On 6th February 1958, a tragedy struck which shocked the world of football, the city of Manchester and indeed, people throughout the British Isles and further abroad. The aeroplane carrying the Manchester United team home from their match against Red Star Belgrade crashed at Munich airport, killing eight of the United players, club officials, sports journalists and other passengers. The team, under the management of Matt Busby, were known as the "Busby Babes,"  as most of them were young players with the world (literally) at their feet.  Today, I remember Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan, as well as all who died in the crash, but I also want to pay tribute to a fellow countryman who turned out to be the hero of the hour. United's Northern Ireland international goalkeeper, Harry Gregg had miraculously escaped serious injury and rushed back to the burning wreckage, where he managed to bring several people (including a pregnant woman) to safety.

Harry Gregg was a modest and unassuming man, who rarely spoke about the events of that terrible night, but many years later, I had the pleasure of meeting him at the hotel he ran in the Northern Irish seaside resort of Portstewart. His sporting accomplishments and heroic behaviour at Munich were particularly a source of pride to my father, who had coached him as a schoolboy footballer. Harry passed away in 2020, but he was never forgotten by those who watched him as a player and especially, by those who owed their lives to his courageous and unselfish actions at Munich Airport sixty-five years ago.