About SHOF
Sheffield Home of Football
Sheffield Home of Football Charity (Registered Charity 1204425) was established on 21 August 2021. Prior to this, the Sheffield Football Library had been established at Sheffield’s Central Library, and also the Martin Westby Football Archive. Other initiatives go back to the 1995/96 season when the Football Expo ’96 exhibition was held at Kelham Island Museum. The educational purposes of the charity encourage and support initiatives in many areas: art, community, culture, economy, education, health and wellbeing, heritage and tourism.
Charitable Purpose
To advance education for public benefit in the history of football in the city of Sheffield and in particular by the establishment of a museum and the collection, safeguarding and display of historical items and artifacts, both physical and digital, relating to the origin of the game in Sheffield and its links worldwide.
Charity Overview
Organises lectures, workshops, conferences and seminars and other educational activities relating to the history of football in the city of Sheffield along with acquiring objects, memorabilia and other such football related exhibits and items alongside raising funds for a football related museum or visitor centre working with strategic, regional and local partners to achieve its charitable aims.
The Team
Andy Kershaw
Responsibilty: Media Officer
Andy Kershaw is the Media Officer for Sheffield Home of Football and also one of our trustees. He is an award-winning former BBC journalist and presenter with wide experience of working in the voluntary, community and charitable sector for over 30 years. He works as a training manager for the South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau and as a freelance journalist.
Barbara Walker
Responsibilty: Safeguarding Officer
Barbara has worked in education for the last 25 years. She has lived in Sheffield all her life and loved both playing and watching the game of football. Members of her family are both Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United fans and often strike up some good game day banter between them.
Barbara is very passionate about SHOF and understands the importance and concept of having our own SHOF Football Museum in our city, where it all started and feels very privileged to be part of the team.
Cllr Denise Fox
Responsibilty: Chair of Trustees
Denise has been a Sheffield City Councillor since 2005 and works part time for the civil service and has been a trade union member since the age of 16 when she first started work. She is a member of the PCS and became a representative for the union in 2004. She is married with a son, a daughter and 2 grandsons and grew up in the Attercliffe area of the city when the steel factories dominated the horizon. She is dedicated to making sure that Sheffield becomes known on the world stage as the home of football.
Dr. John Wilson
Responsibilty: Trustee
Dr John Wilson is an education and learning specialist and has written and edited ten books including an encyclopaedia of UK education and training. He teaches at the University of Sheffield’s Management School and also at the University of Oxford.
John is also a qualified football coach and referee and has been supporting recognition of Sheffield Home of Football since 1995/1996 when he directed an interactive exhibition, Football Expo ’96, at Kelham Island Museum.
Jason Dickinson
Responsibilty: Trustee
Official historian for SWFC and author of 12 books on the club’s history. Qualified accountant and trustee of Kickback Recovery Community CIO and Friends of Charlton Brook in Sheffield.
He bought his first season ticket at Sheffield Wednesday back in 1986 and then developed a keen interest in the long history of the club. Jason is also a trustee/treasurer for local environmental group Friends of Charlton Brook & treasurer for Friends of Wardsend Cemetery. He follows the club both home and away, having missed only a small number of games since 1997.
John Clarke
Responsibilty: Secretary
John was a BT engineer for more than 34 years specialising in IT. Now retired, he is the Company Secretary for Sheffield Home of Football. He is a keen local historian with a special interest in researching Sheffield football history.
John is a trustee of the Friends of Portland Works which is a restored 19th century cutlery works which he helped to save from redevelopment. He is also a supporter of the Friends of Manor Lodge in Sheffield., where Mary Queen of Scots was held prisoner for some of her 19 years in captivity in Sheffield.
John Stocks
Responsibilty: Trustee
Worksop-born football historian and former teacher, John Stocks, is a widely published poet and local historian. He is the author of seven books and has led local heritage walks and contributed to many talks in Sheffield. Two of his titles 'Sheffield Gangs and Wembley Glory' and 'Beloved and Betrayed' both published in 2023 are on sale across the city.
John is also a freelance adult educator, an ex Head of City Media-School in the Faculty of Communication. He Studied English language at University of Leeds and at Manchester Metropolitan University and went to Portland Comprehensive School, in Worksop (he is a huge Worksop Town FC fan). He's also a season ticket holder at Bramall Lane and has lived and worked in Sheffield since 1980.
Lynsey Lockey
Responsibilty: Trustee
I’m born and bred in Sheffield and a lifetime Blade. Passionate about the women’s game and proud Sheffielder. Aside from my boxing work, I’ve worked in football twice - once for a football agent/sports management company looking after players from academy to premier, and also for Rotherham United as a project manager on a youth development project. I own my own sport management company now Steel Sports MGMT and I’m the only female boxing promoter in Britain.
Nick led Sheffield Libraries and Archives for 8 years until 2022, after having worked across most parts of Local Government in Sheffield ranging from corporate strategy and performance to project managing change in children and adult social care. Prior to this Nick had careers in FE and IT training and fifteen year’s experience in manufacturing electronics.
In the 2022 New Year’s Honours List Nick received the British Empire Medal for services to public libraries and was cited for his work on 'placemaking' by championing Sheffield's football heritage. Nick doesn’t claim to be an expert on the historic detail, or even have a footballing ‘brain’, but he is passionate about Sheffield, and how we can use its unique football heritage to educate and celebrate what this city has done in forging the world’s favourite game
Nick is a professional Origami Artist (having written 110+ books on the subject) and musician (both solo and in local legends Das Rad). He has worked with web technology for decades and has set up and ran many local charity sites, such as Heeley Farm, Friends of Sheffield Castle, Save Sheffield, Friends of Bishops House, Save the Rose Garden Cafe as well as many more commercial sites.
He's been a 100% Blade since his childhood watching TC, Woody and company. Like many Sheffield football fans, he is stoical about the current state of affairs!
Steve’s earliest footballing memories date back to the early 1970s watching football in the places he grew up in, mainly Bolton and Zambia. A move to Sheffield at age 11 introduced him to Sheffield Wednesday and he has been obsessed ever since. An official England Band member for over 20 years Steve had many opportunities around the world to tell people about Sheffield’s footballing history. More recently Steve has been an official guide at Sheffield Cathedral as well as producing a series of videos about Sheffield’s football history.
Professionally, Steve has worked as a senior leader in education and was founder, director and business manager of a local health and social care provider, providing support for adults with autism, learning difficulties and complex needs. He is currently a self employed property manager, trustee of Share Psychotherapy, treasurer of a local choir and actively supports many other local charities.
SHOF appreciate the generous discount on our site hosting given by Siteground.
