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Posted by Tony Flynn on 6th February 2012 at 12:15 PM
Remembering the Munich Air Disaster 1958
Incredible to think that it was fifty four years ago today that the Munich Air Disaster happened when arguably the greatest football team that England had produced were cruelly wiped out, including two Salford lads, Eddie Colman and Geoff Bent.

The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes", along with a number of supporters and journalists. Twenty of the 44 people on board the aircraft died in the crash. The injured, some of whom had been knocked unconscious, were taken to the Rechts der Isar Hospital in Munich where three more died, resulting in a total of 23 fatalities with 21 survivors.

The team was returning from a European Cup match in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia), against Red Star Belgrade, but had to make a stop in Munich for refuelling, as a non-stop trip from Belgrade to Manchester was out of the "Elizabethan" class Airspeed Ambassador aircraft's range. After refuelling, the pilots, Captains James Thain and Kenneth Rayment, attempted to take off twice, but had to abandon both attempts due to boost surging in the port engine. Fearing that they would get too far behind schedule, Captain Thain rejected an overnight stay in Munich in favour of a third take-off attempt. By the time of the third attempt, it had begun to snow, causing a layer of slush to build up at the end of the runway. When the aircraft hit the slush, it lost velocity, making take-off impossible. It ploughed through a fence past the end of the runway, before the port wing hit a nearby house and was torn off. Fearing that the aircraft might explode, Captain Thain set about getting the surviving passengers as far away as possible. Despite this threat, Manchester United goalkeeper Harry Gregg remained behind to pull survivors from the wreckage.

An investigation by the West German airport authorities originally blamed Captain Thain for the crash, claiming that he had failed to de-ice the wings of the aircraft, despite statements to the contrary from eyewitnesses. It was later established that the crash had, in fact, been caused by the build-up of slush on the runway, which had resulted in the aircraft being unable to achieve take-off velocity; Thain's name was eventually cleared in 1968, ten years after the incident.

At the time of the disaster, Manchester United were trying to become only the third club to win three successive English league titles; they were six points behind League leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers with 14 games to go. They were also holders of the Charity Shield and had just advanced into their second successive European Cup semi-final. The team were also on an 11-match unbeaten run, and had booked their place in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup two weeks previously.

Edward "Eddie" Colman (1 November 1936 – 6 February 1958) was an English football player and one of the eight Manchester United players who lost their lives in the Munich air disaster.

Colman was born in Salford, Lancashire and joined Manchester United's youth team on leaving school in the summer of 1952. He became a first-team member during the 1955–56 season. Over the next two-and-a-half years he made 107 first-team appearances, scoring two goals, the second of which came in the first leg of the fateful European Cup quarter-final tie against Red Star Belgrade. In his time at United, he was nicknamed "Snakehips" for his trademark body swerve.

Aged 21 years and 3 months, he was the youngest person to die in the Munich air disaster. An accommodation building at the University of Salford is named after him – the Eddie Colman Court is a block of flats located near the main campus.

A statue of Colman was erected at his graveside in Weaste Cemetery, Salford, after his death, but it was badly damaged by vandals and after being repaired was placed in the home of his father Dick, who died in October 1986 at the age of 76 and is buried alongside Eddie as well as Eddie's mother Elizabeth, who died in November 1971 at the age of 62.

27 workers at a Manchester boxmaking firm had been dismissed from their jobs for leaving work to attend Colman's funeral; however they were all swiftly reinstated.

Geoff Bent was born in Salford, Lancashire, and joined United on leaving school in the summer of 1948. After several seasons playing in the reserve and youth sides, he became a professional in 1951 and over the decade made 12 league appearances as full-back cover for Roger Byrne on the left and Bill Foulkes on the right.

He did not play any first-team games during the 1957–58 season, and only travelled to Belgrade as cover for Roger Byrne - who had not been expected to play in the match due to injury, but still did.

Geoff, who is buried in St. John's Churchyard in Bolton Road (A666), Pendlebury (just over the Salford/Swinton & Pendlebury boundary at Irlams o' th' Height), had become a father just four months before his death on the birth of his daughter Karen. His widow, Marion, is still alive and contributed to a 1998 ITV documentary, Munich: End of a Dream, which marked the 40th anniversary of the tragedy.

If you have any memories of this event or saw the Busby Babes play, I'd love to hear your recollections.

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