Munich air disaster service to be held outside Old Trafford

The 1958 plane crash claimed the lives of 23 people including eight Manchester United players and three officials

Manchester United supporters will gather outside of Old Trafford to pay tributes to the lives taken in 1958.
Author: Jack GoodwinPublished 6th Feb 2024

Services will take place today to remember the lives lost in the Munich Air Disaster which took place 66 years ago today.

The disaster claimed the lives of 23 people including eight Manchester United players and three club staff members.

Walter Crickmer, the club secretary, trainer Tom Curry,coach Bert Whalley, and players Roger Byrne (28), Eddie Colman (21), Mark Jones (24), David Pegg (22), Tommy Taylor (26), Geoff Bent (25), Liam Whelan (22) and Duncan Edwards (21) were among those who passed away.

Alf Clarke, Tom Jackson, Don Davies, George Fellows, Archie Ledbrook, Eric Thompson, Henry Rose, and Frank Swift—a former Manchester City player—were among the eight journalists who died.

Both Willie Satinoff, a friend of Sir Matt Busby, and plane captain Ken Rayment died. Tom Cable, a crew member, and travel agent Bela Miklos also passed away.

Memorial services will take place in both Manchester and Munich, led by fan group Munich58 at Old Trafford and Manchester Munich Memorial Foundation (MMMF) at Manchesterplatz in Germany.

This comes after the weekend’s commemorations at Old Trafford where wreaths were left on the centre of the pitch by Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag and West Ham boss David Moyes.

Under the Munich memorial plaque, the service will begin at 14:40, officiated by Rev. John Boyers, the former chaplain of the club.

Poems, songs, and readings will be part of the memorial gathering before a two-minute silence is observed at 15:04 - the time the crash took place on 6 February 1958.

In Munich, Mike Phelan, the former assistant manager of Manchester United, "will join fans and club officials at the ceremony led by the MMMF".

The arrangement of the service is similar to that of the Old Trafford service, with wreaths being laid on behalf of the supporters, the club, and the Association of Former Manchester United Players.

Finally, there will be a two-minute silence, after which the traditional singing of The Flowers of Manchester.

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