Rob Sawyer – Everton FC Heritage Society

Ian Macowat (1965-2026) – 1984 FA Youth Cup Winner Remembered

21

Jan

2 Comments

1980-1989, Latest, Obituary, Players, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer

Ian Macowat (1965-2026) – 1984 FA Youth Cup Winner Remembered

Rob Sawyer Ian at Bellefield in 1983-84 season Former Everton reserve team player and 1984 FA Youth Cup winner, Ian Macowat, has passed away at the age of sixty. Whilst studying at Park High School in Hindle, Ian represented Wigan and Greater Manchester Boys and was capped nine times by England Schoolboys. He joined the Blues’ youth set up as an apprentice in 1982, turning professional in the autumn of 1983. Contemporaries included Rob Wakenshaw, Steve Bateman, Darren Hughes and Ian Marshall. In the year above were the likes of John Morrissey Jr, Jimmy Coyle, Stuart Rimmer and Ian Bishop.…

Bob and Hope’s Excellent Adventure: Kelso and Robertson on the High Seas, 1892.

21

Jan

By Rob Sawyer

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1890-1899, Books, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

Bob and Hope’s Excellent Adventure: Kelso and Robertson on the High Seas, 1892.

Rob Sawyer Bob Kelso In the late spring and early summer of 1892, while frenetic work continued to construct the new Goodison Park and have it ready to host football and spectators from the start of September, two Scottish members of Everton’s squad were enjoying an eye-opening tour of the Mediterranean. The pair were Bob Kelso, who enjoyed two spells at Everton, making 104 appearances, and his compatriot Hope Robertson, something of a squad player who had joined the Toffees from Partick Thistle, having previously played in England for Woolwich Arsenal. He would make thirty-three appearances in an Everton shirt,…

John Clinkard – The Medical Man Behind the Toffees’ 1980s Triumphs

18

Jan

By Rob Sawyer

3 Comments

1980-1989, Latest, Obituary, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer

John Clinkard – The Medical Man Behind the Toffees’ 1980s Triumphs

Obituary by Rob Sawyer John Clinkard pictured in 1983 The recent news of the passing of John Clinkard at the age of seventy-one, prompted both great sadness and also fond remembrance of the role the physiotherapist played in Everton’s 1980s glory years. For many, he was better-known simply as ‘Magnum’ - more of which later – to others he was 'Clinks.' Raised in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, John attended Gosford Hill School and was a very decent centre-forward in the Kidlington Boys teams in the late 1960s. He made his way in the game as a physio at Didcot Town and Fulham…

Gwyn Lewis – Playing In The Shadow of the Cannonball Kid

12

Jan

By Rob Sawyer

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1950-1959, Articles, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

Gwyn Lewis – Playing In The Shadow of the Cannonball Kid

Rob Sawyer Gwyn Lewis of Everton FC Born on 21 April 1932, Gwynfor (Gwyn) Lewis became one of Bangor’s finest footballing sons. Like fellow Bangor-born forward Nathan Broadhead, over six decades later, Gwyn would only get fleeting opportunities at Everton, but established himself as an accomplished goalscorer in lower league football. Gwyn was one of several young talented sportspeople attending Bangor’s Friars Grammar School in the 1940s. There at the same time was John Cowell, who would go on to play in goal for Pwllheli FC under TG Jones, Bangor City, Marine and Liverpool FC Reserves, as well as cricket…

Everton Heritage Social/Talks Evenings – A Successful Launch!

11

Jan

By Rob Sawyer

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1960-1969, 1980-1989, Film and Media, Gavin Buckland, Latest, Managers, Mike Royden, Rob Sawyer

Everton Heritage Social/Talks Evenings – A Successful Launch!

Our First Event - Thursday 8 January 2026; features two well-known authors of numerous books on Everton FC, Rob Sawyer and Gavin Buckland; ‘Catterick and Kendall - Comparing and Contrasting Everton’s Managerial Giants’ Harry Catterick and Howard Kendall, undoubtedly Everton's two greatest managers, will be the subject of an evening of discussion led by Toffees historians Gavin Buckland and Rob Sawyer. Both authors, who are members of Everton FC Heritage Society, have written extensively about Catterick and Kendall's spells at Goodison as players and managers, and will discuss their careers and lasting legacies, comparing and contrasting these two significant figures in British…

31

Oct

By Rob Sawyer

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1930-1939, Articles, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

Khyber – The Ben Williams Story

Rob Sawyer Ben Williams, Everton 1935 Everton FC can proudly boast a long and impressive list of footballers who have pulled on the famous red shirt of Wales. This cohort spans the eras, from the days of its joint-first professional, George Farmer in the 1880s and Charlie Parry in the first league title-winning side of 1890/91 to Neville Southall in the 1980s and Gary Speed a decade later. George Farmer (1880s) Unsurprisingly, due to the geographical proximity, many of the Merseyside club’s Welshman have hailed from the north of the nation - like Leigh Roose, Tom Griffiths, Tommy G. Jones,…

23

Oct

By Rob Sawyer

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1910-1919, 1920-1929, Articles, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

Joe Clennell – Twice a Champion

Rob Sawyer Joe Clennell (1915) Although Bobby Parker’s goalscoring exploits may have grabbed the headlines as the Toffees advanced on the Football League title in 1915 - a triumph largely overshadowed by the spectre of the First World War - he was but one member of a strong royal blue attacking line. Sam Chedgzoy, on the right wing, was near the start of a long and illustrious career for Everton and England, which extended into the Dixie Dean era. Frank Jefferis, at inside-right, had garnered England honours having moved to Merseyside from Southampton. George Harrison was a great provider of…

19

Sep

By Rob Sawyer

1 Comment

1990-1999, 2020-2029, Articles, Everton Women, Latest, Rob Sawyer

Everton Women – Hall of Fame

The first five inductees into the Everton Women Hall of Fame. Left to right; Louise Thomas, Billy Jackson, Joy McQuiggan, Cathy Gore and Mo Marley, (photo: Everton FC) Everton FC Heritage Society - and specifically, the 'women’s football research group' comprising; Alison Jones, Sarah Deboe, Bradley Cates and Rob Sawyer, played a key role in the introduction of the Hall of Fame, provided in depth history of Everton Ladies and Everton Women, and were part of the election process. Everton FC Heritage Society are immensely pleased to see the inauguration take place and proud of the hard work put in…

The Toffees Return Home to Anfield – For One night Only

18

Sep

By Rob Sawyer

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1900-1909, Articles, Goodison, Latest, Rob Sawyer

The Toffees Return Home to Anfield – For One night Only

Rob Sawyer Everton FC left Anfield in 1892, never to return. Right? Well, not quite. The schism in the Everton committee that led the Toffees to up sticks to Goodison Park on the site of Mere Green Field, leaving John Houlding to form a new club, Liverpool FC, to play at the vacated ground is well documented. However, by the time Houlding passed away in 1902, much of the antagonism had abated, and Everton players were among the pall bearers at his funeral. Further evidence of the thawing of relations between the once bitter rivals came in the summer of…

15

Sep

By Rob Sawyer

1 Comment

Latest, Obituary, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer

Roy Parnell (1943-2025)

Roy Parnell Everton FC Heritage Society sends its condolences to the friends and family of Roy Parnell, who died on 10 September 2025 at the age of eighty-one. Roy was a product of Everton’s youth system, who reached the first team, but spent the majority of his senior playing career with Tranmere Rovers and Bury FC. A Birkenhead and England schoolboy inside-forward, Roy joined the Toffees’ ground staff in the summer of 1959, along with the likes of George Sharples, Pat Dunne and Barry Rees. Having asked to be tried at right-back, he promptly found his best position (much as…