Munich air disaster

The aircraft was a six-year-old Airspeed Ambassador 2, built in 1952 and delivered to BEA the same year.[12]

The pilot, Captain James Thain, was a former RAF flight lieutenant. Originally a sergeant (later a warrant officer), he was given an emergency commission in the RAF as an acting pilot officer on probation in April 1944,[13] and promoted to pilot officer on probation in September that year.[14] He was promoted to flight lieutenant in May 1948,[15] and received a permanent commission in the same rank in 1952.[16] He retired from the RAF to join BEA.

The co-pilot, Captain Kenneth Rayment, was also a former RAF flight lieutenant and a Second World War flying ace. After joining the RAF in 1940, he was promoted to sergeant in September 1941.[17] He was commissioned as a war substantive pilot officer a year later,[18] and promoted to war substantive flying officer in May 1943.[19] He shot down five German fighters, one Italian plane and a V-1 flying bomb. He was awarded the DFC in July 1943,[20] and promoted to flight lieutenant in September 1943.[21] After leaving the RAF in 1945, he joined BOAC in Cairo, before joining BEA in 1947. He had had experience with Vikings, Dakotas and the Ambassador "Elizabethan" class.[22]

• Captain Kenneth "Ken" Rayment. Co-pilot. Survived but suffered multiple injuries and died in hospital five weeks later as a result of brain damage.

A plaque at Old Trafford in memory of the Munich air disaster

The Munich Clock, on the southeast corner of Old Trafford

Manchester United players

• Geoff Bent
• Roger Byrne
• Eddie Colman
• Duncan Edwards (survived the crash, but died in hospital 15 days later)
• Mark Jones
• David Pegg
• Tommy Taylor
• Billy Whelan

Manchester United staff

• Walter Crickmer, club secretary
• Tom Curry, trainer
• Bert Whalley, chief coach

Journalists

• Frank Swift, News of the World (also former England and Manchester City goalkeeper; died on his way to hospital)
• Donny Davies, Manchester Guardian

• George William "Bill" Rodgers, radio officer (died 1997)[44]
• Captain James Thain, pilot (died 1975)[45]

Manchester United players

• Johnny Berry (never played again, died 1994)[46]
• Jackie Blanchflower (never played again, died 1998)[47]
• Bobby Charlton
• Bill Foulkes (died 2013)[48]
• Harry Gregg (died 2020)[49]
• Kenny Morgans (died 2012)[50]
• Albert Scanlon (died 2009)[51]
• Dennis Viollet (died 1999)[52]
• Ray Wood (died 2002)[53]

Manchester United staff

• Matt Busby, manager (died 1994)[54]

Journalists and photographers

• Frank Taylor, News Chronicle reporter (died 2002)[55]

Commemorative plaque in the Munich Tunnel at Old Trafford

The first memorials at Old Trafford to the lost players and staff were unveiled on 25 February 1960. The first, a plaque in the shape of the stadium with the image of a green pitch, inscribed with the names of the victims in black and gold glass, was placed above the entrance to the directors' box. Above the plaque was a teak carving of a player and a supporter, heads bowed either side of a wreath and a football inscribed with the date "1958". The plaque was designed by Manchester architect J. Vipond and constructed by Messrs Jaconello (Manchester) Ltd. at a cost of £2,100,[75] and unveiled by Matt Busby.[76]

Also unveiled that day was a memorial to the members of the press who died at Munich, which consisted of a bronze plaque that named the eight lost journalists. It was unveiled by Munich survivor Frank Taylor on behalf of the Football Writers' Association. The original plaque was stolen in the 1980s and replaced by a replica now behind the counter in the press entrance.[75] The final memorial was the Munich clock, a simple two-faced clock paid for by the Ground Committee and attached to the southeast corner of the stadium, with the date "6 Feb 1958" at the top of both faces and "Munich" at the bottom. The clock has remained in the same position since it was first installed.[75] The clock was unveiled on 25 February 1960 by Dan Marsden, the chairman of the Ground Committee.[76]

When the stadium was renovated in the mid-1970s, the plaque had to be moved from the directors' entrance to allow the necessary changes. The plaque could not be removed without damaging it, so the old memorial was walled up within the Main Stand and a new memorial was made, simpler than the original, now consisting simply of a slate pitch with the names inscribed upon it, and installed in 1976.[75]

A third version of the memorial, more like the original than the second in that it included the stands around the slate pitch and the figures above it, was installed in 1996, coinciding with the erection of the statue of Matt Busby, who had unveiled the original memorial.[75] This third version was constructed by stonemasons Mather and Ellis from Trafford Park, and the second was put into storage. It is currently awaiting new display panels before being placed into the club museum's Munich display.[75] The third plaque and the statue of Busby were originally on the north side of the East Stand, but the statue was moved to the front of the East Stand and the plaque to the south side of the stand after the stand's expansion in 2000.[75]

Wooden memorial

There are also two memorials in Germany. First, in the Munich suburb of Trudering, on the corner of Karotschstraße and Emplstraße, there is a small wooden memorial depicting Jesus on the Cross, decorated by a stone trough filled with flowers. The trough bears a plaque with the inscription: "Im Gedenken an die Opfer der Flugzeugkatastrophe am 6.2.1958 unter denen sich auch ein Teil der Fußballmannschaft von Manchester United befand, sowie allen Verkehrstoten der Gemeinde Trudering" (In memory of the victims of the air disaster of 6 February 1958 including members of the football team of Manchester United as well as all the traffic victims from the municipality of Trudering).[77]

Memorial stone

On 22 September 2004, a dark blue granite plaque set in a sandstone border was unveiled in the vicinity of the old Munich Airport on the corner of Rappenweg and Emplstraße, just metres from the wooden memorial.[78] With a design in the shape of a football pitch, it reads, in both English and German, "In memory of all those who lost their lives here in the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958".[79] Underneath is a plaque expressing United's gratitude to the municipality of Munich and its people. The new memorial was funded by Manchester United themselves and the unveiling was attended by club officials, including chief executive David Gill, manager Sir Alex Ferguson and director Sir Bobby Charlton, a survivor of the disaster himself.[78] On 24 April 2008, the Munich city council decided to name the site where the memorial stone is placed "Manchesterplatz" (Manchester Square).[80]

On the 57th anniversary of the crash, 6 February 2015, Sir Bobby Charlton and FC Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge opened a new museum exhibit commemorating the disaster at the German club's stadium, the Allianz Arena.[81]

There is a small display of artefacts in the Majestic Hotel, where the team stayed after the match. These include a menu card signed by 14 of the players, including the eight who were killed, a photograph taken at the meal and a match ticket. The menu card was acquired by the then British ambassador to Yugoslavia and was auctioned by his son in 2006.[82]

In late 1997, John Doherty (a former United player who had left the club shortly before the disaster)[83] approached club chairman Martin Edwards on behalf of the Manchester United Former Players' Association to request a testimonial for those victims of the Munich disaster – both the survivors and the dependants of the ones who were lost.[84] Edwards was hesitant, but a benefit match was eventually sanctioned for a date as close to the 40th anniversary of the disaster as possible. Red Star Belgrade and Bayern Munich were touted as possible opponents for the match, and fans purchased tickets without the opponents even having been decided.[85]

In the midst of the preparations, former United player Eric Cantona, who had retired from football to pursue a career in film in 1997, expressed an interest in returning to Manchester United for a farewell match. Edwards took the opportunity to combine the two events into one.[86] Due to Cantona's acting career, his schedule meant that he would not be available in February 1998 and the match was moved to 18 August, with the opposition to be a European XI chosen by Cantona; the side selected by Cantona featured the likes of French internationals Laurent Blanc, Pascal Vahirua and Jean-Pierre Papin, England's Paul Gascoigne, former Manchester United players Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes, and Cantona's brother Joël. Cantona himself played the first half of the match for the European XI, before switching sides at half-time.[87] Manchester United ultimately won the match 8–4, with goals from Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Jordi Cruyff, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, Alex Notman (2) and Cantona, while Papin, Blanc, Martin Dahlin and United player Mark Wilson were the scorers for the European XI.[88]

Martin Edwards was criticised for turning the match into a publicity stunt, while Elizabeth Wood, the divorced wife of Munich survivor Ray Wood, compared the treatment of the Munich victims to that of "dancing bears at the circus". Nevertheless, the match earned £47,000 for each of the victims' families, while Eric Cantona recouped over £90,000 in expenses directly from the testimonial fund, rather than from the club.[89] The club has also received criticism from some quarters for its poor treatment of the survivors: Johnny Berry was forced to leave the flat he rented from the club to make way for a new player.[90]

On 7 February 1998, United played Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford in the Premier League a day after the 40th anniversary of the disaster. The match kicked off at 3:15 pm to allow a minute's silence to be observed at 3:04 pm. Representatives from both teams laid floral tributes to those who lost their lives, with crash survivor and United director Bobby Charlton joined by Bolton president Nat Lofthouse in leading out the two teams.[91]

Old Trafford's Munich Tunnel, renamed on the 50th anniversary of the disaster

A memorial service was held at Old Trafford on 6 February 2008 to mark the 50th anniversary of the disaster. At the conclusion of the service, the surviving members of the 1958 team were the guests of honour at a ceremony to rename the tunnel under the stadium's South Stand as the "Munich Tunnel", which features an exhibition about the Busby Babes.[92]

On the same day, the England national football team took on Switzerland at Wembley Stadium. Before the game, pictures of the players who lost their lives at Munich were displayed on big screens, and the England players wore black armbands. There was also a tribute to the Busby Babes in the match programme.[93] Originally, there was no plan to observe a minute's silence on the day, because the Football Association feared that the silence would not be respected by fans of Manchester United's rivals.[94] They eventually agreed that a moment of silence should be held and, in the event, it was generally well-observed; however, a small number of supporters made whistles and cat-calls and the referee cut the silence short after less than 30 seconds.[95] One-minute silences were also observed at the Northern Ireland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland games.[92][96]

Commemorative scarves laid out on the backs of seats before the 50th anniversary match at Old Trafford

At the derby match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on 10 February 2008, both teams were led onto the pitch by a lone piper playing "The Red Flag", and the managers – Sir Alex Ferguson and Sven-Göran Eriksson – each laid a wreath in the centre circle. This was followed by a minute's silence, which, despite previous concerns, was respected by all the fans.[97] Kevin Parker, secretary of Manchester City's supporters club, had suggested a minute of applause instead of a minute's silence, so as to drown out anyone who would disrupt the silence,[98] but this was rejected by the Manchester United management as inappropriate.[99] United played in strips reminiscent of those worn by the 1958 team, numbered 1 to 11, with no advertising on the front or players' names on the back, while City removed sponsors' logos from their kit and the image of a small black ribbon was heat pressed onto the right shoulder.[100] Both teams wore black armbands in tribute to the victims of the Munich disaster. Manchester City won 2–1 thanks to first-half goals from Darius Vassell and debutant Benjani.[101] Fans in attendance were given commemorative scarves – in red and white for the United fans, and sky blue and white for the City fans – which were held up during the silence.[102]

Several musical tributes to the Munich air disaster have been recorded, the earliest being the song "The Flowers of Manchester". Written by an anonymous author, later revealed to be Eric Winter, the editor of the magazine Sing,[103] the song was recorded and released by Liverpool folk band The Spinners on their 1962 debut album Quayside Songs Old and New.[104] Manchester-born singer Morrissey also released a song called "Munich Air Disaster, 1958" as a B-side to "Irish Blood, English Heart" in 2004.[105] It later appeared on his live album, Live at Earls Court, in 2005[106] and his 2009 B-sides compilation, Swords.

Most recently, the English band The Futureheads named their album News and Tributes in honour of the disaster. The title track pays tribute to those who lost their lives,[107] and includes the verse:

Cut down in their prime,

In silence, on that day,

February 58, they got what they need,

From Belgrade and back home to sleep

Barry Navidi, producer of the 2004 film The Merchant of Venice, was reported to be working on a script for a Hollywood film about the Munich air crash. The Manchester Evening News reported on 22 April 2005 that the survivors had not been consulted and were concerned about how accurate the film would be.[108]

Bill Foulkes said that, if done right, the film could become a "tribute to the Busby Babes which could be seen for generations to come"; however, he expressed concerns about the accuracy of the film, given the filmmakers' lack of first-hand sources about what actually happened in Munich.[108] Fellow survivor Harry Gregg was more concerned about the portrayal of the players, particularly those who died, and whether their families' feelings would be respected.[108]

John Doherty, a player who had left United only a few months earlier, was less restrained, saying that "the only reason anyone would want to make a film like this is to make money" and that "while there may be a slight hint of truth in the film, it will be mainly untruths... Unless you were there, how could you know what conversations took place?".[108]

On 10 January 2006, the BBC showed a drama/documentary retelling the story in the series Surviving Disaster. The programme was met with criticism from former United winger Albert Scanlon, who claimed that it was full of inaccuracies, despite the production having consulted him about the content of the documentary. Errors in the programme included the depiction of Jimmy Murphy giving a pre-match team talk in Belgrade, despite him being in Cardiff at the time, and the plane being shown as only half full when nearly every seat was occupied.[109]

On 6 February 2008, the 50th anniversary of the crash, several television channels showed programmes about it:

• UKTV History aired the BBC co-produced drama documentary Surviving Disaster to mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy.[110]
• MUTV aired a segmented documentary called Munich Remembered, aired throughout the day with memories of players, staff and supporters.[111]
• The BBC showed as part of its One Life series a documentary following United goalkeeper Harry Gregg retracing his route from England to Belgrade to Munich. He met and talked with some of the first rescuers who had arrived on the scene. He also met Vera Lukić, the pregnant mother whom he had rescued and Zoran, the son she bore two months later.[112]

Since the anniversary, two television programmes have been made about the disaster:

• A 2011 made-for-television film United, written by Chris Chibnall and directed by James Strong for the BBC, tells the story of the crash and the subsequent rebuilding of Manchester United as a footballing force. The story was seen largely through the eyes of coach Jimmy Murphy, who became de facto manager of the team while Busby recovered from the crash. The role of Murphy was played by David Tennant. The film gained generally good reviews, especially for its evocation of the period and for Tennant's acting,[113][114] and was nominated at the Prix Europa 2011 Awards as "Best European TV Production".[115] It was, however, condemned by Sandy Busby, the son of Matt Busby, who said he thought the film was "very poorly done", and strongly criticised the film's portrayal of his father.[116]
• The Canadian TV series Mayday / Air Crash Investigation covered the crash in episode 77 (season 11, #5), first broadcast in December 2011.[57] The episode covers the background of the flight, then investigates what caused the fatal crash.

The University of Salford honoured Munich victim Eddie Colman by naming one of its halls of residence after him.[117] Colman was born in Salford in 1936. There is also a network of small roads in Newton Heath named after the players who lost their lives in Munich, including Roger Byrne Close, David Pegg Walk, Geoff Bent Walk, Eddie Colman Close, Billy Whelan Walk, Tommy Taylor Close and Mark Jones Walk. Among those roads is an old people's home named after Duncan Edwards.[118] Edwards was also honoured with street names in his home town of Dudley; there is a small close off Stourbridge Road named Duncan Edwards Close,[119] and in 2008, the Dudley Southern Bypass was renamed Duncan Edwards Way.[120][121] The road bridge over the Luas tram line at Fassaugh Road, Cabra, Dublin 7 is named after Liam Whelan.