"Massive honour": Legendary Pompey goalkeeper Alan Knight given freedom of the city

The honour was given at the mayor-making ceremony at the Portsmouth Guildhall today (May 13) where Gerald Vernon-Jackson also took over as Lord Mayor from Jason Fazackarley, and a number of the city’s volunteers were recognised.

Alan Knight, joined by his wife and two daughters, said that it was ‘a massive honour’ to receive the accolade. It comes after he shared his recent diagnosis of prostate cancer, as well as more than two decades of charitable work.

He said: “As a 13 year old school boy from south London coming here on trial, suffering awful homesickness, and then 50 years later to receive this honour is beyond words.”

Watch his full reaction and the ceremony in the video embedded in this story

The former footballer holds the record for the most appearances for a single club by a goalkeeper, having played in 801 matches for Portsmouth between 1978 and 2000, and he is the second-longest serving Portsmouth player of all time behind Jimmy Dickinson.

Announcing the honor, city council leader Steve Pitt said making Alan Knight an honorary Freeman of the city was the ‘highest honour’ the council could give and it recognises the dedication he has shown with his ‘outstanding contribution the city of Portsmouth and its people’.

“Since retiring from professional football, he’s spent 24 years donating his time to local charities and charitable causes, most recently supporting three prostate cancer charities,” Mr Pitt said.

“Alan has shown remarkable courage in going public with his own diagnosis, to try to ensure that some good will come out of it, in the hope that it will inspire people to get tested for prostate cancer when they probably would not have done so otherwise. And this will save lives.”

Meanwhile new Lord Mayor Gerald Vernon-Jackson told those at the mayor-making ceremony that he intended to spend some of his time in the role doing what he can to support end of life care in memory of his husband John who died last year.

He explained: “Last year I cared for John in his six admissions to hospital, a short time in a care home and at home until he died. Most people want to die at home or a hospice but most people end up dying in hospital.

“I’m intending to run a project to try to make sure that local people who are dying, and their families have their wishes listened to. I’m calling this a “Dying with Dignity Project”, but you may have a better title. Its nothing to do with assisted dying but is about allowing people to spend their last weeks and days at home or in a hospice if that is what they want.

“This will also free up beds in QA. I intend to work across the NHS, the city council and with voluntary groups and families to see if we can make the final days better both for people at the end of their lives as well as for their families.”