Unseen photos show first women’s football stars

The images capture the lives of the Dick, Kerr Ladies team and their superstar striker Lily Parr, as the club enjoyed the height of their success in the 1930s.

The images were owned by Lizzy Ashcroft, who played alongside Parr at the Preston club, and were found by her grandson hidden away in a relative’s house.

They have gone on show as the centrepiece of an exhibition dedicated to Parr at the National Football Museum in Manchester.

Born in St Helens on Merseyside in 1905, Parr scored nearly 1,000 goals in a three-decade career, which saw her play in some of the world’s first women’s international matches.

A museum spokesman said the images “depict football’s first female superstars at the height of their game and fame”.

“[They were] playing in front of huge crowds around the globe,” he said.

“The girls are portrayed hanging around in parks, going for cycle rides and hanging out with other top footballers from Europe.”

Among those pictured was Carmen Pomies, a French footballer who also competed in the javelin in the first World Women’s Games, excelled in swimming, tennis and hockey and served with the French Resistance in World War Two.

She formed lasting friendships with players from Dick, Kerr Ladies while touring England in 1920 and eventually joined the club.

The exhibition, which celebrates the pioneers of the women’s game, also features Stoke player Lilian Bridgett’s winner’s medal from the first and only English Ladies FA Cup final in 1922 and the minutes from the 1921 FA meeting which ruled women’s football would be banned from league grounds.

That ban was only lifted in 1971.

The exhibition is on permanent display at the National Football Museum in Manchester.

Belinda Scarlett, curator of women’s football at the museum, said as well as “marking their footballing ability, the display tells of the girls’ defiance to play the game they loved while the powers-that-be tried to ban them”.

“Lily is one of the most important figures in world football but is far from a household name,” she said.

“We hope to redress that balance with fresh attention on the women who defied the ban and inspired future generations of girls to play football.”