Jeff Connor - The Lost Babes - Manchester United and the Forgotten Victims of Munich

To the first Manchester United fan I ever met,

Arthur Clive Connor. And to my mother Nancy,

who had to put up with all three of us.

Cover Page

Title Page THE LOST BABES Manchester United and the Forgotten Victims of Munich JEFF CONNOR

Dedication To the first Manchester United fan I ever met, Arthur Clive Connor. And to my mother Nancy, who had to put up with all three of us.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page 1: The young prince (Popperfoto) Page 2: Roll models (PA/ Empics); Happy days (Popperfoto) Page 3: Well turned out (courtesy of Irene Beevers); Birthday Boy (Solo); Pride of Lions (Manchester Evening News) Page 4: Fear of flying (courtesy of Irene Beevers); Playing his cards right (Solo); The inseparables (courtesy of Irene Beevers) Page 5: Four of the best: Dennis Viollet (courtesy of Irene Beevers), Eddie Colman (Manchester Evening News); Mark Jones (Manchester Evening News); Roger Byrne (courtesy of Irene Beevers) Page 6: Strength in depth (PA/Empics); Happy Valley (S&G/Empics/Alpha); King Alfredo (Popperfoto) Page 7: White rose in bloom (Central Press/Getty Images); Beaten but not disgraced (Empics/Topham); Dublin’s fair Liam (Central Press/Getty Images) Page 8: The 1957 League Champions (TopFoto); The last goodbye (Getty Images); Last line-up (Popperfoto) Page 9: The aftermath (PA/Empics); The bulletin (Manchester Evening News); The stricken (Getty Images) Page 10: On the road to recovery (Manchester Evening News); Survivor (Manchester Evening News); Grounded (Empics/Topham) Page 11: The return (Getty Images); First gong: (Getty Images); They also serve (Manchester Evening News); Born again (Solo) Page 12: Safe hands (Manchester Evening News); Well saved (Popperfoto) Page 13: Memories (Action Images); Only a rose (PA/Empics); Return to Munich (Empics) Page 14: Flowers of Manchester (PA/Empics); Lest we forget (PA/Empics); Germany remembers (Man Utd via Getty Images) Page 15: Forever young (Popperfoto); Without farewell (Empics) Page 16: Roll of honour (both Empics)

INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Manchester United plc can be remarkably sensitive about the subject of the Munich air disaster and, in particular, certain events—or maybe we should say lack of events—in the years following the club’s blackest day of 6 February 1958. When I first approached the company to ask for access to records and statistics from the Busby Babes’ era the first words of the assistant secretary Ken Ramsden in his office at Old Trafford were: ‘We will simply not cooperate with anything that will damage the good name of the club.’ This before I had even described the content of the proposed book. Mr Ramsden also asked me if I was ‘a fan who is trying to be a writer or a writer who is a fan’. When I told him the latter was the case, I had the overwhelming impression that he, and the Manchester United plc, would have preferred to be dealing with the former, of whom there have been many. I was also informed that I would have to secure permission from the plc’s chief executive to talk to employees, past and present, including Mr Ramsden’s mother and aunt, who ran the laundry at Old Trafford in the Fifties. But all my e-mails and telephone calls to the then CEO, Peter Kenyon, went unanswered. Someone closely connected with the club also took it upon himself to telephone some potential interviewees in advance to warn them of me, and the subject matter I intended to broach with them. Happily, these pleas fell on deaf, and defiant, ears. It is safe to say, however, that this book was written in spite of Manchester United plc and is unlikely to be found on sale in the Old Trafford Megastore. Over a period of three years, this book caused much soul-searching about content and motivation. At one stage work on it was halted for over twelve months, mainly because I began to believe that some of the criticisms levelled in these pages—that a number of people had sought to profit from Munich—could justifiably be applied to me. In the end, I chose to agree with a member of one of the Munich families who told me: ‘This is a story that should be told.’ Jeff ConnorEdinburghFebruary 2006

1: THE FLOWERS OF MANCHESTER

2: BLOODY KIDS

3: NEAREST AND DEAREST

4: A SMALL FIELD IN GERMANY

5: DUBLIN’S FAIR LIAM

6: DUNCANVILLE

7: WHITE ROSES, RED CARNATIONS

8: THE KNIGHTS’ TALE

9: OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND

10: FORTY-YEARS ON

11: ERIC THE READIES

12: THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY

EPILOGUE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Praise

INDEX

Copyright

About the Publisher

Page 1:The young prince (Popperfoto) Page 2:Roll models (PA/ Empics); Happy days (Popperfoto) Page 3:Well turned out (courtesy of Irene Beevers); Birthday Boy (Solo); Pride of Lions (Manchester Evening News) Page 4:Fear of flying (courtesy of Irene Beevers); Playing his cards right (Solo); The inseparables (courtesy of Irene Beevers) Page 5:Four of the best: Dennis Viollet (courtesy of Irene Beevers), Eddie Colman (Manchester Evening News); Mark Jones (Manchester Evening News); Roger Byrne (courtesy of Irene Beevers) Page 6:Strength in depth (PA/Empics); Happy Valley (S&G/Empics/Alpha); King Alfredo (Popperfoto) Page 7:White rose in bloom (Central Press/Getty Images); Beaten but not disgraced (Empics/Topham); Dublin’s fair Liam (Central Press/Getty Images) Page 8:The 1957 League Champions (TopFoto); The last goodbye (Getty Images); Last line-up (Popperfoto) Page 9:The aftermath (PA/Empics); The bulletin (Manchester Evening News); The stricken (Getty Images) Page 10:On the road to recovery (Manchester Evening News); Survivor (Manchester Evening News); Grounded (Empics/Topham) Page 11:The return (Getty Images); First gong: (Getty Images); They also serve (Manchester Evening News); Born again (Solo) Page 12:Safe hands (Manchester Evening News); Well saved (Popperfoto) Page 13:Memories (Action Images); Only a rose (PA/Empics); Return to Munich (Empics) Page 14:Flowers of Manchester (PA/Empics); Lest we forget (PA/Empics); Germany remembers (Man Utd via Getty Images) Page 15:Forever young (Popperfoto); Without farewell (Empics) Page 16:Roll of honour (both Empics)

Manchester United plc can be remarkably sensitive about the subject of the Munich air disaster and, in particular, certain events—or maybe we should say lack of events—in the years following the club’s blackest day of 6 February 1958. When I first approached the company to ask for access to records and statistics from the Busby Babes’ era the first words of the assistant secretary Ken Ramsden in his office at Old Trafford were: ‘We will simply not cooperate with anything that will damage the good name of the club.’ This before I had even described the content of the proposed book. Mr Ramsden also asked me if I was ‘a fan who is trying to be a writer or a writer who is a fan’. When I told him the latter was the case, I had the overwhelming impression that he, and the Manchester United plc, would have preferred to be dealing with the former, of whom there have been many.

I was also informed that I would have to secure permission from the plc’s chief executive to talk to employees, past and present, including Mr Ramsden’s mother and aunt, who ran the laundry at Old Trafford in the Fifties. But all my e-mails and telephone calls to the then CEO, Peter Kenyon, went unanswered. Someone closely connected with the club also took it upon himself to telephone some potential interviewees in advance to warn them of me, and the subject matter I intended to broach with them. Happily, these pleas fell on deaf, and defiant, ears. It is safe to say, however, that this book was written in spite of Manchester United plc and is unlikely to be found on sale in the Old Trafford Megastore.