Legends Pay Tribute as Godbold Retires After 70 Years Thursday, 1st Aug 2024 14:27 by Kallum Brisset Pat Godbold, secretary to nine Town former managers, has officially retired after 70 years of service at the club. Godbold, who also served as Sir Bobby Robson’s PA for 36 years, bowed out alongside a host of former players with a celebration party in the Sir Bobby Robson Suite this morning. The event was put on by the Former Players’ Association, led by club ambassadors Simon Milton and Matt Holland, and honoured Godbold’s seven decades at Portman Road. The 89-year-old worked as secretary for all Blues managers from Scott Duncan, when she joined the club in 1954, to George Burley before stepping down full-time in 1997. She has remained involved as a club archivist since, witnessing seven promotions, six relegations and three major trophies, but now retires after a lifetime of service. Among the other former players present were Terry Butcher, Russell Osman, John Wark, Chris Kiwomya, Adam Tanner, James Scowcroft, Roger Osborne, Paul Goddard, Jason Dozzell and Cole Skuse. “I am very proud,” Godbold said. “I can’t believe this has all happened just for me, they said they were going to do something but I had no idea. I know I had to be up early this morning and be ready, and it’s not finished yet because we’re going over to the restaurant as well. “I have been looking forward to this but I was a little bit worried about one or two things as well, but everybody’s put me at ease. I can’t believe it’s all happened to me. “Thank you all very much for coming to see me. All these lovely letters have so many happy memories and I can’t believe it all.” On Robson, or ‘Mr R’ as she calls him, Godbold said: “Every manager had his own personalities, but he just seemed to be able to get over to people and think about everybody. “He thought as much of the young apprentices coming through and groundstaff boys as he did the top class international players that he bought like George Burley, Alan Brazil and Russell Osman. “He was a fantastic man to work with for 36 years. I continued and ran his commercial business and was his company secretary for over 20 years. Just a fantastic life working with and for such fantastic people.”
Ipswich Town is all Godbold has ever known, and once said that she was ‘married to the club’. While retiring in an official capacity, Godbold says the club will forever remain a part of her. She added: “My brother is here at the moment and I met his son and daughter-in-law. But apart from my family, this has been my life. “I think I’ll have to [retire] because of my ill health, there’s lots of things I can’t do. But I’m hoping that people will give me a ring and come and see me or just call me and have a chat. “I’ve had a fantastic career and hopefully I might be able to come to some of the matches. It’s lovely to see everybody here and reminisce with all these people. I am lost for words.” Milton, who joined the club under John Duncan after impressing previous manager Bobby Ferguson in 1987, said Godbold was a welcoming presence when any player joined the club at the time and played a major role in helping players settle. “I met Pat as soon as I signed my contract,” he recalled. “She said anything you need come and see me, this is when we’re travelling away and going on tour, all the times of arrivals and just preparing for the season. “She just became like a mother-figure to all of the players, even those way before me – your [Terry] Butchers, your [Russell] Osmans, Roger Osborne, all tell stories about how helpful she was. She was that support network, but she tough and not someone you could mess around with and she’s still the same now. “She was a disciplinarian but just a wonderful person, and over the last 20 years she’s helped us so much with the Former Players’ Association dinners we have every year. “She started 70 years ago and 70 years is not only a massive achievement for Ipswich Town, but actually a massive achievement for football in general for one person to work for a club for that length of time. That’s why she’s been rewarded with an EFL award and thoroughly deserved.” Milton explained how the organisation of the event was relatively easy, with so many former players wanting to come out and recognise Godbold’s lifetime service. He said: “When we were inviting people out and saying the club are doing a retirement party, we’d love you to come along and see her. And straight away it was ‘I’m coming, what time is it’ and one by one they’re all here. “We’ve got quite a vibrant association, we do keep in touch with golf days and dinners, so it’s lovely to see so many of them here coming to see Pat and spending a bit of time with her. “A very special day, a bit emotional for her, some fantastic tributes and just wonderful to be a part of it.” Milton added: “When we interviewed her and we gave her the mic, she reeled off three or four stories. She’s still very sharp and witty and is a great storyteller. “Everyone will have a favourite Pat Godbold story and it was nice to see Mark Ashton and David Sheepshanks here. Year on year there’s people representing the football club.”  Wark was another player who warmly recalled the day he first met Godbold after first signing as a teenager in 1975. He likewise sees her as a mother-figure, having lost his parents at a relatively young age. “I’ve known her since I was about 15 and an apprentice,” Wark said. “She was like a mother for me, I lost my mum at an early age so she was there always giving orders and keeping you on your toes. “She’s the woman legend of the football club. She’s better than the rest of us. “When I came in I got a little bit emotional. I came to see her before and had my brother over from Australia and she remembered more than me! I’m glad I didn’t miss this. “She’s somebody who looked after us and was good at her job. Everyone loved Bobby Robson, he was the boss, but she would totally look after us and you never forget people like that. “I’ll be ringing her now and again, I’ll still be speaking to her and she’ll tell me things I don’t know! She was there for me, especially when I was young, that’s the time I remember. When I lost my mum and dad early she really helped. She was the best.” Town’s current CEO and now chairman Mark Ashton gave a speech before presenting Godbold with some flowers, cake and a gift alongside Milton and Holland. Ashton believes Godbold symbolises everything that is special about the history of Ipswich Town. He said: “It’s quite incredible, I don’t think any words do this justice. This is 70 years, a life devoted to a football club which is quite incredible. If you look across all the clubs in the world, you aren’t going to find many special stories like this. “She’s the embodiment of this football club. We talk about community, family, togetherness, the Ipswich way, she embodies all of that and she’s just such a nice person who cares passionately about this football club. It’s quite an incredible story. “Even in the three years we’ve been here we’ve had some ups and downs, but she’s been a consistent. I think the consistency from Pat is not necessarily what you do but how you do it – act with class, care about people, try and do the right thing, understand that this is a one-county football club. “It isn’t like a normal run-of-the-mill football club, there is something very special that’s been built on the history and tradition. We’ve got two former England managers, the room today is filled with former England captains, all so respectful for Pat and she’s the embodiment of that togetherness at the football club.”  Ashton, who described Godbold as the ‘queen of Ipswich Town’ on stage, says she is thought of in the highest regard by everybody at the club. “She’s royalty. She’s so loved and respected by everyone connected with the football club, there is an air of royalty that we see her with. That’s through pure love and care that she has for this football club and everyone she’s impacted. “You’ve seen the turnout today, some incredible Ipswich legends there, former chairmen, former players and managers.” Despite only being at Portman Road for three years, Ashton has shared so many memories with Godbold in his relatively short period at the club. “Day one when I joined not knowing that much about the history and tradition of the football club, everyone said you’re going to get Pat come and knock at your door and within the first day I did,” he recalled. “She’s just been lovely. We’ve sat and talked about the history of the club, Sir Bobby, managers she’s worked under, some of the amazing stories. The highs and lows of this football club, she’s seen them all. The club and everyone in the club owe her a debt of gratitude and she’s very much loved. “She leaves a mark on everyone she encounters, she’s a very special lady. She has devoted her life to this football club and that’s just incredible and unheard of in modern football. “She’ll be back here for the Liverpool game, the door is always open and we’re very privileged to have someone like Pat connected with our club.”
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