\n
", "buttontext" : "Apply Now", "buttonlink" : "/inspire/undergraduate/apply/" } },"International" : {"title" : "International","link" : "/international/","children" : [{"title" : "Our global community","link" : "/international/your-global-community/"},{"title" : "Connect with your regional officer","link" : "/international/connect-with-your-regional-officer/"},{"title" : "Applicants ","link" : "/international/applicants/"},{"title" : "International Arrival and Enrolment ","link" : "/international/leaving-for-the-uk/"},{"title" : "Meet Us","link" : "/international/meet-us/"},{"title" : "International Information Day","link" : "/international/international-information-day/"},{"title" : "Chat with our students","link" : "/chat-with-our-students/"},{"title" : "Visa and Immigration","link" : "/international/immigration/"},{"title" : "YourHud","link" : "/international/your-hud/"}],"featured" : [{"title" : "Courses and entry requirements", "desc" : "Explore our course portfolio ", "link" : "/international/courses-and-entry-requirements/", "rank" : "null", "icon" : "fas fa-language" },{"title" : "Fees and funding ", "desc" : "Discover our competitive fees ", "link" : "/international/fees-and-funding/", "rank" : "null", "icon" : "fas fa-money-bill-alt" },{"title" : "Applying to the University", "desc" : "For international students", "link" : "/international/applying-to-the-university/", "rank" : "null", "icon" : "fas fa-book" },{"title" : "Scholarships opportunities ", "desc" : "See if you are eligible ", "link" : "/international/scholarships/", "rank" : "null", "icon" : "fas fa-life-ring" }],"cta" : { "html" : "", "buttontext" : "Book Now", "buttonlink" : "/international/international-information-day/" } },"Research, innovation and skills" : {"title" : "Research, innovation and skills","link" : "/research/","children" : [{"title" : "REF 2021","link" : "https://research.hud.ac.uk/strategy/ref/"},{"title" : "Areas of Strategic Research Importance ","link" : "https://research.hud.ac.uk/strategy/unsdg-asri/"},{"title" : "Ways for business to work with us","link" : "https://research.hud.ac.uk/business/"},{"title" : "Open Research, Impact and Public Engagement","link" : "https://research.hud.ac.uk/impact/"},{"title" : "Our academic experts","link" : "https://pure.hud.ac.uk/en/persons/"},{"title" : "Research strategy and governance","link" : "https://research.hud.ac.uk/strategy/"},{"title" : "Research integrity","link" : "https://research.hud.ac.uk/strategy/concordat-research-integrity"},{"title" : "Athena SWAN","link" : "https://research.hud.ac.uk/strategy/athena-swan"},{"title" : "Degree apprenticeships","link" : "https://www.hud.ac.uk/business/degree-apprenticeships/"}],"featured" : [{"title" : "Skilled people and training", "desc" : "Excellent training for staff", "link" : "https://research.hud.ac.uk/skilled-people/", "rank" : "null", "icon" : "fas fa-wrench" },{"title" : "Research degrees", "desc" : "Step by step help to apply", "link" : "https://hud.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/", "rank" : "null", "icon" : "fas fa-flask" },{"title" : "Specialist facilities", "desc" : "Excellent range of facilities", "link" : "https://research.hud.ac.uk/institutes-centres/facilities/", "rank" : "null", "icon" : "fas fa-building" },{"title" : "Institutes and centres", "desc" : "Interdisciplinary research", "link" : "https://research.hud.ac.uk/institutes-centres/", "rank" : "null", "icon" : "fas fa-university" },{"title" : "The Graduate School", "desc" : "Enhance your potential", "link" : "https://students.hud.ac.uk/grad/graduate-school/", "rank" : "5", "icon" : "fas fa-graduation-cap" }],"cta" : { "html" : "\n
", "buttontext" : "Order your copy now", "buttonlink" : "https://www.hud.ac.uk/order-a-prospectus" } },"Uni life" : {"title" : "Uni life","link" : "/uni-life/","children" : [{"title" : "Chat to one of our students","link" : "/chat-with-our-students/"},{"title" : "Student Accommodation","link" : "/uni-life/accommodation/"},{"title" : "Explore our campus","link" : "/uni-life/our-campus/"},{"title" : "Supporting you through your journey","link" : "/uni-life/support/"},{"title" : "Why Huddersfield?","link" : "/uni-life/why-huddersfield/"},{"title" : "Visit us at Open Days","link" : "/open-days/"},{"title" : "Order a prospectus","link" : "/order-a-prospectus/"},{"title" : "Huddersfield Students’ Union","link" : "/uni-life/su/"},{"title" : "Student blogs","link" : "http://blogs.hud.ac.uk/students/"},{"title" : "University experience: How to make the most of Uni life","link" : "/uni-life/experience/"},{"title" : "Thinking of commuting to Huddersfield?","link" : "/uni-life/commuting-to-university/"}],"featured" : [{"title" : "Why choose Huddersfield?", "desc" : "as your first choice", "link" : "/uni-life/why-huddersfield/", "rank" : "null", "icon" : "fas fa-random" },{"title" : "Accommodation", "desc" : "We have great accommodation", "link" : "/uni-life/accommodation/", "rank" : "0", "icon" : "fas fa-bed" },{"title" : "Our campus", "desc" : "Explore our beautiful campus", "link" : "/uni-life/our-campus/", "rank" : "null", "icon" : "fas fa-industry" },{"title" : "Explore Hud", "desc" : "Location, location, location..", "link" : "/uni-life/explore-hud/", "rank" : "null", "icon" : "fas fa-arrows-alt" }],"cta" : { "html" : "", "buttontext" : "Read the blogs", "buttonlink" : "http://blogs.hud.ac.uk/students/" } },"Students/Staff/Hubs" : {"title" : "Students/Staff/Hubs","link" : "#","children" : [{"title" : "Unimail - student email","link" : "https://students.hud.ac.uk/studies/it/unimail/"},{"title" : "Togetherall","link" : "https://students.hud.ac.uk/help/wellbeing/247support/togetherall/ "},{"title" : "ActiveHud","link" : "https://active.hud.ac.uk/"},{"title" : "Brightspace","link" : "https://brightspace.hud.ac.uk"}],"featured" : [{"title" : "Business", "desc" : "Information for businesses", "link" : "https://research.hud.ac.uk/business/", "rank" : "0", "icon" : "fas fa-briefcase" },{"title" : "Alumni", "desc" : "Resources for former students", "link" : "https://alumni.hud.ac.uk/", "rank" : "0", "icon" : "fas fa-graduation-cap" },{"title" : "Staff Hub", "desc" : "University staff network", "link" : "http://hud.ac/o1o", "rank" : "0", "icon" : "fas fa-user-circle" },{"title" : "Students", "desc" : "Resources for students", "link" : "https://students.hud.ac.uk/", "rank" : "null", "icon" : "fas fa-users" }],"cta" : { "html" : "", "buttontext" : "Login to MyHud", "buttonlink" : "https://myhud.hud.ac.uk/" } }}honeypot linkA new display in the University’s Heritage Quay exhibition space is ensuring that the pioneering roles played by many women in establishing women’s rugby league in this country get some long overdue recognition.
Heritage Quay is home to the official Rugby League archive, which now includes a fascinating collection of items donated by former players, coaches and fans.
It has been coordinated by Julia Lee, herself a true pioneer of women’s rugby league. Julia was a referee in the 1980s and 1990s and the first woman to officiate in men’s matches. She also refereed some ground-breaking international clashes between Great Britain’s Lionesses and their counterparts in Australia and New Zealand.
Julia is pictured above on the right with University Archivist Dr Rebecca Bowd. The display can be viewed at Heritage Quay until 22 December.
The new display coincides with the Rugby League World Cup currently taking place across England. This year’s edition of the tournament – held over from 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic – is the first where not only the women’s competition but the wheelchair competition has parity with the men.
Julia generously acknowledges the contribution of other pioneers like former Lionesses coach Jackie Sheldon, who dug into her collection of memorabilia to kickstart the collection as part of Julia’s ‘Life with the Lionesses’ project. And just added to the collection is one of the match balls used in the 1996 series, donated by that year’s head coach Ian Harris.
“The role played by Jackie, this amazing woman, was key to the Lionesses,” says Julia. “She was assistant coach on the tour of Australia in 1996, then head coach for the next four tours.
“These women took time off work unpaid and were away from their families for weeks. They also had to raise £70,000 for the tour to happen. A player had to raise £1,000, and if you didn’t, you couldn’t go.
“But they won six out of seven matches and are the last rugby league team to beat any Australian side in Australia in a three Test series. It was, and remains, an incredible achievement but they had no recognition. They were invited to appear at Wembley at a subsequent international, and they thought they were going to be introduced to the crowd but instead they were asked to wave the flags in centre circle ahead of kick-off.”
Julia’s own rugby league story is one of overcoming obstacles for many years until she became a highly respected figure in the sport, working for the Rugby Football League (RFL) for 20 years and helping to secure £29m of funding for RL’s development. Key to that funding was Sport England insisting that the women’s game be brought ‘in-house’, leading to a revival of an international side under the flag of England in 20078.
“It all started for me when the city of Hull decamped to Wembley when Hull met Hull Kingston Rovers, my team, in the 1980 Challenge Cup Final. I’d been told rugby league wasn’t somewhere for a girl to go, but I found where I belonged with the game. I didn’t belong at school, I was a bit of a loner and having lost my Dad aged three we just had to survive and show resilience to support my Mum.
“I found a place on the terraces that was just for me. I was wayward on the terraces, to say the least but it would have been worse if I was on the streets.”
And in a classic case of ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’, self-confessed terrace referee abuser Julia took the plunge to become a referee herself while still in her teens. She officiated in games of all age groups, including a stint in Australia, as well setting up the Fulham Women team during a spell living in London.
“The beauty of the archive is that I have found things I had forgotten about like my coaching badge from Australia. I loved refereeing in the National Conference, it was hard as it was a mix of older players and up-and-coming youngsters, both groups trying to get one over on the other, and the ref as well!”
The archive at Heritage Quay now has volunteers cataloguing items and data on a weekly basis, allowing players and unheralded achievements from the past to be finally recognised by the sport.
“The archive means that there is a collection that people can interrogate, that can give us more information that can go into academic research and that can get things right. On Wikipedia there is all sorts that is made up – we have changed it so that its correct.
“The other great thing on this project is that rugby league’s record keepers had nothing on the women’s game, now they are putting the GB and England games in there as a starter so there is a record of these players internationally as well.”
The cataloguing of the Lionesses means that many former ex-GB and England players will be awarded caps during the World Cup. But the success of the archive has also seen many Lionesses coming forward with their memorabilia, and renewed interest in Sarah Jane Dickenson’s play, ‘Ref!’, based on Julia’s life story.
“In Hull alone there are 11 former ex-Lionesses that had been forgotten. They had things in the attic, but in some cases had not told their kids they had played internationally or had forgotten they were a player in a World Cup.”
Life with the Lionesses is run in conjunction with Heritage Quay, the Rugby Football League and Rugby League Cares.