Before the packed grounds, Dick, Kerr Ladies had a factory yard

2026-10-22 · Prem Football Editorial · Sources checked

One of English women’s football’s defining teams grew from a workplace. The route from factory yard to football ground helps explain why Dick, Kerr Ladies deserve a place in the game’s everyday history.

The National Football Museum traces the Preston team to a locomotive manufacturer that became a munitions factory during the First World War. Workers played in the yard before forming a team. Its account identifies office worker Albert Frankland as the person who suggested the organised side.

The museum records their first fixture on Christmas Day 1917 at Deepdale. They won 4–0 against Arundel Coulthard Factory, raising money for a local war hospital. This was a charity match, rather than a modern league fixture.

The FA’s history independently identifies Dick, Kerr as a factory team and describes its charity games for injured servicemen. It also records the team’s continued existence through 1965. The story therefore extends well beyond its wartime beginning.

For readers, the connection worth keeping is between work, community and the opportunity to play. An improvised playing space became the starting point for an organised team. Following that beginning makes the players visible as people who built football, rather than treating women’s participation as a recent addition.

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Editorial assistance: AI-assisted research and writing. Historical claims are linked to the sources above. Corrections are welcome through our contact page.