Members Work

Articles and writing from Heritage Society members and contributors

Gwyn Lewis – Playing In The Shadow of the Cannonball Kid

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…
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Everton Heritage Social/Talks Evenings – A Successful Launch!

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…
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Keeping it Together – A Tale of One Position and Two Football Clubs

Keeping it Together – A Tale of One Position and Two Football Clubs

Paul Owens The goalkeeping connections between Everton and Preston North End really are extraordinary.   Indeed, it is difficult to think of two other clubs who have shared such a long-standing and prolific connection when it comes to a single position on the football field  Preston North End 1888/89 In 1888/89, Preston became the first champions of England, having gone the whole of the inaugural English First Division season undefeated, winning 18 and drawing four of their 22 league matches. The following season, they successfully defended their title – finishing two points ahead of second-placed Everton, who pipped them to…
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The Making of ‘The Golden Vision’ for the BBC ‘Wednesday Play’

The Making of ‘The Golden Vision’ for the BBC ‘Wednesday Play’

Steve Zocek BBC Television once aired a weekly programme called the Wednesday Play. One particular episode was called The Golden Vision, which related to the Everton idol Alex Young. Many of the actors featured were well known performers from Liverpool, but the series was also notable for featuring complete unknowns, and people from ordinary walks of life with no acting experience whatsover, a technique deployed by director Ken Loach throughout his long career. The programme, aired on 17 April 1968, represented a fanatical bunch of Evertonians, who obsessively followed the Toffees. Nuneaton-born Ken Loach, was educated at St. Peter’s College,…
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This Prince of Goalkeepers – Lance Corporal Leigh Richmond Roose MM

This Prince of Goalkeepers – Lance Corporal Leigh Richmond Roose MM

A great deal of research has been carried out by a number of members since the founding of the society, into players on Everton FC books who fell in both wars. This research has also been extended to include the Everton clubs of Chile and New Zealand. In addition, there has also been an ongoing project to research those who had served, but had survived, and in many cases were deeply affected by the conflict, who were never the same again, being affected both physically and mentally. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ https://youtu.be/qujY7HfXe6U Click to view Leigh Roose documentary on YouTube ____________________________________________________________________________________________ The Fallen of…
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Remembrance at Goodison Park 2025

Remembrance at Goodison Park 2025

Armistice Day Service, The Fallen of Everton FC Memorial, Goodison Park https://youtu.be/C1qileWUUcg Remembrance Day 2025 News Report (filmed and edited by Lewis Royden / all photographs by Mike Royden for Everton FC Heritage Society) Many thanks are due again to Paul Kelly of Everton FC Heritage Society (supported by his wife Jean), in organising the service, despite continued poor health – this is an event they have now organised with dedication for over a decade. The service was conducted by the Reverend Henry Corbett, Chaplain to Everton Football Club and Goodison Park. Henry is also a member of Everton FC Heritage Society.…
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The Fallen of Everton FC – Corporal Thomas Gracie

The Fallen of Everton FC – Corporal Thomas Gracie

A great deal of research has been carried out by a number of members since the founding of the society, into players on Everton FC books who fell in both wars. This research has also been extended to include the Everton clubs of Chile and New Zealand. In addition, there has also been an ongoing project to research those who had served, but had survived, and in many cases were deeply affected by the conflict, who were never the same again, being affected both physically and mentally. A series of short biographical films about the players is ongoing and in…
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Khyber – The Ben Williams Story

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,…
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Frank (Carlo) Carlton  – From a Colt to a Saint

Frank (Carlo) Carlton  – From a Colt to a Saint

Richie Gillham A young Frank Carlton (courtesy of Joan Griffin, Ancestry.co.uk) Frank Carlton was born in Blackbrook, St Helens, in 1936, into a community where sport was at the heart of everyday life. Like many boys of his generation, his first taste of competition came on the school playing fields. At school, he quickly earned a reputation as a fleet-footed winger in the soccer team. He helped guide Blackbrook to the Windle Pilkington Shield final, one of the key competitions in local schoolboy football. When he moved on to Parr Central School, his athletic abilities flourished. In athletics he excelled…
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Joe Clennell – Twice a Champion

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…
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