It was the 6th of February 1958 when the greatest loss in British sporting history occurred, the scene was at a snow covered Munich airport runway. Lying on the runway broken into three fragments was an propeller-driven Airspeed Elizabethan Aircraft, call-sign Zulu Uniform, in the wreckage lay 21 bodies 7 of those bodies being of the famous Manchester United squad favourably known as the ‘Busby Babes’. Fifth teen days later they lost another soul due to his injuries, to this day it is still thought that this squad of highly talented individuals would have dominated world football for the coming decade. The men lost to the crash were Roger Byrne, David Pegg, Eddie Colman, Tommy Taylor, Billy Whelan, Mark Jones, Geoff Bent and Duncan Edwards who died later of his injuries and was possibly Sir Matt Busby’s greatest loss. He was England’s new golden boy of the time, he was only 21 years old but had already been capped eighteen times for his country scoring five goals, he could play in any position, this was mainly down to the fact that he was six foot one inch and thirteen stone. Renowned for his physical prowess he also had many other attributes, recently Sir Bobby Charlton who is known for stating that Edwards was the only man he felt ‘Inferior’ to on the pitch in all his career was asked to compare Edwards and Rooney, he said ‘It is not even worth mentioning, we can talk about Wayne Rooney when he is retired. Edwards was just a massive, massive talent. That is the only way I can describe him. There’s a picture on the wall of the old youth team, and he looks twice the size of anybody else. In stature he was enormous. He was strong, he was tough and to add to that talent he could use his right foot, his left foot. He was a great long passer, he was a great short passer, he had great stamina and he could play in any position. He loved playing the game; all he wanted to do was to play football’. Edwards survived for fifth teen days after the crash with two shattered legs and both his kidneys crushed, the doctors were amazed with his will to live and thought he was going to survive but until a blood clot took him just after he had spoken to his manager Sir Matt Busby, his final words were ‘Is the game still on for Wolves boss?’

Sir Matt Busby himself was very nearly one of the victims of the crash, he was read his last rights twice while in the German Hospital. With tremendous grit and determination he survived the ordeal and went back to manage the team as soon as he was fit. His squad had been left decimated and he had to rely upon loans from other clubs around the country to fill his team for the rest of the season and some of next. What had happened on that day stayed with the Scotsman for the rest of his life, which he never really forgave himself for. Manchester United entered the European Cup that season against the wishes of the Football Association, the FA had clearly stated that they felt that this tournament was detrimental to the league and made it as difficult as possible for the participants, Busby had agreed with the FA to have the squad back at least 24 hours before their next league fixture, which was against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the eventual champions. This was one of the major reasons why the flight had to be made due to the match against Wolves. Manchester United had played against Partizan Belgrade on Wednesday in Belgrade and had left Zemun Airport at mid-morning on Thursday, landing in Munich at 1.15pm to refuel, conditions were appalling with heavy snow in Munich, they had to make a decision to try and fly that day or arrive back in Manchester the following day by 3pm or incur FA sanctions. The decision was made to make the flight, after two tried and failed attempts of take off the crew and management decided to try for a third time, Sir Bobby Charlton recollects the attempts ‘Everyone was so happy, there was much laughter because we had qualified, there was a first attempt at take off, but they said they had a technical problem and would have to go back. We did that for a second time and again the message came through ‘we cant take off‘. And then, the third time, the plane just went straight along the runway. When you fly, you have a general idea how long it takes to take off and I was sitting there thinking ‘There’s something not quite right here’. Then we went through a perimeter fence and I don’t remember anything after that. The accident simply happened because they didn’t realise the speed of the aircraft, how much slush was on the runway and how much snow was coming down. These days they wouldn’t have taken off. I think about it quite often.’

The Busby Babes will never be forgotten in England and will have a place in history at Manchester United for all time. People can only speculate on how good that young team of talented individuals could of become but one thing will always remain, they were the first truly great United team and that can never be taken away from them. This can mainly be put down to the two people that laid these foundations for the club those men were Sir Matt Busby the manager and Jimmy Murphy the assistant manager who was not on the flight due to being on international duty as manager of Wales, they gave the opportunity to these young men, some as young as 17 years old. This article has been written in memory of these people that survived and died in the Munich air disaster. No other words could some up this memorable anniversary more than the words of Sir Matt Busby and his ideals on how football can make so many people forget the bad parts of life and concentrate on the wonders of the game.

‘Winning matches at all costs is not the test of true achievement; there is no dishonour in defeat as long as you play to the limit of your strength and skill. What matters above all things is that the game should be played in the right spirit, with fair play and no favour, with every man playing as a member of his team and the result accepted without bitterness or conceit. Played at its best between two first-class teams, football is a wonderful spectacle. I love its drama, its smooth playing skills, its carelessly laid rhythms, and the added flavour of contrasting styles. Its great occasions are, for me at any rate, unequalled in the world of sport. I feel a sense of romance, wonder and mystery, a sense of beauty and a sense of poetry. On such occasions, the game has the timeless, magical qualities of legend.'

Sir Matt Busby