BBC photo
By
Hazel Speed
When I was a young child in 1958, I recall hearing radio news which informed the world that sadly, the aeroplane carrying the Manchester United football team from Munich Airport had crashed and only a few had survived.
The players were young men for that day and age and were called the Busby Babes, after Sir Matt Busby who managed them.
The BBC film ‘United‘ is, in my humble view, worthy of an award, the way it relates this story in a film documentary format. David Tennant, along with other recognisable actors, do justice to both the way they act and portray the respective roles, but also do so in a way that honours the memory of those who lost their lives.
However, that is just my personal view as an outsider looking in via the film, but opposite views have been expressed, in particular those of Matt Busby’s Son.
What is especially miraculous is the way Manchester United overcame this sorrow to still remain the key historic football team of all time (no discourtesy to other worthy teams of course).
Having lived in a Manchester town some years later and seen the newer team play, including some key names then playing, I felt immense pride and honour to remember the former players as well as watch the skill of the team in 1966, some of whom played in the World Cup of course and we all know that was a game which our nation won!
This film captures the times of the 1950s and the sense of mourning by the UK and countries worldwide. Consequently there are poignant moments but this film is a valid historical document, and one of which the Nation should be immensely proud as it puts on record the courage of the human spirit through such enormous trials, desperate sorrow yet retaining the strong will to carry on and go forward against such overwhelming odds.
No wonder one of the new shirts at that time had an emblem of a phoenix – rising from the ashes.
Hazel Speed
Photo (c) Hazel Speed – used by kind permision to Tuck Magazine
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