Manchester born Albert Scanlon
Played
115 games for United
Scoring
34 goals as an outside left
He was one of the “Busby Babes”
Who sustained severe injuries
Following the Munich air disaster
It was a long road to recovery
And didn’t play until the next season
But
the injuries took their toll
HARRY GREGG OBE - (27th October 1932 – 16th February 2020)
Go now Harry
Lay down your keepers’
gloves
You’ve earned your
rest
Our tower of strength
Straight backed
Rugged and dependable
Hero of Munich
Take your place
Among your equals
And be at peace
Your strong facade
Oft betrayed
By sadness in your
eyes
The sadness of
survival
So, go now Harry
And join the Babes
The band of brothers
You’ve missed so much
And take your place
Among immortals
In the wake of tragedy
Harry Gregg arose
From the snow
And twisted wreckage
With no thought of
himself
Pulled survivors
From the burning plane
Assisted latterly
By Bill Foulkes,
Another heroic figure.
Though Harry thought
His actions
unremarkable
On that cold February
day
George best, said of
him
“Bravery is one thing,
But what Harry did
Was about more than
bravery,
It was about goodness”
Now the Hero of Munich
Has left us to mourn
his passing
As he has gone to join
the Babes
But he lives on in the
legend
Manchester United’s underground
Heating hasn’t been
restored
So they’re planning to
rename
The stadium Cold
Trafford
The Forgotten Babe
John James
"Johnny" Berry
Survived the wreckage
Amidst the snows of
Munich
Though the crash
didn’t end his life
He never played again
Nicknamed "Twiggy"
John
"Jackie" Blanchflower
Survived the wreckage
Amidst the snows of
Munich
Though the crash
didn’t end his life
It did bring his
footballing career
To an untimely end
WILLIAM ANTHONY "BILL" FOULKES - (5 JANUARY 1932 – 25 NOVEMBER 2013)
Go now Bill
Lay down the captain’s
armband
You’ve earned your
rest
Our tower of strength
Straight backed
Rugged and dependable
Take your place
Among your equals
And be at peace
Your strong facade
Oft betrayed
By sadness in your
eyes
The sadness of
survival
So go now Bill
And join the babes
You’ve missed so much
And take your place
Among immortals
At Old Trafford
In tragedies wake
In the eerie quiet
The terraces echoed
The mournful silence
And even the empty
Seats shed tears
For The busby babes
In the aftermath of Munich
All of football felt
the loss
In an altogether more
Caring and respectful
time
When fans of all teams
Out of respect, wore
black
And stadia were universally quiet
Manchester United’s
Callous attitude
So cold and harsh
Towards the survivors
Beggared belief
And was never more
Keenly felt than when,
Only days after
The Munich Disaster
Gregg and Foulkes,
Though traumatised
And grieving and
feeling
The guilt of the
survivor
Were forced to play
Afterwards Harry Gregg
And Bill Foulkes
Forced to play too
soon
With the guilt of the
survivor
Sat in the dressing
room
Staring with empty eyes
In the wake of tragedy
Harry Gregg arose
And with no thought
Of himself
Pulled survivors
From the burning plane
Assisted latterly
By Bill Foulkes
Though he thought
His action
unremarkable
George Best, said of
him
“Bravery is one thing
But what Harry did
Was about more than
bravery.
It was about goodness”
Bright lights
Shining like stars
In the twinkling
Football firmament
Sparkling lights
From gritty towns
In the shadow of the
Dark satanic mills
Shining out from
Industrial heartlands
Like beacons
Bright lights of youth
Illuminating the lives
Of the terraced fans
Young men from the
dark
Industrial landscapes
Youth’s bright flames
Snuffed out
In the snows of Munich
Manchester United’s
Callous attitude
So cold and harsh
Towards the survivors
Beggared belief
And was never more
Keenly felt than when,
They could no longer
play
Jackie Blanchflower
And fellow survivor Berry
Were forced to vacate
The homes they lived
in
Young heroes returning
From a far off foreign
field
With hard fought
victory won
Where the valiant
refused to yield
Like heroes from
Homers Iliad
Exalted in the legends
But in the Germanic
snows
The heroes journey
ends
As the Gods of winter
struck
Fire and ice took its
toll
And the names were
duly writ
Upon an eternal honour
roll
Geoff Bent, Roger
Byrne (Capt)
Duncan Edwards, Billy
Whelan
David Pegg, Tommy
Taylor
Mark Jones and Eddie
Colman
If you are a City fan
Keep silent if you can
As you stand at Old
Trafford
As silence falls in
accord
Please don’t speak out
Please don’t scream or
shout
Acknowledge the
silence
For those who lived
once
Don’t think about the
“Babes”
Cold and dead in the
carnage
If hatred in your
heart and head
Stops you honouring
United’s dead
Give your silence as a
gift
In remembrance of
Frank Swift
Broken in he twisted wreckage
The victims of Munics
winter carnage
Crashing in the snow
and ice
There would have to be
a fearful price
And when the bill was
finally reckoned
Deaths reaper grimly
beckoned
Towards the twenty
three poor souls
That appeared on his
fearsome rolls
Young men cut down in
their prime
Older ones who thought
they’d more time
Were all taken from
that grissly place
To feel the breath of
heaven on their face
Taking the souls who
died in the snow
To where the innocents
and the heroes go
In those brief moments,
Jimmy was happy,
On top of the world.
He had reached the
pinnacle
Wales in the World Cup
Finals
United in the European
semis
Life was good
Life was very good
indeed
Then the news came
Of a crash in the snow
And suddenly
Life wasn’t so good.
Information,
Patchy at first
Trickled in,
Not all reliable
Miss information
Spread like the
plague,
Then the facts emerged
From amongst the
fictions
So many dead
So many lost
And for the living
Life would never be
the same
Jimmy blamed himself
For being so smug
For being so happy
For being alive
The young lads played the game
The Busby Babes was
their name
Though they played
like magic
They embraced tragedy
in Munich
Their plane crashing
in the snow
The wreckage burning
all aglow
Eigth of their magnificent number
Would not see another
summer
If you are a City fan
Keep silent if you can
As you stand at Old Trafford
As silence falls in accord
Please don’t speak out
Please don’t scream or shout
Acknowledge the silence
For those who lived once
Don’t think about the “Babes”
Cold and dead in the carnage
If hatred in your heart and head
Stops you honouring United’s dead
Give your silence as a gift
In remembrance of Frank Swift
Broken in he twisted wreckage
The victims of Munich’s
winter carnage
Crashing in the snow
and ice
There would have to be
a fearful price
And when the bill was finally
reckoned
Death’s reaper grimly
beckoned
Towards the twenty-three
poor souls
That appeared on his
fearsome rolls
Young men cut down in
their prime
Older ones who thought
they’d more time
Were all taken from
that grisly place
To feel the breath of heaven
on their face
Taking the souls who
died in the snow
To where the innocents
and the heroes go
