The internet is a wonderful thing, where would we be without it? So much knowledge at our fingertips! Unfortunately the internet is also great for propagating fake history and once a false seed has been planted it spreads like wildfire (apologies for the mixed metaphor) and trying to correct the record feels a bit like playing that whack-a-mole game, you may whack one fake story but they keep popping up.
Emma Clarke, ‘the first black female footballer’ is a case in point. Our interest started on Tuesday 30th October 2018 when we attended an event at a prestigious London venue. It was a good event and everyone who attended must have left convinced that Emma Clarke, a young girl from Liverpool, was the first black female footballer. Stuart Gibbs, one of the speakers at the event, was introduced as the person who had uncovered Emma’s story. Press coverage of the event (and there was plenty) explained that ‘Gibbs uncovered articles referring to “a coloured lady of Dutch build” in goal, and “the fleet-footed dark girl on the right wing”, forming the foundations of his research.’ The article in the Telegraph went on to add that ‘Despite Gibbs’ hours of unpaid research, there is still a dearth of biographical detail.’ We were sufficiently intrigued to contact Stuart thinking that we might be able to help track down that elusive biographical detail.
Unfortunately, after considerable digging, we came to the view that Stuart’s research had taken one or two leaps in the wrong direction and the conclusions he had reached regarding Emma’s true identity were, very probably, wrong. It’s easily done, you so want to find the right person that you close your eyes to flaws in the research process.
One article we have seen states that Emma’s ‘mother, Wilhelmina, is thought to have been of black Dutch heritage.’ We have researched Emma quite carefully and have found no evidence of black heritage. Wilhelmina’s maiden name was Farmer and she, judging by census returns, was born in Liverpool in about 1853. It is true that Liverpool had a relatively large black and mixed heritage community in the 19th century but it is a leap to suggest that Wilhelmina was part of it. But there is a bigger issue.
We have copies of the birth certificate and marriage certificate of ‘Liverpool Emma’ and the marriage certificate of her parents. We have also traced her and her family in the 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911 censuses, in almost every single case (the 1891 census is the only exception) her name is Clark without an ‘e’. But the footballer Emma is consistently referred to as Clarke with an ‘e’. So, whether Wilhelmina had black Dutch heritage or not is pretty irrelevant as there is nothing to suggest that ‘Liverpool Emma’ is the same person as ‘footballer Emma’.
It’s worth adding that Liverpool Emma came from a large working class family (she had at least 7 siblings and quite a few more if you include children who didn’t survive to adulthood). At the age of 15 she was working as a confectioner’s apprentice (1891 census) and by the 1901 census she was now a confectioner. Is it really plausible that she was able to take time off from earning her crust to travel round the country playing football and that she made her way to London for the inaugural ladies football match in March 1895?
If someone can make a case for ‘Liverpool Emma’ being black and being one and the same as Emma Clarke the footballer then fine, but it needs to be based on evidence rather than wishful thinking. The evidence seems sadly lacking at the moment. Until that evidence is found we think ‘Liverpool Emma’ needs to be discounted as the first black female footballer.
Meanwhile in London, another candidate has been identified as Emma Clarke the footballer. This Emma hailed from Plumstead in south London. Her (maternal) grandfather served in the British Army and spent some time in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) where Emma’s mother, Caroline, was born. There is no indication that Caroline’s parents were anything other than white but the suggestion is that Caroline may have been the result of an extra marital ‘dalliance’. We would be happy to see convincing evidence to support this.
A blue plaque was recently unveiled in London celebrating her as the first black female footballer. One thing we can say is that at least her name is spelt right and this alone means she is a more plausible candidate to be the ‘real’ Emma Clarke, pioneering footballer!
What Stuart Gibbs’ research has done is identify the probable existence of a ‘coloured’ lady who played football in 1895, further research will hopefully confirm beyond doubt who she was.