John Cavendish Cobbold (30 June 1927 – 13 September 1983) nicknamed "Johnny," was an English businessman and a grandson of

Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire (31 May 18686 May 1938), known as Victor Cavendish until 1908, was a British peer and politician who served as Governor General of Canada. A member of the Cavendish family, he was ed ...

. He chaired

Ipswich Town F.C. Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in EFL League One, League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not ...

from 1957 to 1976.

Early life

Cobbold and his brother

Patrick Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

(1934–1994) both went to Wellesley House and on to

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. Johnny was just 17 and Patrick 10 when their father was killed in 1944. Johnny saw service in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

with the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V ...

and Patrick did

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

and signed on for an extra 2 years with his father’s Scots Guards. He was accidentally shot in the leg by one of his soldiers during training but went on to be Aide-de-camp to the Governor of

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. By the time Johnny celebrated his 21st birthday in 1948 he had become a director of Ipswich Town Football Club and was the youngest director in the football league. He unsuccessfully fought 3 elections as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidate.

Career

The brothers were both involved in the

Tolly Cobbold Tolly Cobbold is a former brewery in Suffolk, England. History The name Tolly Cobbold is an amalgamation of the two family-run brewers: the Tollemache Brewery owned by the Tollemache family and the Cobbold Brewery owned by the Cobbold family ...

brewery in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

and Chairmen of

In 1955

Alf Ramsey Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager fr ...

was appointed manager at Ipswich in succession to Scott Duncan and he took the club from 3rd division (S) to 1st division champions in 1961/62 before being appointed to manage the England side in 1963. His statue was unveiled at

Portman Road Portman Road is a football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly internatio ...

in August 2000 following his death the previous year. 1957 saw Johnny become Chairman of the club and Chairman of the Brewery which successfully merged with Tolly that year.

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

came to manage Ipswich in 1969 and his hard and loyal work was rewarded with the FA Cup win in 1978 (one hundred years after the founding of the amateur club) followed by the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

in 1981 and 2 Youth Club wins. Bobby Robson loved Ipswich and after a bumpy start

loved Bobby. The only thing that could have prised him away happened, and for the second time the club lost its manager to the England job. Johnny had developed cancer and stood down as Chairman in 1976 in favour of Patrick. Their mother Lady Blanche (daughter of

and sister-in-law of

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...

, British

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

), ever supportive, was the Club President. Johnny died in 1983, the Tolly Cobbold brewery having been sold in 1977 to

Ellerman Lines Ellerman Lines was a United Kingdom, UK cargo and passenger shipping company that operated from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. It was founded in the late 19th century, and continued to expand by acquiring smaller sh ...

for amalgamation with J W Cameron of

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

. Patrick and other family members stayed at their posts but Ellerman shipping losses proved too strong and the business was acquired by the

Barclay brothers Sir David Rowat Barclay (27 October 1934 – 10 January 2021) and Sir Frederick Hugh Barclay (born 27 October 1934), commonly referred to as the "Barclay Brothers" or "Barclay Twins", were British billionaires. They were identical twin brothers ...

who sold it on to

Brent Walker Brent Walker was a British company involved in property, gambling, distilled beverages and pubs. It was founded by George Walker, the brother of the boxer Billy Walker. In 1991, following the accumulation of debts which had been used to finance ...

. Patrick and

Timothy Tollemache, 5th Baron Tollemache Timothy John Edward Tollemache, 5th Baron Tollemache (born 13 December 1939) is an English peer and landowner. He is the present owner of Helmingham Hall, the Tollemache principal ancestral seat; he succeeded as 5th Baron Tollemache in 1975. He ...

departed, bringing to an end the family’s involvement. Since 1723 Cobbolds had been Brewers in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

for 266 years. In the 76 years since ITFC went professional there have only been 29 directors but a third of them have been Cobbolds. There have only been 8 Chairmen and 5 of those have been Cobbolds. As of 2007, the family continue to live at

Glemham Hall Glemham Hall is an Elizabethan stately home, set in around of park land on the outskirts of the village of Little Glemham in Suffolk, England. It is a Grade I listed building, properly called Little Glemham Hall. History It was built around ...

in Suffolk.

References

External links

Ipswich Town Chairman and Directors
— Pride of Anglia
The Cobbold Family Home
— Glemham Hall {{DEFAULTSORT:Cobbold, John Cavendish 1927 births 1983 deaths Deaths from cancer in England Neurological disease deaths in England Deaths from spinal cancer People from Suffolk Coastal (district) People educated at Eton College British Army personnel of World War II Welsh Guards officers English football chairmen and investors Ipswich Town F.C. directors and chairmen

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

20th-century English businesspeople

Early life

Career

References

See also

External links