The former Three Lions goalkeeper was at one of Sir Bobby’s former clubs Ipswich Town, where The FA were marking the annual Sir Bobby Robson Day.
And the record Three Lions cap holder felt it was a fitting tribute to Robson with The FA also making a £25,000 donation to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, the charity set up by Sir Bobby to raise funds for cancer.
Thursday 31 July 2014 was the fifth anniversary of Sir Bobby's death
"He was always a gentlemen, his teams always played good football and he wasn’t one of these people to have a chip on his shoulder, an ego," said Shilton.
"He was from the real grassroots of football and always remembered those roots, always respected the game and that’s the main reason people loved him.
"You never hear people have a bad word for Bobby and that was the sort of fella he was."
Shilton was one of the mainstays of Robson’s England team during his spell in charge of the Three Lions.
That included famous games such as the semi-final defeat to West Germany in 1990 and the controversial reverse against Argentina in 1986, featuring Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal.
And the former Leicester City, Derby County and Nottingham Forest stopper said it was the way in which Robson reaction to that goal in Mexico which illustrated his class as a manager and a man.
"It was typical of Bobby, he just came in the dressing room after and said ‘It was handball, it was handball, wasn’t it? I can’t believe the referee hasn’t seen it," he revealed.
"I can’t remember if he went to have a word with the referee, but there was certainly no screaming and shouting, that was Bobby. He realised the game had finished and there was nothing he could do about it.
Peter Shilton is still the record cap holder for England
"I had eight years with him for England, starting after the World Cup in 1982 and finishing after the World Cup in 1990 - they were great times, especially with the semi-final in 1990."
There were also a few anecdotes from Shilton about Robson’s character and the way in which he worked with the players on the training pitch.
"He was like a coach-manager, whereas Brian Clough, Lawrie McMenemy, people I have played under, they were managers," he added.
"They didn’t get involved in the coaching, but Bobby used to like joining in – he’d take the odd session but he had coaches around him.
"He had the man-management skills as well and had tremendous respect. That was the main thing.
"He had the little things where he’d get players’ names wrong or forget things.
"I remember one instance when he joined in training and borrowed Glenn Hoddle’s boots and started hobbling around after half an hour and had to finish.
"They were a brand new pair of boots and he’d forgotten to take the paper out of the toe – little things like that the players used to love him for."
