Florence "Flo" Bilton (1921 – 22 July 2004) was an English

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

coach and administrator. She was an officer of the

Women's Football Association The Women's Football Association (WFA) was the governing body of women's football in England. It was formed in 1969 and was disbanded in 1993, as responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the game of women's football in England passed to Th ...

(WFA) from its formation in 1969 until its incorporation into

The FA The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

in 1993. Bilton's involvement in football began in 1963, when she put together a female team from the

Reckitt & Colman Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, trading as Reckitt, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in March 1999 by the merg ...

factory where she worked to play a nearby

Smith & Nephew Smith & Nephew plc, also known as Smith+Nephew, is a British multinational medical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Watford, England. It is an international producer of advanced wound management products, arthroscopy products, ...

factory. Reckitt & Colman won 2–1, with Bilton playing as a veteran

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. She remained as Reckitt & Colman

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and was secretary of the nascent Hull League. She later helped local players Carol Thomas and Gail Borman progress to the England national team. As a founding member of the WFA, Bilton undertook a variety of unglamorous but important off-field roles during the organisation's 24-year history. She borrowed an

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

from her neighbour

Raich Carter Horatio Stratton "Raich" Carter (21 December 1913 – 9 October 1994) was an English sportsman who played football for Sunderland, Derby County and Hull City, as well as representing England on thirteen occasions. He also played first-class cri ...

and then made copies for England's female national team players. Former England player

Wendy Owen Wendy Owen (born 1954) is an England, English former international association football, football defender and coach. She was a member of the England women's national football team in their first official match, a 3–2 win over Scotland wom ...

praised Bilton in her 2005 autobiography: "She was a wonderful person who could and did turn her hand to just about anything that might help other women to get enjoyment out of the game." In 1997

Sue Lopez Sue Lopez, (born 1 September 1945) is an English former international footballer. She spent her entire club career with Southampton, except for a season in Italy's Serie A with Roma in 1971. A leading advocate of the women's game in England, Lo ...

declared: "Flo Bilton is one of the unsung heroines and one of the greatest supporters of women's football." In 2018 Bilton was awarded a commemorative plaque by her home city of

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-ea ...

. At the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

unveiling, former England

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Karen Walker and Carol Thomas both made speeches in Bilton's honour.

References

Bibliography

* * * English women's football managers 1921 births 2004 deaths English women's footballers Sportspeople from Kingston upon Hull Footballers from the East Riding of Yorkshire Women's association football goalkeepers {{England-women-footy-bio-stub