Munich air disaster: Items belonging to Man United star to be auctioned

More than 40 items including photographs and letters belonging to a rising Manchester United star killed in the Munich air disaster are due to be auctioned by the family of his fiancé.

Duncan Edwards was just 21 years old when the plane carrying the team crashed on its third attempt to take off from the Munich-Riem airport runway in poor conditions on February 6th, 1958.

The players and a number of supporters and sports reporters had been returning from a European Cup match in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, when the plane stopped in Munich to refuel.

Twenty people were pronounced dead at the scene and although Edwards was pulled from the wreckage alive he died in hospital 15 days later.

The final death toll was 23.

Edwards already had 18 caps for England and was tipped as a future captain when he was killed.

His fiancé Molly Leech, aged only 22, rushed to Germany to be at his side in hospital, and after his death was forced to return home with only his belongings.

Molly, who died in 2004 aged 68, never parted with the items, but now her daughters have decided to sell them in Northamptonshire-based auction house Graham Budd’s sports memorabilia sale.

Among the collection are letters from well wishers, photographs, his overnight bag and football programmes.

Also included is Edwards’ family album with photos of his Manchester United and England football career, such as portraits, match shots, moments with his teammates, as well as some from his national service.

There are also two letters from Edwards to Molly during his national service where he refers to her as “Dear Molly” and “Dear Pet”.

Molly’s daughters, who wish to remain anonymous, said: “Our mother, Molly, first met Duncan one Saturday evening at Ringway Airport, which is