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Sporting stalwart of 43 years files last match report

Gloucestershire Echo sports journalist Derek Goddard has retired after 43 years with the paper.

The football writer filed his last match report for League Two Cheltenham Town on Saturday, having hardly missed a game since November 10, 1962 when the club lost an FA Cup first-round tie to Enfield.

During most of his career he insisted on working a seven-day week and has spent hours following Cheltenham around the country, including to Wembley in 1998 and the Millennium Stadium in 2002.

Penning his final column for the Echo, Derek reflected on an enjoyable career, saying: “I’ve met a lot of nice people during a lifetime in the job and some not so nice.

“There have been a lorra, lorra laughs over the years and, of course, I’ve seen a great deal of sport for nothing.”

Echo editor Anita Syvret has worked with Derek since 1990 and paid tribute to his dedication and loyalty.

She said: “Derek Goddard is a true gentleman who has always put his life and soul into his work. His contribution to the Gloucestershire Echo and to his home town over 43 years has been utterly invaluble, and his loyalty and hard work are unsurpassed.

“He is a traditional journalist of the old school of which few survive. I personally have learned much from him and recognise that with his departure our industry reaches the end of an era.

“There was a time when reporters went about their assignments on bicycles, when their salary was paid in cash in a tobacco tin, when the papers were produced on hot metal and when Post Office lane in Cheltenham shook with the rumble of the printing press.

“We owe a huge debt to Derek for sticking with the Echo through such a multitude of changes. For my own part, it has been a personal and a professional privilege to have known and worked with him.”

Since 1962 Derek has seen 18 managers come and go at Cheltenham Town FC, and to mark his retirement the club presented him with a lifetime season ticket.

Chairman Paul Baker said: “Derek is a real character and we have had our ups and downs over the years, but he has become part of the furniture.

“He is a Cheltenham man with a great affinity for the club as well as all the other sports played in the town.

“He is very open and honest and he will be missed.”