Rest in Peace

Roy Parnell (1943-2025)
15
Sep
By Rob Sawyer
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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…
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The Life and Times of Bobby Parker
02
Jul
By Rob Sawyer
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1910-1919, Articles, Latest, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer, WW1

The Life and Times of Bobby Parker

‘Parker was a grand leader, strong, virile, earnest - as unruffled as his massive locks.’ Will Cuff - Former Everton Chairman and Secretary by Rob Sawyer Robert Norris Parker entered the world on 27 March 1891. His father, John was a mercantile clerk was married to Janet (née Ramsay), who hailed from Ireland. At the time of his birth, they were living at 73 Denmark Street in Possilpark, to the northeast of central Glasgow. This suburb saw huge population growth in the final decades of the 19th Century, linked to expansion of the Saracen foundry, the area’s major employer. At…
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The Bobby Parker Grave Restoration Appeal
26
Jun
By Rob Sawyer
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1910-1919, Articles, Latest, Players, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer

The Bobby Parker Grave Restoration Appeal

Rob Sawyer To mark his contribution to Everton, football and his country, EFCHS has undertaken a project to restore the grave of league title winner Bobby Parker. Were it not for the First World War, there is every likelihood that the name Bobby Parker would be uttered in the same breath as Dixie Dean, Tommy Lawton, Fred Geary and Bob Latchford when putting forward the club’s finest goalscorers. Alas, that terrible conflict, injuries he sustained in it and subsequent illness meant that he would fail to rescale the heights of 1914/15, when his 35 goals propelled the Toffees to the…
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Alec Farrall Remembered
20
May
By Rob Sawyer
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1950-1959, Latest, Obituary, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer

Alec Farrall Remembered

[The banner photograph is the 1953/54 Everton squad. Alec Farrall is pictured on the front row seated, second from the left.] Rob Sawyer The death was announced today, at eighty-nine, of one of Everton's oldest former players, Alec Farrall. Born 3 March 1936, Alec was one of many local lads to emerge through the Blues’ youth system under Cliff Britton. A member of a sporty West Kirby family, by his teens he was representing Cheshire Schoolboys (England Schoolboys caps followed) and was on the radar of scouts from many big clubs, including Wolves, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool. The former…
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Remembrance at Goodison Park 2024
12
Nov
By Mike Royden
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Events, Film and Media, Latest, Lewis Royden, Mike Royden, Rest in Peace, Tony Wainwright, WW1, WW2

Remembrance at Goodison Park 2024

Armistice Day Service, The Fallen of Everton FC Memorial, Goodison Park Representatives of Everton Football Club; Darren Griffiths; Richard Kenyon; former player Ian Snodin; and the Reverend Henry Corbett (Chaplain to Everton Football Club and member of 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 the Reverend Lynn…
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The Fallen of Everton – Private Don Sloan
30
Oct
By Tony Wainwright
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Events, Film and Media, Latest, Lewis Royden, Rest in Peace, Tony Wainwright, WW1

The Fallen of Everton – Private Don Sloan

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. A series of short biographical films about the players is in production, the first of which is a biography of goalkeeper Don Sloan, one of four brothers, none of whom returned home after the First World War. Presented by Tony Wainwright BEM, a member of the society; a notable expert on the history…
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Mick Gannon Remembered
18
Jun
By Rob Sawyer
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1960-1969, Latest, Obituary, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer, Steve Zocek

Mick Gannon Remembered

2 February 1943 – 13 June 2024 Rob Sawyer Everton FC Heritage Society has learned of the passing last week of former player Mick Gannon. Born 2 February 1943, Mick was raised with his nine siblings on Scotland Road, with Cilla White (later Black) as a near neighbour. He joined Everton straight from school, signing as a professional soon after his seventeenth birthday in 1960, and learning his trade under the likes of coach Les Shannon. The defender was given three senior starts by Harry Catterick, all at left-back, at the tail end of the 1961/62 season, his debut coming…
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Remembering Frank D’Arcy
16
Jun
By Steve Zocek
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1960-1969, Articles, Latest, Obituary, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer, Steve Zocek

Remembering Frank D’Arcy

8 December 1946 - 15 June 2024 Speaking to Steve Zocek in 2013, with an introduction by Rob Sawyer Everton FC Heritage Society members were saddened to learn of the death, at seventy-seven, of Frank D’Arcy - one of the Blues’ youth products who made it through to Harry Catterick’s highly-polished first team in the late 1960s. The Liverpool Schoolboys player joined the Blues as a centre-half straight from school in the summer of 1962, turning professional two years later. At left-back he was an FA Youth Cup winner with the Toffees in 1965. In the quarter-final of the competition…
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Kevin Campbell – An Everton Talisman Remembered
15
Jun
By Rob Sawyer
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2020-2029, Articles, Latest, Obituary, Players, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer

Kevin Campbell – An Everton Talisman Remembered

Rob Sawyer Sometimes, fate throws a football club and player together in times of mutual adversity and it just clicks. Witness Howard Kendall’s 1983 roll of the dice with Andy Gray, a player whose salad days were thought to be long behind him. So it was, also, when Kevin Campbell rolled up at L4 in 1999. On England U21 duty Campbell, born in February 1970, came through the ranks at Arsenal in his native London, having loan spells at Leyton Orient and Leicester City to aid his development. His first team debut came against Nottingham Forest in 1988, and he…
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