Born in Toronto, Ontario, where his father served as a clergyman,[3] Parry attended Charterhouse School from 1868 to 1874, and Exeter College, Oxford, where he graduated as B.A.
He was captain (and goal-scorer) of the Old Carthusians team which won the 1881 FA Cup Final defeating Old Etonians 3–0.
He was the first overseas-born captain of an FA Cup winning team,[4] and the last until Irishman Johnny Carey with Manchester United in 1948 (and not Eric Cantona 48 years later).
He was national chairman of the Private Schools Association in 1907 and sat on its council for many years.
[3] Parry became blind in his later years and died at his last home in West Bridgford, Nottingham on 19 July 1931, aged seventy-six.