Roger Bryne (8th February 1929 to 6th February 1958)

Roger was born in Gorton so I thought he might be in the main cemetery there but he was cremated here at Blackley Crematorium about ten miles north of Manchester. I don’t know if his ashes were strewn in the memorial gardens but I walked round them anyway.

He was an only child and born in a time slot that forced men to endure two years of National Service. He joined the Royal Air Force and played football there. He wasn’t judged to be good at it and swapped to playing rugby. Leaving the RAF he continued his hobby and thankfully Joe Armstrong - a Manchester United scout - was insightful enough to spot an intangible magic (Joe who also spotted Duncan Edwards and a 15-year-old Bobby Charlton.) His saw Roger's tackling, heading and goal-scoring skills were poor but beyond the compass of logic he was a masterful, intuitive player. His main skill was speed but to the untrained eye there was little else.

Roger was so insightful on the field that he ended up being the captain of Manchester United, moving from amateur to professional in a blink. Aged 22 he had a red shirt on his back and was only 26 when he was made captain. His poor basic skills were outweighed by the kind of football intelligence that can’t be taught. He had a cool reading of the field, foresaw danger quickly so he could position himself for an instant reaction, joined forward attacks when defenders were meant to stay back. Moreover he had a charisma that only leaders have (I read he was a father-figure to the younger lads) and he could instil stamina into the tired legs of players on the other side of the field.

He played for MU 245 times and was on the team when they won the league in 1952, 1956 and 1957. He scored 17 goals (not bad for a defender.) He played for England 33 times. Sadly the glitter turned to dust when he was 28 when he died in the Munich Air Disaster. He was the oldest of the eight players who perished that afternoon in 1958. Had he survived he’d have returned home to find his wife Joy was pregnant.

I had a stroll around the big crematorium and had a few saluting photos taken. The building is of good condition so I’m sure it’s been refurbished couple of times since 1958. I had a wander around the memorial gardens and saw the usual photos of people on tree trunks, birthday cards in cellophane and plastic windmills. As usual I looked up at the chimney that must have taken a patina of Roger’s ashes into the ether. The funeral service was held at Flixton parish church and the burning was done here. As with most of the players families there must have been many people at the service who were numbed by a collective grief. All the players were young and most left behind wives, parents and kids. A plane crash killing football stars was surreal and unknown at the time. At least Roger’s family knew the end was instant and he wasn’t in hospital for weeks before expiring. In Manchester there’s now a Roger Byrne Close.

I had a stroll around the sprawling cemetery and wondered how weird fate is: some MU players survived the plane crash. If Robert had sat in another seat he might have survived. If it hadn’t snowed that day or if the house the plane clipped hadn't been built everyone would have survived. I wondered if Roger’s son ever came and walked around here. Eight months after Roger’s death his son Roger Junior was born (sadly dying of cancer aged 53.) I did a salute and left.

At the rear where Roger was cremated...

The funeral service at Flixton...

The crash site now...