Jack Godfrey: an obituary (From Worcester News)

Jack Godfrey: an obituary

12:41pm Tuesday 16th March 2010 in

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FORMER Evening News (now Worcester News) sports editor Jack Godfrey, who began his career in journalism in 1931, has died at the age of 95.

Probably best known for his long-serving coverage of Worcestershire County Cricket Club – which included the game against Don Bradman’s legendary 1948 Australian side – Mr Godfrey led the newspaper’s sports desk for 33 years before retiring in 1979.

“Jack Godfrey was a quite wonderful man,” said former Worcestershire CCC secretary Mike Vockins. “I shall always remember on my first day as secretary in 1971, I was asked to attend a press conference to introduce myself to the media and this basically consisted of a chat with Jack outside the telephone kiosk near the pavilion. He was one of the first people I met when I came to the club.

“I always found he reported Worcestershire cricket as accurately and faithfully as he possibly could. He was deeply devoted to the county but this never prevented him being objective and if he felt something was not right, either on the playing or administrative side, he was happy to say so. There was never any resentment felt about this because everyone respected him and knew he had the best interests of Worcestershire cricket at heart.”

Throughout his career reporting on Worcestershire, Mr Godfrey was accompanied by his wife Betty who shared his passion for the club, being a founder member of the supporters’ association and also a club vicepresident.

The couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last year. Jack Godfrey, son of an Evesham shopkeeper, joined the Evesham Standard as a junior reporter in 1931 paid, as he later recalled, half a crown (12.5p) a week. He rose to become editor by 1939, but following five years war service, returned to journalism after the Second World War as sports editor of the News and Times in Worcester – which later became the Evening News.

As well as being chief cricket correspondent, Mr Godfrey also covered Worcester City Football Club for six years and wrote a weekly column on professional boxing, of which there was an abundance around Worcester in the post-war years.

It was his proud boast that in 33 years writing about Worcestershire CCC, he missed only one day of first team cricket at New Road, against Oxford University.

Mr Godfrey, who is survived by Betty and their son Richard, died in Worcestershire Royal Hospital after a short illness. His funeral will be at 2pm on Wednesday, March 24, at St Martin’s Church, London Road, Worcester.