THE "SISTERS" HISTORY
Stratford Town Ladies FC, affectionately known as "Shakespeare's Sisters" (after the early 90's group of that name) was conceived by three Snitterfield women: Bridget Richards, Liz Savery and Michelle Aust, in early 1993. They formed the club (originally named Stratford Ladies FC), registered with the county FA and joined the West Midland Regional Women's Football League that summer, kicking-off in Division 2 at the start of the 1993-94 season.
The original team strip comprised green and black striped shirts, black shorts and green socks. Home matches were played at Shottery Fields.
Coached and Managed by Bridget's husband Glenn, the team went through a steep learning curve and were delighted to collect honours in that first season, when Bridget was voted West Midlands Division 2 Player of the Year.
The players', the squad and the results continued to improve over the following campaign and striker Leanne Morrall picked up the Division 2 Player of the Year award at the end of the 94-95 season.
In the years to follow, the team featured regularly in honours at all levels, winning promotions, winning trophies and tournaments, and on numerous occasions, Stratford players have picked up individual league honours.
West Midland Regional Women's Football League and Birmingham County FA Women's representative sides regularly included Stratford players in their squads and striker Morrall (now retired from the game) attended England trials. As four times winner of the League's Leading Goal Scorer award, it's little wonder that Leanne was regularly approached by Villa, Coventry, Birmingham and Wolves.
Despite the lure of playing in the National League, Leanne finished her playing days at Stratford. This loyalty, typical among the Clubs' members, is one of the reasons why the club managed to survive in a region teeming with ladies teams representing Premiership and Football League clubs. That and the unstinting effort that founder Bridget put into organising, arranging and managing things off the field.
Continued progress and success brought status to the Club and when they managed to secure the use of the superb pitches at FISSC in Tiddington, the future looked rosey indeed. The formation of a Reserve side and a Girls squad seemed the logical next move.
The 1998-99 season saw the Club reach its high-point when it gained promotion to the newly formed Midlands Combination League which was formed as part of the FA's expansion of the Women's game at the highest levels. This was a tough and costly season for the Club, the end of which saw them volunteer for relegation back to the West Midland Premiership because of the lack of financial support required to continue to compete at this level.
It was a real eye-opener for the team but laid the foundations for the Club's future ambitions - to forge ties with an established men's club which would provide a solid base from which to expand, develop and secure the future of women's and girls football in the area.
Despite the set-backs of the previous season, the Club's return to the Premier Division was a successful one, culminating in reaching the final of the Birmingham FA Women's Cup. By this time Bridget was the only remaining member of the original gang of three and Glenn gradually passed on the running of the team to coaching assistant Dave Harding, so he could devote more time to the sporting aspirations of their two sons.
The next few seasons brought some ups and downs with various coaches and managers coming and going, but 2003 saw us celebrate 10 years of football and the fruition of our ambitions, with the forging of the bond with Stratford Town FC. The Town have a refreshingly forward thinking attitude to the game at all levels, witnessed by the strength and progress of their junior, boys and youth teams. They shared the same enthusiasm for the development of the girls' and women's game and had the vision to realise that the adoption of our Club was a logical move in providing a robust and secure base for the development of the game at grass-roots and beyond for the Stratford and South Warwickshire area.
With a solid base, we are able to focus on achieiving our ambitions: A return to the Midland Combination, then on to the National League. The adoption by Stratford Town FC enabled focused development of the girls teams who continue to develop and as with the entire Stratford Town FC community, we look forward to enjoying the future at the Club's new ground and facilities centre - The Hub.
