Everton FC supporter Dr David France unveils plaque to club’s war heroes at Goodison Park

A MARBLE plaque to commemorate Everton Football Club’s fallen war heroes was unveiled at Goodison Park.

And an identical replica has also been dispatched to the Estadio Sausalito in Chile, home of CD Everton.

The plaques have been sponsored by the Everton Shareholders Association in association with Dr David France and his wife, Elizabeth.

Widnes-born Dr France, the brainchild of the world-renowned Everton Collection of Blues-related memorabilia, flew from his US home to officially place the plaque at Goodison’s Park End yesterday.

Dr France will also be welcomed at a civic reception at Liverpool town hall this evening, where he is to be made a citizen of honour by Lord Mayor Frank Prendergast.

He said: “What makes us so special is that we don’t just support the club, we support one another. We do our ex players charity looking after our history in that respect.

“But I thought there were some people who had been marginalised over time, and that is the brave souls who gave their lives for us.

“So I was interested in that, and these days you can research things really well. Just think of it, some say Jack Rodwell at 20 is not old enough to play in the first team yet, not experienced enough – these lads were in the trenches risking and losing their lives.

“Five of the seven we featured were under 22 years of age.”

Scrutiny of military files over the past three years by Blues historians Dr John Rowlands and Dr France, both members of The EFC Heritage Society, unearthed the names of seven footballers associated with the Everton clubs of England and Chile who lost their lives in two World Wars on foreign soil.

They include Frank Boundy and Malcolm Fraser – founder members of Everton Football Club in Valparaiso, Chile who sailed home to volunteer. They died at the Somme.

Boundy was awarded the Military Cross.

Tom Gracie, who also played for Liverpool, the remarkable Leigh Roose and Wilf Toman died during World War One. Brian Atkins and William Sumner were killed in World War II.

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