Formidable force, St Helens Ladies FC, honoured by council with blue plaque

Article date: 27 August 2024

During WWI, women's football was gaining popularity, with St Helens Ladies growing from local munitions and glass worker teams such as Sutton Bond and Rainhill Munitions, to become a formidable force in the first golden era of women's football.

However, in December 1921, the Football Association banned women from playing on the grounds that "football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not be encouraged." The fighting spirit could not be diminished and teams continued to play on local parks and open ground, with St Helens Ladies playing their home games on pitches such as Queens Park, where teams like Bold Rangers Juniors Diamonds girls team train and play matches to this day.

St Helens Ladies were captained by inspirational goalkeeper, Edith Waine, and contained some remarkable players such as Lydia Ackers, Susie Chorley, Lizzy Ashcroft, and Alice Woods. Footballing trailblazer Lily Parr played just one game for her hometown team before signing to Dick, Kerr Ladies in 1920, becoming the first woman inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame, with statue situated at The National Football Museum in Manchester in her honour.

In their last ever match on Saturday 31 March 1923, St Helens Ladies Amateur Football Club bowed out in style by thrashing the world's greatest women's football team, the Dick, Kerr Ladies 5-1, on Queens Park. Through their matches, St Helens Ladies raised thousands for local and charitable causes.

Today (Tuesday 27 August, 2024), a blue plaque was unveiled outside Queens Park Leisure Centre to commemorate the team as part of an initiative by St Helens Borough Council to honour and acknowledge the individuals, places and events that have contributed to the unique heritage of the borough.

Commenting at the unveiling ceremony, attended by a number of special guests including the Mayor of St Helens Borough, Jeanette Banks, former players from Liverpool F.C. Women - Becky Easton and Natasha Dowie, representatives from local grassroots girls' football teams, and Steve Bolton - grandson of player, Lizzy Ashcroft - St Helens Borough Council Leader, Councillor Anthony Burns, said:

"These plaques are terrific - they really are an important thing for us to do across the borough because our heritage is so, so important. It's important that we have markers like this to mark our heroes and the people who have gone before us that have built the town we live in today, but no more so than this one which is quite a long time overdue.

"I'd like to think that the people who played in the St Helens Ladies team somewhere on this park wouldn't have thought it would take so long for women's sport to take off the way it has done. Thanks to the Lionesses, thanks to the success, locally, of Saints rugby league women's team as well, we're seeing more and more young girls and women playing sport which is fantastic. The least we could do as a council to commemorate the forebarers that took the first step to make this an important thing for the town."

Commenting on his pride of seeing his grandmother's legacy honoured in such a way, Steve Bolton, who donated valuable, original women's football postcards from 1920 to the St Helens Mobile Community Food Pantry in memory of his late brother, said:

"I can't begin to tell you how honoured I am - it's very emotional for me. I grew up as a Preston lad and I knew my granny played football but very little else. Eventually, I found out that she had this amazing career, taking over the captaincy from Lily Parr in the Dick, Kerr Ladies team in 1935.

"The history of women's football is often framed around the famous Dick, Kerr Ladies but in the golden era of WW1 and post World War, leading up to the 1921 ban, the second greatest team was St Helens Ladies and they barely get a mention but I think they has have an equal right to call themselves the home of women's football, alongside Preston."

Natasha Dowie, Liverpool FC's Club Ambassador said: "It's great to be here today and to see this important plaque unveiling for women's football.  I've met some of the Dick Kerr players and they motivated me as a football player and helped inspire the next generation.  We need to keep talking about the pioneers of the women's game and keep their memory alive and this is a great way to do it.

"We're excited to be coming to St Helens next season, and bring more fans to the games.  What we have now with the pitch, the stadiums it makes me really proud to have been one of the first to play professionally and to see now that girls can have a dream to be a professional player."

St Helens Ladies FC become the second recipient of the council's blue plaque scheme, following heroine assistant school mistress, Hannah Rosbotham who was recognised in July at Sutton Family Hub, with future plaques open to public nominations.

The St Helens blue plaque scheme is made possible with support from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. To nominate a future blue plaque recipient, please visit www.sthelens.gov.uk/archives