Seven o’clock on Wednesday, June 17 2020 will become a ‘Where were you when…?’ story for Barrow AFC fans worldwide.

I was in the living room mentally preparing for what we hoped would be an announcement the following morning.

The timing of the news caught most of us off guard, even the people who could loosely be described as having been ‘in the know’ over the last few months as process took its course.

And what a process it was! The discussion thread on the unofficial fans’ forum will attest to the fact that this saga twisted, turned and then twisted again over the course of 12 long and laborious weeks since the Prime Minister issued the suspension of professional sport.

One day, a statement from Notts County would elicit incredulity, the next a comment from Rick Parry would offer hope.

Keeping track of all the political and procedural strands was an almost hourly endeavour but now, mercifully, we can put it all behind us and start planning for our new life in the English Football League.

More eloquent writers than I, some of them who remember the pain of 48 years ago, will write at length about the historic significance of this achievement for the club and the town.

What the owners, the manager and the wider support have built in the past two years is beyond my skill to contextualise.

It is simply the pinnacle of five decades of hard work, five decades of investment and sacrifice from various custodians who have handed on our club to a new generation who picked up the struggle and toiled diligently toward our ultimate return to the Promised Land.

It should be an immense privilege and source of pride to all of us that we are the generation who have taken the final step.

Redemption has been achieved on our watch, and we owe it all to a great many people.

The owners of the club deserve a special mention.

Having taken on the club from Paul Casson, Paul Hornby was faced with putting together a group with not only the financial capacity to move the club forward but also a unique combination of skills and personalities.

In the current board of directors, he has achieved that fantastically. Everybody has their own role and skill set, and each has been brought to bear on the club as we now know it.

The future has never looked brighter, in no small part due to the astute stewardship of Paul and his team.

None of what we have accomplished, of course, would have been possible without the on field efforts of our team and their coaching staff.

To these players we all offer our sincerest thanks and admiration for one of the greatest seasons in the history of this club.

Forty-eight years is an incredibly long time to wait for a return to the EFL, and whichever team accomplished it would naturally be a special group.

These players are such a group, and in Ian Evatt they have a manager making his case to be the greatest in the history of this club.

The perfect storm that Ian visualised more than 12 months ago has come to pass, and it is to his credit that he taught us all to believe along the way.

Finally, thanks must go to our supporters and the wider community. All of our tireless maintenance volunteers, the Bluebirds Trust, the local suppliers, our sponsors, Bridgewater Construction who have been instrumental in the redevelopment of our ground.

Every single member of this football club community has had an input, making us greater than the sum of our parts, and to each and every one of you goes a portion of the credit for this success.

Of course, this moment of glory for the Bluebirds will be bittersweet for many of us.

My first moments on hearing the news were spent withdrawing to the bedroom for some quiet, thinking about Gary McFarlane, the man who brought Barrow AFC into my life.

Others will remember Brian Arrowsmith, Tony Lewis and countless others lost not only this year but in the years prior.

All have played their part. All have left a mark on this club and will be remembered as we move forward into the sunlit uplands of the Football League.

And what an adventure we now embark on. It will not be without challenges. Match days may feel very different as new regulations and rules await us.

But together, as a club and as a community, we can now look forward to enjoying all the benefits of our Football league membership and pushing this club onwards once more, no longer chasing the Promised Land but instead aspiring to becoming a self-sufficient, sustainable and reliable member of the Football League family.

Once again, thank you all.