On 4th August 1914, England,
declared war on Germany. The role of women changed dramatically during the First World War. As men left jobs to fight overseas, they were replaced by women.

Women filled many jobs brought into existence by wartime needs. As a result, the number of women employed increased from 3,224,600 in July 1914 to 4,814,600 in January 1918

The greatest increase of women workers was in engineering. Over 700,000 of these women worked in the highly dangerous munitions industry.  It was tough work – many women, known as “munitionettes”, were tasked with creating armaments, and had to work amid dangerous machinery and noxious chemicals.

Health and welfare advisors were dispatched by the government to keep tabs on the well-being of this new generation of workers and encouraged sports as a respite from the harsh environment.

Factories began to set up their own women’s football teams, and before long one team stood out as the most popular. This was Dick, Kerr’s Ladies FC, so-named for the Preston-based Dick, Kerr & Co munitions factory the players worked at.

The club was founded in 1917 during the First World War, initially to raise money for the war effort. All the proceeds were donated to local hospitals that were treating soldiers wounded on the Western Front.

Their players and matches were treated with more respect than their predecessors. On Christmas Day 1917, they played in front of 10,000 spectators at Deepdale, raising a massive £600 to care for the wounded soldiers - this would equate to around £50,000 in today's terms. The team continued to play long after the war ended, finally disbanding in 1965.

Towards the end of 1921, the FA made the shock move of effectively banning mainstream women’s football. In a meeting, their members cited “complaints having been made as to football being played by women”, and claimed that “the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged”. The women’s teams were no longer permitted to play on official FA grounds, bringing this golden era of women’s football to a crushing end.

To continued..