William (Bill) Wilfred Parr (23 April 1915 – 8 March 1942) was an accomplished England amateur international footballer and wartime RAF pilot, whose promising sporting career was tragically cut short during the Second World War. Born in Revoe, Blackpool, Parr attended Revoe School and began playing football locally with Grasmere Road Methodists, all while working at Blackpool Town Hall. Despite his amateur status, he broke into Blackpool FC’s first team, making 18 appearances. His natural pace and talent on the right wing caught wider attention, and by the late 1930s he had established himself as an England amateur international, earning 12 caps. In 1937, he was selected for the FA Amateur XI’s tour of New Zealand, Australia and Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka)—a major milestone in his career.
A move to South London in early 1939 for work prompted a shift in his footballing journey. Although linked with professional sides such as Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur, Parr chose to join Dulwich Hamlet, reportedly to continue his fruitful playing partnership with fellow winger Reg Anderson. The pair’s chemistry was evident during Dulwich’s 3–0 triumph over Erith & Belvedere in the 1939 London Senior Cup Final at The Den, played in front of 18,000 spectators. Later that year, in May 1939, Parr signed for Arsenal as an amateur ahead of the 1939–40 season. With the outbreak of war in September, regular league football was suspended. Although he featured in Dulwich Hamlet’s 1939–40 club handbook, Parr also turned out in wartime matches for Arsenal and guested for Wealdstone.
Alongside his footballing commitments, Parr volunteered for service in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He trained as a pilot on multi-engine aircraft and was eventually posted to RAF Coastal Command, where he carried out maritime patrols targeting German U-boats in the Western Approaches. By 1942, Parr was serving with No. 233 Squadron RAF, based at RAF St Eval in Cornwall. On the night of 8 March that year, while flying in a Lockheed Hudson V (serial number AM535), the aircraft crashed into a field at Lower Treburrick Farm, near St Ervan, just four miles from RAF St Mawgan. All three aircrew on board were killed. In a letter sent to his mother in Blackpool that very day, Parr had written: “It’s a great life.”
Had he survived the war, Parr was widely expected to return to Dulwich Hamlet, and possibly progress even further in football. His death was a devastating loss, both personally and to the footballing community. The morale at Dulwich Hamlet, in particular, suffered greatly following the tragedy.
Bill Parr in his Dulwich Hamlet Football Club uniform
