Today, Tuesday, February 6, 2024, is the 66th anniversary of the Munich Plane Crash in which eight of the famous Manchester United Busby Babes died.
Here, in a moving piece from our archives, local football enthusiast Alan Burt recalls the impact the 1958 tragedy had locally and nationally and traces the many links between Weymouth and Manchester United.
I was just 11 years old, attending St John's School on The Esplanade in Weymouth, and can remember the heartache that was felt not only by me, the school, but seemingly the whole nation.
Following the dour, sad days of the Second World War professional football gradually swept away the dust, painted their stands and re-seeded their pitches - League Football creaked slowly back into action.
Men returning home were pleased to see normality creeping back into their lives, and once they had taken breath and kissed their wives they found their flat caps, rattles, rosettes and knitted scarves and it was back to their teams, who for six years had been placed on hold and very much second place to a long and miserable war.
The baby boom inevitably followed and soon the streets, parks and in the case of Weymouth the beach filled with boys keen to emulate their footballing stars.
There was no 'Match of the Day' and information could be gleaned from the radio, cinema newsreels, football annuals and magazines, and of course the 'pink un' that came out each Saturday evening.
As we approached the late 1950s there was one team that caught the imagination of all neutral fans and most 11-year-old boys. I refer to, of course, the pride of Manchester - The Busby Babes.
The manager of Manchester United, Matt Busby, had put together a team of brilliant young footballers. His on-field leader was the great Roger Byrne, supported by the dynamic 20-year-old Duncan Edwards who had already broken into the England squad.
Centre-forward Tommy Taylor, purchased for a record fee of £29,999, caused mayhem for other teams and was ably supported by Eddie Coleman, Billy Whelan, David Pegg and Mark Jones. Bobby Charlton, later to be part of England's 1966 World Cup winning team, was also receiving rave reports and claiming a regular spot in this young and exciting team.
Matt Busby created a team that played with great spirit and shook off the regimented approach that post-war life in Britain had demanded.
Some say they were the early shoots of the more flamboyant and colourful 1960s that were to follow.
Matt Busby had served in the army during the war, and little did he know that as he nurtured the Busby Babes his second greatest battle would later be played out on German soil.
In April 1945, as the war in Europe was coming to a conclusion, Matt helped put together a team with a future manager of England Sgt Major Joe Mercer. Matt had no hesitation in selecting a certain Corporal Fred Marsden, who was later to play some 96 games for Weymouth, and Company Sergeant Major Frank Swift who was to return to Manchester City, and more poignantly would be with Matt at a later tragic date.
After the war Fred Marsden was to move to Weymouth but he was destined to meet Sergeant Major Matt Busby again.
On January 7, 1950 Fred was in the Weymouth side that travelled to Old Trafford to play what was arguably their greatest match. In front of a crowd of 38,284 Weymouth FC played United in the third round of the FA Cup.
Fred Marsden had an outstanding game, as did Weymouth's Man of the Match, goalkeeper Bob Lucas. Fred, Bob and their team mates kept the score line down to a most respectable 4-0.
Matt Busby was particularly keen that his great team should test their ability against the top European sides that were competing in The European Cup. The Football Association and The Football League were not keen for English sides to take part and Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea had already failed in their efforts to enter the competition.
Busby, however, was altogether more persuasive and United progressed through to the quarter-finals with a home and away leg with Red Star Belgrade. United travelled to Belgrade following a 2-1 home win, and high expectation of taking a gigantic step towards a coveted European Final. But before doing so there were still important League matters to be considered.
On Saturday, February 1, 1958 United travelled to Highbury to play their old rivals, the mighty Arsenal. Playing in defence on that date was a certain Stanley Charlton, who was later to become manager of Weymouth FC.
The game was described as one of the most spectacular ever seen at Highbury; At its conclusion a breathless crowd stayed behind cheering for a full five minutes, and this despite The Gunners losing 5-4.
Duncan Edwards had opened the scoring for United and Bobby Charlton rattled in a second - Tommy Taylor added a third before half time. Arsenal came back with second-half goals from David Herd and two from Jimmy Bloomfield.
The Busby Babes then also came back, Dennis Viollet making the score sheet, shortly followed by another from Tommy Taylor. Arsenal, through Welsh International Derek Tapscott, collected a fourth and final goal.
Stan Charlton, speaking to the Echo and photographed in 2008, recalls the Busby Babes' last league game with a mixture of feelings.
He said: "How can you forget a game like that? I was shown an article the other day that said it was the greatest game ever played at Highbury. I have always felt privileged to have played in that game against the Busby Babes, who were wonderful.
"It was a league match and it was one of the great games. It ended 5-4 to United but we did well considering we were 3-0 down at one stage.
"I came up against Albert Scanlon that day. He was an outside left and he gave me a bit of a roasting.
"I think he was only 17 at the time and in the crash he suffered a fractured skull. In the end I think he dropped out of top-flight football, finishing up at Mansfield Town.
"Bobby Charlton and Duncan Edwards also played in the game and I can actually remember tackling Duncan a couple of times.
"His legs were like telegraph poles, and for such a young man he was a giant. He was a very talented player and it was such a shame people did not get to see more of him.
"I think they flew out the following day, and when the crash happened it was absolutely dreadful and we were all devastated. The tragedy was felt by everyone worldwide and it was so hard because they were all so well respected.
"I was shocked to think that so many of the players I had played against only the previous weekend were dead or seriously injured.
I didn't play United again that season, but did see them at Highbury in the semi-final of the FA Cup. I remember they were allowed to use a couple of players who would have previously been cup tied. It was a very sad time indeed"
Two days after the Highbury encounter a confident United flew out to a cold and frosty Belgrade. Time was of the essence and the squad settled quickly; it was a very determined team that took to the Red Star pitch for the away leg.
United had three goals to their credit by half time, one from Dennis Viollet and two from their rising star Bobby Charlton. The second half was altogether different, and the home side gave their supporters something to dilute their earlier cold disappointment.
Belgrade pulled three goals back, and United had to doggedly defend the one-goal advantage they had brought with them from Manchester. News quickly flashed around Europe that The Busby Babes had reached the semi-finals of The European Cup. Their opponents were to be AC Milan.
The English Football Authorities demanded that United return in time for their next League game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and so on the morning of Thursday, February 6 the team boarded their British European Airways plane for the journey home.
A brief refuelling stop at Munich Airport was necessary and then it was upwards and onwards to home.
The weather was not good and the runway at Munich was covered with slush and ice. Following a quick stay, where players, staff, pressmen and supporters grabbed a coffee, it was back on to the BEA 'Elizabethan' plane.
There were two aborted take-offs: seemingly the rather cumbersome plane struggled with the runway conditions and could not make the required speed. A determined pilot, keen to return United to England, made a third fateful attempt. The plane crashed through the perimeter fence and careered into an adjacent house.
United players Roger Byrne, Eddie Coleman, Billy Whelan, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor, Mark Jones and Geoff Bent all lost their lives on the Munich runway. Duncan Edwards died in hospital two weeks later. A further 15 people died, including Frank Swift who had been at Matt Busby's side in April 1945. Frank was covering the match for The News Of The World.
Matt Busby was seriously injured, and the very worst was expected. The survivors gradually returned to England. Jacky Blanchflower, brother of Danny Blanchflower, would not play football again.
Busby did eventually return home, but sadly his famous Busby Babes were not to be seen again.
In 1961 Weymouth appointed Frank O'Farrell as their new manager. Frank had considerable success with the club and it came as little surprise that he would later take charge of United.
Weymouth's connections with United continued when on Wednesday, October 21, 1987 United sent their first team down for a celebration game to mark the opening of the new Wessex Stadium.
For my part, I got to see Manchester United play in a European Cup final. It was 1968, 10 years after the fateful crash.
But two of the survivors were standing tall that day. The great Bobby Charlton and the legendary Matt Busby with a new generation of footballing stars.
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