It has been exactly 54 years since the tragic Munich air crash on 6th of February 1958.
As Matt Busby lay immobile in Munich, his trusty assistant Jimmy Murphy - who missed the trip to Belgrade because of his duties as Wales manager - had to pick up the pieces. Busby had told him, “Keep the flag flying, Jimmy.”
“Resting in Interlaken, Germany was one thing and facing Old Trafford another. When I approached the ground and moved over the bridge along which our supporters had squeezed fifty abreast in their tens of thousands to shout for us, I could scarcely bear to look. I knew the ghosts of the Babes would still be there, and there they are still, and they will always be there as long as those who saw them still cross the bridge, young, gay, red ghosts on the green grass of Old Trafford.”
- Sir Matt Busby.
A broken heart, a broken dream, A broken plane, a broken team, No words were said, a silent vow, We loved you then, we love you now The red flag will always fly, For Man United will never die Never to be forgotten - 6th February 1958
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) all died, along with club secretary Walter Crickmer, trainer Tom Curry and coach Bert Whalley.
Of those four, Duncan Edwards, Matt Busby, Johnny Berry and Captain Kenneth Rayment, two would survive. Three weeks after the air crash, which had become known simply as `Munich’, Duncan Edwards and Kenneth Rayment, had lost their battle to live.
United’s flag is deepest RED,
It shrouded all our Munich dead,
Before their limbs grew stiff and cold,
Their heart’s blood dyed its every fold.
Then raise United’s banner high,
Beneath its shade we’ll live and die,
So keep the faith and never fear,
We’ll keep the RED flag flying
Cuz’ Man United will never die !
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