Rest in Peace

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

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

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…
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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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Roy Parnell (1943-2025)

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

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

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

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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