Whilst any true Chelsea fan knows we have history – and plenty of it – there are some aspects that remain surprisingly hidden. One such person is Frederick Parker esq.

The last resting place of Frederick Parker, whose contribution to the founding of Chelsea Football Club and the early years of our existence cannot be overestimated.

It was Parker who persuaded the Edwardian businessman Henry Augustus Mears to form a new club to play inside a planned Stamford Bridge expansion rather than sell to property developers.

In addition to convincing Mears that forming Chelsea FC was a viable option, a moment preceded and made famous by Mears’s dog biting Parker, the soon-to-be honorary financial secretary was the man who manoeuvred Chelsea into the Football League, the first time a club was admitted having never played a game. They obviously knew quality when they saw it!

Parker also recruited the club’s first captain and team, edited the Chelsea Chronicle (the matchday programme equivalent), drew up the original ambitious business plans, and even the name Chelsea Football Club was his idea. Little wonder he would refer to himself as the ‘godfather’ of the club.

He remained at Chelsea until just before the Second World War and died in 1951. He is buried along with his wife Rosabelle. His grave is at the parish church for the West Sussex village of Milland, a few miles off the main A3 road between London and Portsmouth.

Whilst any true Chelsea fan knows we have history – and plenty of it – there are some aspects that remain surprisingly hidden. One such person is Frederick Parker esq.

The last resting place of Frederick Parker, whose contribution to the founding of Chelsea Football Club and the early years of our existence cannot be overestimated.

It was Parker who persuaded the Edwardian businessman Henry Augustus Mears to form a new club to play inside a planned Stamford Bridge expansion rather than sell to property developers.

In addition to convincing Mears that forming Chelsea FC was a viable option, a moment preceded and made famous by Mears’s dog biting Parker, the soon-to-be honorary financial secretary was the man who manoeuvred Chelsea into the Football League, the first time a club was admitted having never played a game. They obviously knew quality when they saw it!

Parker also recruited the club’s first captain and team, edited the Chelsea Chronicle (the matchday programme equivalent), drew up the original ambitious business plans, and even the name Chelsea Football Club was his idea. Little wonder he would refer to himself as the ‘godfather’ of the club.

He remained at Chelsea until just before the Second World War and died in 1951. He is buried along with his wife Rosabelle. His grave is at the parish church for the West Sussex village of Milland, a few miles off the main A3 road between London and Portsmouth.