{{Short description|Author, football historian and philanthropist}} {{For|the American author|David France (writer)}} {{Tone|date=September 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see :Template:Infobox writer/doc --> | name = David France |honorific_suffix = <small>OBE</small> | image = | imagesize = | alt = | caption = Dr. Everton | pseudonym = | birth_name = David Harry France | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1948|6|30|df=y}} | birth_place = Widnes | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Retired oil & gas industry executive, Author | nationality = English | ethnicity = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater =

| period = | genre = Sport | subject = Everton Football Club | movement = | notableworks = | spouse = Elizabeth France | partner = | children = | relatives = | influences = | influenced = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | portaldisp = }} '''David Harry France''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE}} (born 30 June 1948) is an author, football historian and philanthropist. Throughout the past two decades, he has been the driving force behind numerous initiatives related to Everton Football Club including Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame, the Everton Former Players' Foundation, the EFC Heritage Society, the Founding Fathers of Merseyside Football and the David France Collection (now known as the Everton Collection). In January 2011, Liverpool's Freedom of the City panel rewarded David France with the prestigious title of Citizen of Honour.<ref>[http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/news/newsdetail_2654.asp "Civic accolades announced"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313225418/https://liverpool.gov.uk/system-error.html?aspxerrorpath=/news/newsdetail_2654.asp |date=13 March 2020 }} Liverpool City Council. 12 January 2011</ref>

France was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to football in the United Kingdom and Europe.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=60009 |date=31 December 2011 |page=24 |supp=y }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New Year Honours 2012 Departmental List |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/30_12_11overseasmilitary2012.pdf |work=BBC News Online |access-date=31 December 2011 |archive-date=24 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224233015/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/30_12_11overseasmilitary2012.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Background== France was born in Widnes, Lancashire (now Cheshire). Educated in the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany (BSc, MSc, MBA, PhD), he moved to North America in 1978 and worked in the nuclear and space industries before joining the executive of an oil & gas corporation. He retired from corporate life in 1990 to concentrate on consulting and charity work. Although based in Texas, he travelled in excess of 2 million miles supporting the club and his Everton initiatives. Known as ‘Dr Everton’, he was appointed Life President of the Everton Shareholders’ Association. In a 2009 website poll involving eight candidates, he came a close second to manager David Moyes as the person who Everton fans trust the most. The results were David Moyes 35%, David France 34%, Bill Kenwright 19%.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nsno.co.uk/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?811245 |title="The Last Supper – Encore." Simon Paul. September 27, 2009 |access-date=2009-12-06 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905023835/http://www.nsno.co.uk/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?811245 |archive-date=2012-09-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Everton books== France has written 19 books to tell the Everton story. Some involved collaborations with David Prentice,<ref>"Virgin Blues." David France & David Prentice (2003),{{ISBN|1-874799-17-2}}</ref><ref>"Everton Treasures – The David France Collection." David France & David Prentice (2007),{{ISBN|1-874799-20-2}}</ref><ref>"Dr Everton’s Magnificent Obsession." David France & David Prentice (2008),{{ISBN|978-1-905266-79-1}}</ref><ref>"Gwladys Street’s Blue Book." David France & David Prentice (2002),{{ISBN|1-874799-16-4}}</ref> Becky Tallentire,<ref>"Gwladys Street’s Holy Trinity." David France & Becky Tallentire (2001),{{ISBN|1-874799-14-8}}</ref> Barry Hewitt<ref>"Toffee Cards - The Bubble Gum Years." David France & Barry Hewitt (2005), {{ISBN|1-874799-18-0}}</ref> and cartoonist Peter King,<ref>"Gwladys Street’s Hall of Fame." David France (1998),{{ISBN|1-874799-09-1}}</ref><ref>"Gwladys Street’s Hall of Fame Edition 2." David France (1999),{{ISBN|1-874799-10-5}}</ref><ref>"Gwladys Street’s Hall of Fame Edition 3." David France (1999),{{ISBN|1-874799-12-1}}</ref><ref>"Gwladys Street’s Big Book for Kids of All Ages." David France & Peter King (2002),{{ISBN|1-874799-15-6}}</ref><ref>"Moyesiah." David France (2006),{{ISBN|1-874799-19-9}}</ref> while others embraced inputs from a cross-section of Everton enthusiasts. The profits from these books were donated to Merseyside charities.

* Toffee Cards – The Tobacco Years (1997) {{ISBN|1-874799-05-9}} * Toffee Pages – The Post-War Years (1997) {{ISBN|1-874799-06-7}} * Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame (1998) {{ISBN|1-874799-09-1}} * Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame Edition 2 (1999) {{ISBN|1-874799-10-5}} * Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame Edition 3 (1999) {{ISBN|1-874799-12-1}} * Gwladys Street's Holy Trinity (with Becky Tallentire 2001) {{ISBN|1-874799-14-8}} * Gwladys Street's Big Book for Kids of All Ages (with Peter King 2002) {{ISBN|1-874799-15-6}} * Gwladys Street's Blue Book (with David Prentice 2002) {{ISBN|1-874799-16-4}} * Virgin Blues (with David Prentice 2003) {{ISBN|1-874799-17-2}} * Toffee Cards – The Bubble Gum Years (with Barry Hewitt 2005) {{ISBN|1-874799-18-0}} * Moyesiah (2006) {{ISBN|1-874799-19-9}} * Evertonians Eat Scouse (2006) {{ISBN|1-874799-19-9}} * Everton Treasures – The David France Collection (with David Prentice 2007) {{ISBN|1-874799-20-2}} * Dr Everton's Magnificent Obsession (with David Prentice 2008) {{ISBN|978-1-905266-79-1}} * Alex Young – The Golden Vision (2008) {{ISBN|978-1-874799-21-4}} * Everton Crazy - Sixty Seasons, Two Million Miles (2016) {{ISBN|978-1-909245-46-4}} * Everton Proud (2016) {{ISBN|978-1-909245-52-5}} * Blue Dragon - The Roy Vernon Story (with Rob Sawyer 2019) {{ISBN|978-1-9162784-0-0}} * Toffee Soccer - Everton and North America (with Rob Sawyer and Darren Griffiths 2021) {{ISBN|978-1-9162784-0-0}}

==Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame== Conceived by France after consultation with baseball's counterpart in Cooperstown, New York, it pays tribute to the men who have contributed to Everton's history. In 1996 he recruited an independent panel of players, journalists, shareholders and season-ticket holders to painstakingly assess the qualifications of the 800 or so candidates and select the initial 75 members.<ref>"Gwladys Street’s Hall of Fame." David France (1998),{{ISBN|1-874799-09-1}}</ref> Subsequent additions have been elected by Everton supporters via postal and internet ballots. The Hall of Fame inductions were celebrated passionately in 1998 and every subsequent year at Liverpool's Adelphi Hotel.<ref>"Standing in the Shadows of Giants." Martin O’Boyle. Speke From The Harbour fanzine. April 2000 [http://www.btinternet.com/-m.royden/mrlhp/everton/hofame2000/review.htm]{{dead link|date=November 2012|bot=Legobot}}</ref> Known locally as the "Nuremberg Rallies of Football", never before had any club's supporters interacted intimately with heroes who had won the World Cup, European silverware, FA Cups and League titles.<ref>[http://www.toffeeweb.com.season/08-09/comment/editorial/article.asp?submissionID=11342 Gwladys Street’s Hall of Fame – the video." Simon Paul. 6 April 2009]{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The 2009 inductions of Duncan Ferguson and Bill Kenwright brought the total to 126 members.<ref>"Big Dunc joins Everton Hall of Fame." The Liverpool Echo. 20 March 2009 [http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/everton-fc/everton-fc-news/2009/03/20/duncan-ferguson-flies-in-to-join-everton-s-hall-of-fame-92534-23192273/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322171603/http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/everton-fc/everton-fc-news/2009/03/20/duncan-ferguson-flies-in-to-join-everton-s-hall-of-fame-92534-23192273/|date=22 March 2009}}</ref> The 2017 additions of John Bailey, Kevin Campbell, Nigel Martyn, Ian Snodin and Pat van den Hauwe increased the membership to 131.

==The Everton Former-Players' Foundation== France registered the Everton Former-Players’ Foundation (Charity No 1080101) to alleviate their medical and other hardships of old footballers in 1999. With the support of the Professional Footballer's Association and the generosity Everton Football Club and its supporters,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/England/Manchester/7433144.stm |title="Moyes wins Rooney book libel case." BBC News 3 June 2008 |access-date=6 December 2009 |archive-date=6 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206005727/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/7433144.stm |url-status=dead }}</ref> the EFPF has raised and spent over £100,000 per year during the past 10 years assisting individuals with knee and hip surgeries and even home improvements. All grants are confidential but any player who made one first-team appearance for Everton is eligible for help. The EFPF is the first of its kind in the football world and, under the current stewardship of Rev. Harry Ross and Laurence Lee, is considered to be the UEFA model.<ref>[http://www.uefa.com/magazine/news/Kina=134217728/newsId=410717.html "Everton greats’ service repaid." 13 April 2006]{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Subsequently, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich have established similar organisations and along with Everton are members of the European Former Players' Association.

==The David France Collection of Everton memorabilia== {{details|The Everton Collection}}

The David France Collection is a compilation of memorabilia related to the birth and development of Everton Football Club. It is lauded as the finest collection of football artefacts in the world.<ref>"The Heritage of Everton FC – First Impressions." Ian Macdonald. 15 November 2003 [http://www.toffeeweb.com/club/stuff/france/intro.asp]</ref> Employing a network of dealers, France took over 20 years to assemble some of football's rarest items dating back to the club's pioneering days in Stanley Park. In addition to hundreds and hundreds of unique items of interest to all football enthusiasts, the real significance of France's paper-chase is that the resulting collection boasts long unbroken sequences of programmes and other memorabilia which tell the week-by-week story of life as well as football on Merseyside football. Perhaps the most priceless treasures are the official club ledgers detailing the minutes of all board meetings between 1886 and 1964 and shed light on the acrimonious split which resulted in the formation of Liverpool Football Club.<ref>"The David France Collection – Everton FC History." Steve Jones, November 2003 {{cite web|url=http://www.bluekipper.com/history/david_france_collection3.htm |title=The David France Collection - Everton History - bluekipper.com |accessdate=2009-12-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113070837/http://bluekipper.com/history/david_france_collection3.htm |archivedate=2010-01-13 }}</ref><ref>"Everton Treasures - The David France Collection." David France & David Prentice (2007) {{ISBN|1-874799-20-2}}</ref>

Poor health influenced Dr. France's decision in 2001 to find a secure and long-term home for his collection. Despite receiving offers from private investors, he was committed to make the collection available to the people of Merseyside. Six years later, the Everton Collection Charitable Trust (Charity No 1109480) announced that it had secured a grant from the UK Heritage Lottery Fund to acquire his collection, now named The Everton Collection. Subsequently, France donated the priceless ledgers and transferred the other treasures at a heavily discounted price. There were, however, a few conditions to the transaction. Every piece of memorabilia had to be professionally catalogued, preserved by experts and secured in a vault. No items can be disposed of and the collection had to be augmented with quality acquisitions when they become available. Equally as important, the items should be displayed physically in Liverpool and all printed materials digitised and incorporated into a website to facilitate worldwide access.<ref>"Blue bid for haul of fame." David Prentice. The Liverpool Echo. 14 July 2005 [http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0400evertonfc/0100news/tm-object=15735748&method=50061&headline=blue-bid-for-haul-of-fame-name_page.html]</ref><ref>"Everton's treasures are saved." The Liverpool Daily Post. 29 September 2007 [http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2007/09/29/everton-s-treasures-are-saved-64375-19866334/]</ref><ref>"Doctor Everton’s Magnificent Obsession." Philip Robert. The Daily Telegraph. 27 March 2008 [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/2295576/Doctor-Evertons-magnificent-obsession.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221041614/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/2295576/Doctor-Evertons-magnificent-obsession.html|date=21 December 2018}}</ref><ref>"Don’t thank me - being a Blue is my reward." Ian Macdonald. Blueblood fanzine January 2009 [http://toffeeweb.com/season/08-09/comment/fan/article.asp?submissionID=10430] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102032957/http://toffeeweb.com/season/08-09/comment/fan/article.asp?submissionID=10430|date=2 January 2010}}</ref> Subsequently, Everton Football Club donated its archives.

Now known as The Everton Collection, it is housed at the Liverpool Record Office where it took a team of experts some 15 months to catalogue the artefacts. Highlights of the collection are featured in two books ‘Everton Treasures’<ref>"Everton Treasures - The David France Collection." David France & David Prentice (2007) {{ISBN|1-874799-20-2}}</ref> and ‘Dr Everton’s Magnificent Obsession’.<ref>"Dr Everton’s Magnificent Obsession". David France & David Prentice (2008) {{ISBN|978-1-905266-79-1}}</ref> Some of the Everton Collection has been digitised and is available online at www.evertoncollection.org.uk. At the formal launch the Everlution exhibition in late 2009, Andy Burnham, the UK Health Minister, said: "Thanks to David France the story of the heart and soul of our club has been brought together. We all owe him a huge debt of thanks for the passion and the meticulousness with which he has prepared this wonderful collection."<ref>"Health Secretary Andy Burnham opens Everton FC exhibition at Liverpool Central Library." David Prentice. The Liverpool Daily Post. 25 September 2009 [http://www.liverpoolpost.co.uk/everton-fc-news/2009/09/25/health-secretary-andy-burnham-opens-everton-fc-exhibition-at-liverpool-central-library-92534-24777299/]{{Dead link|date=November 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>"Health Secretary’s debt of thanks to Dr Everton." The Liverpool Echo. 15 September 2009 [http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk.everton-fc/everton-fc-news/2009/09/25/health-secretary-s-debt-of-thanks-to-dr-everton/100252-24777103/]{{Dead link|date=November 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Items from the collection will be on display at the Liverpool Central Library until mid-2010.<ref>"The Everton Collection: The greatest football memorabilia on display." EPL Talk: News & Analysis of the English Premier League. Christopher Harris. 12 October 2009 [http://www.epltalk.com/the-everton-collection-the-greatest-football-memorabilia-on-display/12012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216080725/http://www.epltalk.com/the-everton-collection-the-greatest-football-memorabilia-on-display/12012|date=16 December 2009}}</ref>

The collection has been lauded by other Everton fans and experts alike. Everton chairman Bill Kenwright said: ‘On behalf of all Evertonians, I would like to express our collective gratitude to David France for his foresight in acquiring these rarities and for his patience during the fund-raising period.’<ref>"Dr Everton’s Magnificent Obsession". David France & David Prentice (2008) {{ISBN|978-1-905266-79-1}}</ref> Sir Philip Carter added: ‘There are so many sacred items spanning the 131 years from our days at Stanley Park. The treasure trove contained our first programmes, first photographs, first medals, first season-tickets, first contracts as well as the club ledgers circa 1886. Everything is in pristine condition.’<ref>"Everton Treasures - The David France Collection." David France & David Prentice (2007) {{ISBN|1-874799-20-2}}</ref><ref>"The Everton Collection: The greatest football memorabilia on display." EPL Talk: News & Analysis of the English Premier League. Christopher Harris. 12 October 2009 [http://www.epltalk.com/the-everton-collection-the-greatest-football-memorabilia-on-display/12012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216080725/http://www.epltalk.com/the-everton-collection-the-greatest-football-memorabilia-on-display/12012|date=16 December 2009}}</ref> Technical experts offered similar appreciation: Janet Dugdale of the National Museums Liverpool reported: ‘The collection’s importance is increased by its integrity as a collection which has been amassed with a single-minded sense of purpose and intellectual rigour to which many museums aspire.’<ref>"Everton Treasures - The David France Collection." David France & David Prentice (2007) {{ISBN|1-874799-20-2}}</ref> Graham Budd of Sotheby's added: ‘The collection offers an extraordinary record of the evolution of British football and of the city of Liverpool. It has no match anywhere.’<ref>"Everton Treasures - The David France Collection." David France & David Prentice (2007) {{ISBN|1-874799-20-2}}</ref>

==The Founding Fathers of Merseyside Football== {{details|Founding Fathers of Merseyside Football}}

Because there had been no recognition at Goodison or Anfield of the men who started and shaped football on Merseyside, Dr. France commissioned artist Wasan Suttikasem to produce six oil paintings depicting the key figures from the early days of Everton and Liverpool.<ref>"The father figures who helped shape Merseyside football." David Prentice. The Liverpool Daily Post. 1 July 2009.[http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/everton-fc/everton-fc-news/2009/07/01/the-father-figures-who-helped-shape-merseyside-football-92534-24038903/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703002436/http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/everton-fc/everton-fc-news/2009/07/01/the-father-figures-who-helped-shape-merseyside-football-92534-24038903/|date=3 July 2009}}</ref><ref>"David France takes Everton and Liverpool founding fathers back home." The Liverpool Echo. 30 June 2009 [http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/everton-fc/everton-fc-news/2009/06/30/david-france-takes-everton-and-liverpool-founding-fathers-back-home-100252-24022872/]</ref> Known as 'The Founding Fathers of Merseyside Football', The subjects are Rev. Ben Swift Chambers, John Houlding, Dr. James Baxter, George Mahon, John McKenna and Will Cuff.<ref>"The Founding Fathers of Merseyside Football." David France & Peter Lupson. Everton Shareholders’ Association booklet (2009)</ref> The portraits are owned by the Everton Shareholders' Association and will be rotated between different venues throughout the United Kingdom so that all football can celebrate the roots of Merseyside football.<ref>"The Founding Fathers of Merseyside Football." David France & Peter Lupson. Everton Shareholders’ Association booklet (2009)</ref><ref>[http://www.liverpoolfctv/news/drilldown/N1649330705-0909.htm "Merseyside Six Appeal." LFC Magazine. 5 July 2009]{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==External links== *[http://www.evertoncollection.org.uk www.evertoncollection.org.uk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501202916/http://www.evertoncollection.org.uk/ |date=1 May 2009 }} *[http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/hua_hsu/2009/11/the_everton_collection.php The Everton Collection - Hua Hsu. The Atlantic Magazine. 19 November 2009]

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:France, David}} Category:1948 births Category:English collectors Category:Everton F.C. Category:Living people Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Widnes