Remembering the Munich air disaster, 65 years on

65 years ago last Monday (6 February) was the darkest day in Manchester United’s history. The team, nicknamed The Busby Babes, had just beaten Red Star Belgrade in the quarter-final of the European Cup and their plane had stopped to refuel in Munich. Upon the third attempt at take-off, the plane crashed due to slush on the runway, killing 23 people including eight players and three staff members at the club. Every year, a fan-led memorial service takes place in Munich at the site of the disaster whilst Old Trafford hosts its own service at the entrance to the Munich tunnel.

All last weekend, the club took time to reflect upon those who were lost in the disaster. At Manchester United’s game against Crystal Palace on Saturday 4 February, both Erik Ten Hag and Palace manager Patrick Vieira laid wreaths on the centre circle at Old Trafford before the referee blew his whistle for a minute’s silence. The whole ground fell silent in a show of respect and a banner was unveiled at the Stretford End showing the Busby Babes and the words ‘We’ll Never Die’. The families of those lost, as well as those affected, were guests of the club; the flags flew at half-mast as a gesture of respect and a rendition of The Flowers of Manchester played as the teams walked out.

The following day at Manchester United Women’s game against Everton at Leigh Sports Village, Marc Skinner along with Everton manager Brian Sorensen replicated what we had seen at Old Trafford the day before as they laid wreaths and the two teams fell silent alongside the fans. Around the advertising boards, the names of those lost: Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor, Billy Whelan, Walter Crickmer, Tom Curry, Bert Whalley. 

As well as those directly involved with the club, there were a further twelve fatalities. Eight journalists: Alf Clarke, Donny Davies, George Follows, Tom Jackson, Archie Ledbrooke, Henry Rose, Eric Thompson and former Manchester City goalkeeper Frank Swift. The plane’s co-pilot Ken Rayment also died, plus crew member Tom Cable, travel agent Bela Miklos and supporter Willie Satinoff, a friend of United manager Sir Matt Busby.

A huge part of Manchester United’s ethos is based upon the legacy of the Busby Babes. All those involved in the club, even those at youth level are encouraged to learn about the history and about the crash. This year, the Under-13s travelled to Munich to pay their respects. They took part in the service with Joe Williams reading a poem written by the squad, and teammate Oliver Meredith laying a wreath. They also spent time with the local community and handed out United scarves to the residents in Munich. Ahead of the service, a new memorial showcase was unveiled at the crash site for fans to visit and pay their respects. The tribute has been funded by donations from fans as well as Red Docs Munich and FC Bayern Munich.

It’s an important part of the club’s calendar every year, to pause and reflect upon that terrible disaster which tore apart the club and all those connected to it. Matt Busby went on to rebuild his team and ten years later they once again won the European Cup, but those talented individuals the Reds lost will never be forgotten and every year at 15.04, the time of the crash on 6 February; the fans, the managers, the players and the academy will pause to remember them.

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Featured image: Old Trafford, The Munich Tunnel and Memorial Clock
cc-by-sa/2.0 – © David Dixon – geograph.org.uk/p/5671550

Munich clock image: PeeJay2K3, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons