Women's Football (1921)
Preston's famous Dick, Kerr Ladies FC - one of the earliest known women's football teams in England - play local side, Lister's Ladies, at Bradford's Valley Parade ground.
By the early 20s large crowds were turning out to watch women's football teams, and Dick, Kerr Ladies FC from Preston was one of the most famous. Here we see their arrival in Bradford and some rainy match action against local team, Lister's Ladies, in front of a packed Valley Parade. This is most likely the match from April 1921 with a 6-0 victory to Dick, Kerr Ladies, who are playing in the stripes.
The women's teams of the 1920s had grown out of teams formed by female munitions workers during World War I. Dick, Kerr & Co. was one such factory in Preston whose talented ladies' team drew huge crowds and an international following, taking part in tours of France and North America. The Lister's Ladies team could be related to Lister's at Manningham Mills? The women's teams played some matches at Football Association grounds, raising large sums of money for local charities. But in December 1921, the FA withdrew the use of the grounds, citing complaints of financial mismanagement and the opinion that the sport was "quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged."
Duration: 5 minutes
Suggested credit: Women's Football: Dick Kerr's Ladies FC vs. Lister's Ladies (1921) © The British Film Institute