Manchester Corinthians honoured with blue plaque

The pioneers for women’s football in Manchester have got their recognition at long last, after a plaque was unveiled last week to commemorate Manchester Corinthians.

Manchester Corinthians was a local women’s football team that was founded in 1949 and played until 1983 when the team was dissolved.

The team was founded in 1949 by Percy Ashley, principally so that his daughter, Doris, could play. Their home ground was Fog Lane Park in Didsbury, which had such basic facilities that players had to take post-match baths in a nearby duck pond. Ashley chose the team name as a homage to Corinthian FC, the men's amateur football team from London, famous for their sporting ideals.

The team was immediately successful, winning numerous trophies in the first ten years of their existence. In 1957, the team toured Portugal, then competed in the International Ladies Football Association-organised European Cup, where it beat a team representing Germany. During the tournament, Bert Trautmann acted as the team's interpreter. This proved the first of many annual tours, the longest being a 12-week tour of South America and the Caribbean in 1960. Some matches attracted crowds of tens of thousands, and large amounts were raised for charity.

The Corinthians played at a time when women's football was banned by the FA, so they had to overcome so many barriers and really fight to even be allowed to play.

They have played a huge part in helping women’s football get to where it is today, by overcoming adversity and becoming role models for so many.

To commemorate the side, a plaque was unveiled last Friday (October 6) at Fog Lane Park, where as mentioned, Corinthians used to play their home matches.

Hundreds of people turned out for the unveiling and there was a large media presence. Among those in attendance were ex-players, family members, as well as Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, who made a speech prior to the unveiling.

A number of ex-players took to the microphone to share their stories, including former goalkeeper Anne Grimes, from Audenshaw, who first joined the Corinthians in 1956.

She spoke of her experiences travelling the world with the Corinthians, and what it was like to play in front of 60,000 spectators.

Another ex-player present at the unveiling was Denton resident Gail Redstone, who joined the club in 1973 and played up until 1988 when she joined the Manchester City Women’s side, where she played her football for a further 14 years.

According to her mother's accounts, she first kicked a ball at 18 months old, and it was always her dream to play football. “We used to come and watch the Corinthians play at Fog Lane and my mother used to always say, ‘You’ll play for these one day’, and I was lucky enough that my dreams came true”, she said.

Gail said she found it extremely difficult to accept that she wasn’t allowed to play football at secondary school, and she was determined for this to change.

“It has been a long time coming but I’m so happy that women’s football is finally where it is today, and I’m so proud to have been one of the pioneers for it.

“The turnout for the unveiling has been unbelievable, it’s so nice to hear the stories of those that played before me, and I’m so glad the Corinthians are finally getting the recognition they deserve for everything they have done”, noted Gail.

“It is so important our stories are not forgotten, and I’m so grateful to Gary James (the local football historian behind the event) for helping us get our story out there”, she added.

Speaking before the unveiling, Gary said, “We don’t have enough blue plaques in Greater Manchester that are about sport, and as far as I’m aware we don’t have any at all that reference women’s football, this needed to change.

“This team's contribution to football in Greater Manchester needs to be recognised”, he added.

If you played or know of anyone who has represented the club in the past, especially if you’re from Tameside, then we’d love to hear from you and learn more about your story. You can get in contact with us via our sports reporter Lewis Connell, his email is lewis.connell@questmedianetwork.co.uk, or you can contact football historian Gary James, his email is gary@gjfootballarchive.com