covid slowed everything down but then in 2021 I publicly announced for the first time the desire to have a plaque erected to the pioneering Manchester Corinthians. This was at a celebration evening at Hebden Bridge organised with Geoff Matthews. Our guests included several former Corinthians players and the mood of the audience was encouraging and supporting, which then led on to rekindling discussions with Manchester based bodies.
Support came from Manchester City Council and we discussed erecting a plaque at Fog Lane Park, the initial home of the Corinthians. In fact the women were based there for over twenty years. Via the council the Friends of Fog Lane Park came on board and we set up an appeal under their name, as custodians of the park. I wrote to contacts at the FA and elsewhere and within next to no time donations came flooding in from a variety of former players, family, friends, journalists and the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation via Gail Newsham. It was gratifying to see so much support (a full list of those who donated appears below – thanks to you all!).
My discussions with the FA eventually resulted in them agreeing to fund the plaque, the unveiling and to support other tributes. This meant we’d reached our goal. The plaque is a reality and will be unveiled soon.
The Friends of Fog Lane Park managed to get matching funds from Manchester City Council too and so now, as well as the plaque and a lectern providing a Corinthians’ timeline, there will be two impressive murals painted by artist Gavin Renshaw.
On October 6 at noon the blue plaque will be unveiled with over twenty of the Manchester Corinthians present.
The club became Woodley Ladies in the 1980s before it ceased operation around 1989. A later club, founded by a former Corinthian, used the Corinthians name from formation, playing in Tameside.
If you appear on the following photos then please get in touch or if you played for the Corinthians at any point between 1949 and 1982 we’d love to hear from you. I’m also keen to track down more photographs and items of memorabilia associated with the team. Please email me at gary@GJFootballArchive.com or contact via this page: https://gjfootballarchive.com/contact/
Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting further stories about the Corinthians. Recently I was fortunate to interview a 90+ year old who played for the Corinthians from formation in 1949.
Those who have donated to the appeal to erect permanent tributes to the Corinthians include:
Pam Barnes, Dan Mooney, Adam Turgoose, ‘Ben’, ‘Jean J’, Jonathan Kaye, Megan Riley, Helena Byrne, Dawn Burrows, Clare Wilkins, Linda Foley, Debbie Enever, John Carrier, Jacqui McAssey, Michael Cottam, Karen Ohanco, David Hoyle, Daniel Rubin, Heidi James, Gary James and the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation. There were also a small number of anonymous donations – thanks to all of you too. Everyone has contributed to this appeal. Please come along to the unveiling if you can.
Can you help? Do you have a golf buggy or access to one that could be used at Fog Lane Park on Friday 6 October to help transport a few people around the site at our Manchester Corinthians plaque unveiling? If you do then please let me know. You can contact me at:
Gary@GJFootballArchive.com
For background this is what we’re doing on that day…
I’m delighted to say that four years after I wrote an article hoping that football’s governing body ‘finally recognised the work of these pioneering Mancunian women’ we are now about to unveil a blue plaque to the Manchester Corinthians. The unveiling will take place at noon on Friday 6 October 2023 at Fog Lane Park, Didsbury, Manchester.
In 2019 I wrote an article for the Manchester Evening News on the women’s achievements and hoping for FA recognition and had meetings with a variety of local organisations about promoting the Corinthians further. Covid slowed everything down but then in 2021 I publicly announced for the first time the desire to have a plaque erected to the pioneering Manchester Corinthians. This was at a celebration evening at Hebden Bridge organised with Geoff Matthews. Our guests included several former Corinthians players and the mood of the audience was encouraging and supporting, which then led on to rekindling discussions with Manchester based bodies.
Support came from Manchester City Council and we discussed erecting a plaque at Fog Lane Park, the initial home of the Corinthians. In fact the women were based there for over twenty years. Via the council the Friends of Fog Lane Park came on board and we set up an appeal under their name, as custodians of the park. I wrote to contacts at the FA and elsewhere and within next to no time donations came flooding in from a variety of former players, family, friends, journalists and the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation via Gail Newsham. It was gratifying to see so much support (a full list of those who donated appears below – thanks to you all!).
My discussions with the FA eventually resulted in them agreeing to fund the plaque, the unveiling and to support other tributes. This meant we’d reached our goal. The plaque is a reality and will be unveiled soon.
The Friends of Fog Lane Park managed to get matching funds from Manchester City Council too and so now, as well as the plaque and a lectern providing a Corinthians’ timeline, there will be two impressive murals painted by artist Gavin Renshaw.
On October 6 at noon the blue plaque will be unveiled with over twenty of the Manchester Corinthians present BUT we still want to track down more former players. Can you help?
Did you, your mum, sister, aunt, granny or other relative play for the club? We are particularly keen on tracking down women who played for the Corinthians at Fog Lane Park from 1949 (its formation) or with the club prior to 1982. The club became Woodley Ladies in the 1980s before it ceased operation around 1989. A later club, founded by a former Corinthian, used the Corinthians name from formation, playing in Tameside.
If you appear on the following photos then please get in touch or if you played for the Corinthians at any point between 1949 and 1982 we’d love to hear from you. I’m also keen to track down more photographs and items of memorabilia associated with the team. Please email me at gary@GJFootballArchive.com or contact via this page: https://gjfootballarchive.com/contact/
Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting further stories about the Corinthians. Last week I was fortunate to interview a 90+ year old who played for the Corinthians from formation in 1949.
Those who have donated to the appeal to erect permanent tributes to the Corinthians include:
Pam Barnes, Dan Mooney, Adam Turgoose, ‘Ben’, ‘Jean J’, Jonathan Kaye, Megan Riley, Helena Byrne, Dawn Burrows, Clare Wilkins, Linda Foley, Debbie Enever, John Carrier, Jacqui McAssey, Michael Cottam, Karen Ohanco, David Hoyle, Daniel Rubin, Heidi James, Gary James and the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation. There were also a small number of anonymous donations – thanks to all of you too. Everyone has contributed to this appeal. Please come along to the unveiling if you can.
I’m delighted to say that four years after I wrote an article hoping that football’s governing body ‘finally recognised the work of these pioneering Mancunian women’ we are now about to unveil a blue plaque to the Manchester Corinthians.
In 2019 I wrote an article for the Manchester Evening News on the women’s achievements and hoping for FA recognition and had meetings with a variety of local organisations about promoting the Corinthians further. Covid slowed everything down but then in 2021 I publicly announced for the first time the desire to have a plaque erected to the pioneering Manchester Corinthians. This was at a celebration evening at Hebden Bridge organised with Geoff Matthews. Our guests included several former Corinthians players and the mood of the audience was encouraging and supporting, which then led on to rekindling discussions with Manchester based bodies.
Support came from Manchester City Council and we discussed erecting a plaque at Fog Lane Park, the initial home of the Corinthians. In fact the women were based there for over twenty years. Via the council the Friends of Fog Lane Park came on board and we set up an appeal under their name, as custodians of the park. I wrote to contacts at the FA and elsewhere and within next to no time donations came flooding in from a variety of former players, family, friends, journalists and the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation via Gail Newsham. It was gratifying to see so much support (a full list of those who donated appears below – thanks to you all!).
My discussions with the FA eventually resulted in them agreeing to fund the plaque, the unveiling and to support other tributes. This meant we’d reached our goal. The plaque is a reality and will be unveiled soon.
The Friends of Fog Lane Park managed to get matching funds from Manchester City Council too and so now, as well as the plaque and a lectern providing a Corinthians’ timeline, there will be two impressive murals painted by artist Gavin Renshaw.
On October 6 at noon the blue plaque will be unveiled with over twenty of the Manchester Corinthians present BUT we still want to track down more former players. Can you help?
Did you, your mum, sister, aunt, granny or other relative play for the club? We are particularly keen on tracking down women who played for the Corinthians at Fog Lane Park from 1949 (its formation) or with the club prior to 1982. The club became Woodley Ladies in the 1980s before it ceased operation around 1989. A later club, founded by a former Corinthian, used the Corinthians name from formation, playing in Tameside.
If you appear on the following photos then please get in touch or if you played for the Corinthians at any point between 1949 and 1982 we’d love to hear from you. I’m also keen to track down more photographs and items of memorabilia associated with the team. Please email me at gary@GJFootballArchive.com or contact via this page: https://gjfootballarchive.com/contact/
Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting further stories about the Corinthians. Last week I was fortunate to interview a 90+ year old who played for the Corinthians from formation in 1949.
Those who have donated to the appeal to erect permanent tributes to the Corinthians include:
Pam Barnes, Dan Mooney, Adam Turgoose, ‘Ben’, ‘Jean J’, Jonathan Kaye, Megan Riley, Helena Byrne, Dawn Burrows, Clare Wilkins, Linda Foley, Debbie Enever, John Carrier, Jacqui McAssey, Michael Cottam, Karen Ohanco, David Hoyle, Daniel Rubin, Heidi James, Gary James and the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation. There were also a small number of anonymous donations – thanks to all of you too. Everyone has contributed to this appeal. Please come along to the unveiling if you can.
Last night I did a talk at a branch of the Women’s Institute on the incredible story of the women’s team, the Manchester Corinthians, and our quest to have a plaque erected to them. There were lots of great questions and it was a really nice event. Thanks to all those involved.
Some of the trophies won by the Manchester Corinthians
The story of the Corinthians is an inspiring one and I was delighted to explain the history of the club and why I am so determined to have tributes to them erected. I also explained about the work the Friends of Fog Lane Park are doing too to recognise the women.
There are stories on this website about the Corinthians (follow the links below) but I am delighted to say that last year we received funding from a major source to erect a plaque and, thanks to the donations of many others (including the Dick, Kerr Ladies Foundation), there will be other tributes. The Friends of Fog Lane Park are playing a key role in identifying other ways of recognising the Corinthians.
I’ve been wanting to explain about the support for some time but I am still unable to publicly say who the major funder is – that will come soon – but if all goes as planned we should be able to have an event late this summer to recognise the women and unveil the plaque. Watch this space for details!
If you or a relative played for the Manchester Corinthians or Manchester Nomads (sister club) then please get in touch with me. I’m keen to track down as many women involved as possible so that they can all share in the celebration. In addition, in 2024 I will be publishing the Authorised History of the Corinthians. It would be great to include as many women in that as possible. More on the book here:
It is still possible to donate to the Just Giving page (follow Manchester Corinthians Plaque link below) and all funds raised will be used to develop further tributes to the Corinthians at Fog Lane Park.
Also, if you are interested in a talk on the history of this pioneering club and the women involved then please get in touch. I’d be happy to speak at other Women’s Institute groups, Probus, Rotary, Rotaract, history groups and others. It’s always a good night (and last night there was some nice tea and cake too!).
December 5 each year marks the anniversary of a FA decision that was to have an impact for decades, many would argue that the effects of it are still being felt today. On December 5 1921 the FA leaders decided to ban women’s football from FA affiliated grounds. This ban was to remain in place for almost fifty years and stifled the development of the women’s game. Here’s a feature on the connections between Manchester City and the women who played before and during the ban.
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If you’re interested in women’s football or in football in Trafford or Manchester here are some video interviews we did as part of the work on the #WEuro2022 Heritage Lottery funded project for Trafford. These interviews are with women who played for Manchester Corinthians, Manchester City, Manchester United, FC Redstar, & Macclesfield:
Also, here’s my talk explaining about the history of women’s football:
This talk on the history of women’s football was staged at the National Football Museum on 1st July as part of my work on a consultancy basis with Trafford local archives. The talk lasts about 47 mins. Enjoy!
There will be a video of the panel discussion mentioned in this talk that will appear as a part 2 later. Maybe next week?
The Trafford Archive website I mention during my talk is available here:
The Women’s Euros start tomorrow with the opening match at Old Trafford between England and Austria. There are lots of great activities planned to coincide with the Euros and I’d like to take the opportunity to talk a little about some of what’s occurred as part of the Trafford element of the Heritage Lottery Funded project. Even if you’re not particularly interested in Trafford it’d be worth having a look at this to get a feel for how the project has gone and how you may be able to help track down former players, teams & more.
I’ve been working on a temporary basis with Trafford to capture the stories of women, teams & more, while also staging a few events and researching the history of women’s football within Trafford. My time with the project will end soon but it has been a great experience. So far we’ve managed to interview women who have been playing football either for Trafford based clubs or women who are from Trafford who have played for teams outside the borough. There have also been interviews with women who played significant games in Trafford.
A website has been set up to tell the stories and so far we’ve posted a few of those covering teams, games & players. There are further stories to be posted over the coming weeks but take a look here at the ones posted so far:
Audio interviews have been performed with a variety of former players of teams such as Sale United, Trafford Ladies, Manchester Corinthians, Manchester United, Manchester City, FC Redstar, England and the Merseyside club Leasowe Pacific who won the FA Cup in 1989 at Old Trafford.
We also held a session where young girls from Sale United met with former Corinthians, City & United players to talk about their careers and compare experiences.
Last Friday we staged a talk at the National Football Museum on the History of Women’s Football with particular emphasis on the experiences and landmark moments of Trafford & Manchester’s women footballers. Jan Lyons of Manchester Corinthians & Juventus and Lesley Wright of Manchester Corinthians & Manchester City participated in a panel discussion too with some great questions from the audience.
Photo by Rachel Adams for the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 Arts and Heritage programme
An exhibition, including objects such as a 1958 Manchester Corinthians shirt and boots signed by Steph Houghton, is currently being staged at the archives centre at Sale.
Displays around Old Trafford have also been set up with the national history of women’s football appearing alongside Trafford bespoke monoliths close to Hotel Football and the Old Trafford Stadium. If you’re at the game go and have a look.
Photo by Rachel Adams for the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 Arts and Heritage programme
There are also postboxes decorated with knitted women footballers that have been produced by the local knitting groups as part of the project. If you’re wandering around Trafford have a look for them.
On Wednesday I will be with the Trafford Archives staff at the fanzone at Old Trafford during the day where we will be distributing free postcards and a Trafford football history booklet. We’ll also be answering questions about the history of football in the region and I’ll be hoping to capture the memories of those who played for women’s teams in Trafford too. Come and say hello if you’re there during the day time.
Also, look out for the FSA free Euros guide. I’ve contributed material on Trafford’s history so please look out for that.
Finally, I’m still keen to capture the stories of women’s football in Trafford. If you are from Trafford, or played for a Trafford based club then get in touch and let’s ensure your story is captured for future generations.
Gary James' Football Archive 