Hello, my name is Gail Newsham, I am the leading authority on the history of the Dick, Kerr Ladies. Welcome to my website. I hope you enjoy your stay and that you will visit again soon.

In the history of women's football, The Dick, Kerr Ladies are the most successful team in the world. The pioneers of 'Girl Power', they were formed at a munitions works in Preston during the first world war. On Christmas Day 1917, 10,000 spectators came to Deepdale, the home of Preston North End, to witness the start of the most phenomenal success story in the history of women's sport. Dick, Kerr Ladies notched up the first of many famous victories and £600 was raised for the wounded soldiers.

The 1914-18 war was a devasting war in terms of human casualty and mortality. No other war in history had seen such huge loss of life and this was due to the introduction of modern warfare. The battlefield had to be fed by a constant supply of weapons, ammunition, food and medical supplies, and as the majority of men were fighting on the front line, it was left to the women to keep the country going and keep the supplies coming.

Women were drafted in to town's in great numbers in order to work in munitions and they became known as the 'Munitionettes'. The government appointed women welfare supervisors to oversee the wellbeing of the girls and they encouraged the development of sporting activities. Among those was football, and football became the official sport of the munitions girls. Almost every factory across the United Kingdom involved in war work, had a ladies football team. Many may have only played against other departments within their own factory, but teams were recorded from one end of the country to the other.

But it was in Preston, Lancashire where the most successful team in the history of women's football was born. Formed at Dick, Kerr & Co Ltd, these very ordinary factory girls quite literally took the country by storm and the biggest crowd ever recorded for a women's game was between Dick, Kerr Ladies and St Helen's Ladies when on Boxing Day 1920, 53,000 spectators packed into Goodison Park, Everton to enjoy a thrilling match between the two rivals.

'In a League of Their Own!' by Gail J Newsham was the first book to document the complete history of this remarkable team. (Available to order from good bookshops ISBN 1-85727-029-0) It is due to my many years of research that so much information about the team is now available world wide. My passion, dedication, committment and enthusiasm for the Dick, Kerr Ladies has also seen two former players, Lily Parr and Joan Whalley, inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame. My work continues.

Do you have any memories that you would like to share on the site? Did you ever see the team play? Did you know any of the players? If so, please get in touch and we will publish them on a new 'Your memories' page. Please use either the contact page or email gail@dickkerrladies.com Submissions may be edited.