Everton FC Heritage Society: Researching the Past and Looking to the Future

03/09/2024  -  9.26

Rob Sawyer

Everton Football Club can claim many firsts since its birth in 1878, as the team affiliated to St Domingo’s Methodist chapel. It had the first player to wear number nine in a high-profile match (the great Dixie Dean in the 1933 FA Cup Final) while, in 1938, Goodison Park became the first four-sided ‘double-decker’ stadium in Britain. In 2008, it claimed another ‘first’ thanks to the endeavours of Dr. David France, a Widnes-born but USA domiciled Toffees superfan.  

Over several decades, Dr France amassed an unrivalled collection of Everton-related football memorabilia and artefacts. Backed by Lottery Funding, his collection was acquired by a specially formed charitable trust and combined with Everton FC’s own historical items, to form The Everton Collection. Visit evertoneverton.org.uk to get a taste of the treasures within. Inspired by US baseball teams’ veneration of their former players, Dr France also created Gwladys Street’s Hall of Fame - famous for its annual celebration nights at the Adelphi Hotel, attended by a plethora of former players and managers. 

Not one to rest on his laurels, in 2008, he issued a call to arms to fellow Evertonians to, in his words: ‘…protect our history and educate the football community’. As a result, the Everton FC Heritage Society (EFCHS) came into being with a membership (which has grown over the years) consisting of Everton researchers, collectors, video footage curators, football statisticians, content creators and authors. Although many clubs have had affiliated historians for years, often in a voluntary capacity, EFCHS was the first group of its kind. 

Although independent, EFCHS enjoys a close spirit of co-operation with Everton FC. Members provide content for a heritage page in every home matchday programme. Historical enquiries received by Everton are routinely passed onto the Society for investigation and response. Society members have attended ‘Pass on the Memories’ sessions for those living with dementia. Another joint initiative with the club has seen former players Ray Veall and Derek Temple retrospectively receive 1962/63 League Championship medals. Adrian Heath, meanwhile, was presented with a European Cup Winners’ Cup medal, having missed out on the 1985 final due to injury. More recently, the Society has been represented on the Fan Advisory Board of the club.

Notable figures in the club’s history have seen their graves restored and re-dedicated – notably Ben Swift Chambers (minister at St. Domingo’s chapel in the 1870s) and Will Cuff, former Everton Chairman and Football League President. EFCHS members have progressed grave restorations for former club servants in Scotland, Shropshire, Nottinghamshire and on Merseyside. These include 1906 FA Cup winning goal scorer Alex ‘Sandy’ Young and 1928 league title winner Jerry Kelly. Other names honoured include Charlie Parry, George Harrison, Andrew Hannah, Lyndon and Billy Scott. The past year has seen headstones erected in Anfield cemetery for Thomas Keates, the club’s first biographer, and George Farmer, one of the Toffees’ first two professional players and, arguably, the first supporters’ idol. 

George Farmer Grave Commemoration. Source: Author's Collection

These two recent projects were led by Jamie Yates and were captured on camera by Lewis and Mike Royden, the duo behind the Society’s new initiative of creating video content for its YouTube Channel (accompanied by articles on its superb website, efcheriteagesociety.com). As well as coverage of grave events, documentaries produced include Goodison Memories, filmed inside the stadium, and Everton Village and The Birth of Everton Football Club in which the Society’s chairman, Ken Rogers and member Rob Sawyer explore the club’s historic links to the district from which it took its name. The most recent release gave a glimpse of Brendan Connolly’s collection of Everton memorabilia, dating back to the early years of the club. Most of the productions have benefitted from access to Crawford Miles’ extensive archive of Toffees footage.

Ken Rogers Interviews Barry Horne. Source: Author's Collection

In the world of print media, literally dozens of books have been written by EFCHS members, chronicling the Blues’ history from the 1870s through to the 2000s. Authors include Gavin Buckland, Steve Zocek, George Orr, Dave Prentice, John Rowlands, Tony Onslow, Peter Lupson, Simon Hart, Paul McParlan, James Corbett, Lyndon Lloyd, Steve Johnson and Kieran Smith plus the aforementioned Dr. France and Messrs Rogers and Sawyer. Their research work has been made so much easier by the fantastic bluecorrespondent.co.uk website which contains historical newspaper articles transcribed by Billy Smith, a good friend to the Society.

The War Research sub-group, which has consisted of the likes of Tony Wainwright (BEM), David France, Mike Royden and Peter Jones, has researched the lives of those linked to Everton FC, and its namesake club in Chile, who made the ultimate sacrifice during the two world wars. Their ‘The Fallen’ booklet can be downloaded as a PDF from the Society's website. 

David France, Ken Rogers, Mike Royden and Richie Gillham. Source: Author's Collection

Every November, Paul Kelly (treasurer of EFCHS), organises a remembrance event which takes place next to the Dixie Dean statue at the Stanley Park end of Goodison Park. The Tri-Forces Toffees, the Fan’s Advisory Board, Everton FC, the Everton in The Community charity, the Royal British Legion and many more participate in this poignant ceremony.

Everton FC Heritage Society Remembrance Commemoration 2023. Source: Author's Collection

On matchdays, the Society lays on a pre-match exhibition at St Luke’s church hall. It is a unique location, sandwiched between the Goodison Road and Gwladys Street Stands. Home and away supporters are welcomed upstairs, where they will find fascinating displays of memorabilia and shirts plus TV footage being shown of past encounters. 

Inside St Luke's. Source: Author's Collection

Stalls are staffed by EFCHS members plus the likes of The Ruleteros (a group of Evertonians developing links with clubs of the same name in South America), Brendan Connolly, Toffee Art, The Fans Advisory Board and Rainbow Toffees. 

The Ruleteros. Source: Author's Collection

Occasional book signing events always prove popular. Former players, including Derek Temple, Tony Kay, Derek Mountfield, Pat Van Den Hauwe, Pat Nevin, Dave Thomas, Peter Reid and Ronny Goodlass have been known to pay a visit. The venue received national coverage in 2016, when an edition of the BBC’s Football Focus was broadcast from there.

Pat Nevin at St Luke's. Source: Author's Collection

A successful relationship has been forged with KitAid, co-ordinated by the Society’s secretary, Richie Gillham. The ‘donation station’ at St Luke’s has enabled supporters to deposit unwanted football apparel which is redistributed to young people in Africa. 

Last but by no means least are the social events hosted by the Society at Goodison Park. These have paid tribute to legendary Toffees manager Harry Catterick, scoring sensation Dixie Dean and, most recently, long-serving skipper Seamus Coleman. All of these evenings have been compèred superbly by Ken Rogers, who was formerly sports editor of the Liverpool Echo. 

Hopes are high that the Society will go from strength to strength, as there is so much more of the club’s 146-year history to uncover and share with the wider community.

You can follow EFCHS on Twitter (@EvertonHeritage), Facebook and Instagram. The Society’s revamped website (efcheritagesociety.com) contains a wealth of articles, penned by members, about many aspects of the club’s history. The efcstatto.com, evertonresults.com and englandfootballonline.co.uk websites are curated or co-curated by Society members.

Biography

Rob Sawyer is a fourth generation Evertonian, whose great-grandfather, Bill Sawyer, served the Toffees as club secretary and director. A member of Everton FC Heritage Society since 2013, he is a regular contributor of historical articles to the Society's website and heritage page in the Blues' matchday programme. He also writes for Toffeeweb and has penned biographies of key figures at Goodison Park, including Harry Catterick and T.G. Jones. His most recent book, Broken Dreams (the first as a member of the Toffeeopolis publishing collective), focuses on the impact of the Second World War on the great School of Science team of 1938/39. Rob can be followed on Twitter/X at @robsawyer70.