Historical Lookback – Football Pioneers, Mary Lyons Palmers Jarrow

Historical Lookback – Football Pioneers

Often when we look through history the pioneers of certain aspects of our daily life that we take for granted were fought for and built by men. While there is no denying the truth of men shaping history, what we read often neglects to mention the role that women have played in those events.

Indeed, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my Great, great, great, great Grandmother Suzanna not only served in the British Army during the 1850’s but also was present in the field during the Crimean War and miraculously gave birth to a daughter Harriet Alma in 1855 who they named after the famous battle of the year before.

When it comes to football however, I came across a story about a Jarrow lass who not only played for England but also scored and became the youngest ever goal scorer for her country, a record that still stands today and covers both the men’s and women’s teams.

The Palmer’s Munitionettes were a Women’s team formed from the temporary workers of the First World War. Ship yards of the time were turned into Munition’s factories, where they would produce all kinds of explosive objects like bombs, shells and gun cartridges for the frontlines during the conflict.

Jarrow Palmers Munitionettes 1918

In the 1910’s shipyards were as common as Amazon factories are today and that meant lots of munitions being created and lots of women’s teams being formed through the adversity of war. From the year 1916 to 1919 it is reported that 166 matches took place between various ship yard and factory teams from as far north as Blyth, as far west as Carlisle & as far south as Teesside.

For Palmers the games didn’t start as well as they had hoped, in fact the dominate team throughout the competitions were the mighty Blyth Spartans Munitions team whose Bella Reay scored more regularly than any other player during the war bagging 130 goals in only 33 recorded matches!

Palmers fortunes however seem to turn for the better with the emergence of a 15-year-old Jarra lass by the name of Mary Lyons. Lyons parents had both emigrated from Ireland but she was born and bred in the ship building town of North East England and she first appears on loan at Blyth Spartans playing alongside Bella Reay in a 3-0 win over Carlisle Munition girls in April of 1918. With another game only a week later for her home town club of Palmers she was starting to get noticed. She played simultaneously for Blyth & Palmers Jarrow throughout that year and still only aged 15 scored a goal in a 5-0 Munitionette Cup Final for Blyth against Bolckow. The first final of its time she was said to have played a major part in Bella Reay’s hattrick that day too!

Mary Lyons 1918, Aged 15

In the July of that same year and still only 15 Mary would get her first taste of international football, being named ‘Woman of the match’ during an Internationals vs North of England game that was drawn 1-1. Her performance in that game would then gain her a call up to the England team playing Scotland at the home of Tyneside Football St James Park in Newcastle. Alongside her teammate Reay from Blyth the English triumphed 3-2 with Lyons getting herself on the scoresheet and becoming the youngest ever goal scorer in England’s history.

She would also go on to play games for Durham, Tyneside & Newcastle. Despite the accolade of youngest ever goal scorer Mary still had more to come and scored a hattrick for England against Ireland in a 5-2 win when she was by then 16. Throughout the time that Mary was playing Palmers went from strength to strength and in 1919 managed to reach the 2^nd ever Munition Cup final. In front of 9000 spectators at St James Park in Newcastle Mary’s friend from Blyth Bella Reay smashed in the only goal of the game, giving the pair the unmatched feat of two winners medals out of two!

Bella Reay, Blyth Spartans & Palmers Jarrow

Women’s football was tragically banned in 1921 and Mary Died in 1979 at Primrose hill hospital in Jarrow aged 76 having been a pioneer and little-known superstar of the women’s game. Not difficult to see why today the England Women’s team is full of North East talent, the pedigree we have dates back to the Munitions teams who worked tirelessly during the week to help win the war, and tirelessly on a weekend to entertain on the pitch.

1919 Munitions Cup Final Palmers won 1-0

(Statistics & match results come from the fantastic site http://www.donmouth.co.uk/local_history/great_war_football/munitionettes.html)