History

In Search of Priory Road 1883-84

In Search of Priory Road 1883-84

In Search of Priory Road Commencing to write this article on the day that government approval was granted for the Bramley-Moore Stadium, social media was awash with good wishes to all those concerned in successfully seeing the project through. There were the inevitable online exchanges, with a great many from the envious dark side, who could see they were now visibly condemned to spend yet another generation in their Big Stand with little chance of expansion, a move, or even a laughable ground-share. Meanwhile, many commented online that this would be Everton’s third stadium build in the city.  (pic: Liverpool…
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Remembrance at Goodison Park 2022

Remembrance at Goodison Park 2022

Armistice Day Service, The Fallen of Everton FC Memorial, Goodison Park Many thanks again for all the work by Paul Kelly of Everton FC Heritage Society and his wife Jean in pulling things together for the commemoration event on 11 November 2022 - an event they have organised with dedication for several years. (photos: Mint Collective/Everton FC Heritage Society) Remembrance Fixture - Everton v Leicester City Richie Gillham, of Everton FC Heritage Society, in St Luke's with his brother, who was involved in the Goodison pre-match Remembrance ceremony Lest we Forget
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Remembrance at Goodison Park and the Fallen of Everton F.C.

Remembrance at Goodison Park and the Fallen of Everton F.C.

The Everton FC Remembrance service is held every 11 November at the memorial wall near the Park End Stand. Organised by Everton FC Heritage Society (Paul Kelly supported by other members), and attended by representatives of the Club, plus participation by the local ministry, Everton in the Community, Everton Community School, aided by a piper and vocalist before members of the public. The Fallen of Everton Football Club Click image for the current list of the Fallen of Everton and booklet download The Fallen of Everton Football Club Remembrance services . Remembrance Service - Goodison Park 2023 . Remembrance Service…
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Lest We Forget

Lest We Forget

NB This article was due to appear in the Everton v Tottenham Hotspur Remembrance Day fixture of 7 November 2021. Unfortunately, due to the sad death of former manager Walter Smith, it was held over for his memorial article due to lack of space. It is reprinted in full below. Corporal 19024 Tom Gracie, 16th (Service) Battalion (2nd Edinburgh) The Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) The Life of Tom Gracie Among the names of the Fallen of Everton FC featured on the panels by the Dixie Dean statue is Tom Gracie. Born in Glasgow in 1899, he was a qualified bookkeeper,…
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The Eventful Life of  Billy Kirsopp

The Eventful Life of Billy Kirsopp

The Eventful Life of Billy Kirsopp. William Henry James Kirsopp was a Liverpool born inside forward who, like many of his generation, was to have his football career interrupted in order to serve his country in World War One. Having first worked on the Mersey Docks he volunteered for the armed forces and, after seeing action in Europe, returned to the family home having been wounded. Kirsopp was born on 21 April 1892, the second son of Charles, a landscape gardener, and his Scottish born wife Elizabeth. The family first resided at Drysdale Street, in the southend of the city,…
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Goodison Park and Women’s Football

Goodison Park and Women’s Football

December 2021 marked the centenary of the directive which flung the women’s game into the wilderness for five decades. Less than a year before this myopic edict, one of the most significant football matches in Goodison Park’s history took place – but it did not involve an Everton team. During the First World War, football matches played between women’s factory teams boosted wartime morale and raised funds for deserving causes. Goodison Park staged a charity match on 1 April 1918, contested by Aintree Munitions Ladies and North Haymarket Ladies Football Club. However, a fixture on a far grander scale took…
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Tom Robson – A Life too Short

Tom Robson – A Life too Short

By Rob Sawyer Everton Football Club has been ably served by many men and women with roots in the North East of England – Warney Cresswell, Harry Catterick, Howard Kendall, Jimmy Husband, Dave Thomas, Don Hutchison and Jill Scott spring to mind. Back in the inter-war years, Blyth Spartans, of the North Eastern League, gained an enviable reputation as a nursery club - developing young talent which blossomed at leading professional clubs throughout the land. The Toffees, notably, benefited from the loyal service of Gordon Watson – who joined from Blyth in a double-deal with his near-namesake Jack Watson in…
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‘Rags’: The Life of Cuthbert Tatters

‘Rags’: The Life of Cuthbert Tatters

By Rob Sawyer Few footballers’ names are more evocative of bygone times in the Goodison lexicon than that of Cuthbert Tatters. Cuthbert was born in County Durham, on 4 January 1915 and grew up on Sunderland Street in Easington. This was coal mining country and Cuthbert’s father, James, worked at Wheatley Hill Colliery. Cuthbert followed the same path, employed as a pit boy there.  On the football field, he played for Shotton Schoolboys, gaining county honours in 1929. He also turned out for Wheatley Hill Juniors. A photo also appears to show him, as a boy, wearing the stripes of…
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A Final Farewell to Jimmy Harris

A Final Farewell to Jimmy Harris

Thursday 26 May 2022 was the day of Jimmy Harris’s final farewell. In the mid-afternoon, the cortège transported the 88-year-old former Toffees striker past the stadium he had graced. A number of supporters had come out to applaud as the hearse drove slowly along Goodison Road. I chatted to an 81-year-old supporter from West Derby, who recalled watching Jimmy in his 1950s heyday. He told me of Jimmy’s quicksilver movement around the pitch and his rasping shot. He fondly recalled a smartly struck Harris goal against the Busby Babes. Another supporter had come all the way from Doncaster to stand…
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Tom Walker – Nonagenarian Toffee

Tom Walker – Nonagenarian Toffee

By Rob Sawyer In April 2022, EFCHS members Rob Sawyer and Sarah from Mint Collective, caught up with 93-year-old Tom Walker in a café near his home in Upton. This venerable Toffee, accompanied by his son, Graham, discussed all things Evertonia, dating back to the 1930s. Below is an edited version of Tom’s vivid recollections, which originally appeared in The Black Watch fanzine (sold outside St Luke’s on selected matchdays by Tom, the editor) My dad used to go to Goodison with my Uncle Colin, they were staunch Evertonians. Dad taught me to be an Evertonian. He’d seen all the…
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