Pat Marsh became involved in ice hockey through her husband Geoff. He was a netminder for the Streatham Royals when they met in 1949 and he took her to her first game in 1950.
In May 1953, she joined the British Ice Hockey Association as secretary to Bunny Ahearne as a result of a couple of lines written by Bobby Giddens in his ‘Great Ice Way’ column in Ice Hockey World. In those early days, parts of her salary included 13/6 (67½p) for cleaning the office – an office she shared with then referee Ernie Leacock, to whom she pays generous tribute for his help and guidance in her early days.
In 1959, Pat ‘retired’ to have a baby, but was soon recalled when her replacement failed to stay meet her high standards. In 1972 she stepped up from being Mr Ahearne’s secretary to become BIHA secretary, a post she retained until retiring in 1987. During her time the sport saw many changes, going from a semi-professional set-up in the fifties, through the doldrums of the sixties to a gradual revival in the seventies. Entering the eighties, the game gained increased profile through better sponsorship deals and Pat Marsh described that era as the most exciting time of her career in the sport.
Pat Marsh represented Britain at the IIHF congresses in Prague (1972) and Colorado Springs (1986), as well as travelling abroad on a number of occasions with GB junior teams. She proudly cited one of the highlights being in 1986 when in Barcelona, Spain the GB under-19s won the gold medal.
After retiring in 1987, from her position as secretary, Pat Marsh continued to serve the BIHA as a special consultant until 1999. Throughout her 35 years association with ice hockey, she earned the admiration of players, officials, fellow administrators and the media alike for her calm efficiency, ready accessibility and willingness to tackle any problem – truly, the “First Lady” of British Ice Hockey.
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