Tomorrow morning at about 7.40am Margaret Whitworth & Margaret Shepherd, two Manchester Corinthians, should be on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme talking about their experiences and the plaque unveiling. It would be great to hear them talk about their footballing experiences.
Earlier today I recorded a piece with Mike Sweeney for his BBC Radio Manchester show. That will either be played tomorrow morning or on Thursday, so again please listen out for it. Understandably, I was also asked about Francis Lee which may also make it on to the show.
Also, here’s a Manchester Evening News story on the Corinthians and the tributes to them. Thanks to Neal Keeling for your efforts.
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.
I was interviewed last week about my research and writing and managed to chat a bit about the Manchester Corinthians. The interview was with Lewis Connell on Tameside Radio and can be heard below. The interview starts after about 40 minutes:
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.
This is available to subscribers to my website.
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Will McTaggart, who hosted a number of football film shows with me in the years before Covid, has alerted me to a new clip that’s been found by the BBC of the Manchester Corinthians women’s team of the 1960s. The Corinthians played from 1949 until the late 1980s (see elsewhere on this site for their story) and this clip is from March 1965. You can watch it here:
I’ve been researching and writing about the Manchester Corinthians and women’s football for many years (in fact my first book published in 1989 included material on the first games of Manchester City’s women’s team and I attended their matches back then). I’m currently working with the Corinthians and others to erect permanent tributes to them at Fog Lane Park which can be seen in this film.
I promised an update on the plan we’ve been putting together to have a plaque erected to the Manchester Corinthians – a pioneering women’s team that was established in the 1940s and promoted football, Manchester and female endeavour across the world over the following four decades. Today we had a progress meeting which was attended by representatives from Manchester City Council, the Friends of Fog Lane Park, myself and, most importantly, Janice Lyons, Margaret Shepherd and Margaret Whitworth from the Corinthians.
The meeting went exceptionally well and we discussed the plans for the erection of a plaque and further recognition to highlight the Corinthians history and significance. It was extremely positive and the support and enthusiasm from Manchester City Council and the Friends of Fog Lane was great to see.
It is clear we will need to raise some funds to achieve all we want to achieve. Hopefully, we’ll be able to formally announce fundraising plans in June. Watch this space.
Everyone agreed that the Manchester Corinthians’ history needs celebrating at Fog Lane Park. Why Fog Lane? This was the site of their training ground and home for many, many years with their old pitch located close to the former home of Percy Ashley, the founder, which is still clearly visible today from the park.
In 2024 I will be publishing the Authorised History of the Corinthians and you can read about that here:
If you’d like to find out more about the Corinthians then please use the category link below or search my site for more details. I’ve also written various other articles for the Manchester Evening News, When Saturday Comes, the Manchester FA and She Kicks. Some of these are linked to here:
Gary James' Football Archive 