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Among the victims of the Munich tragedy was Manchester Evening News journalist Tom Jackson.

David Meek was the man to step into his shoes - and is one of only two chief Manchester United writers in the 57 years since.

We got them together.

Stuart Mathieson has been at the MEN since 1995 and he sat down with his predecessor to discuss his memories of February 6, 1958.

Stuart Mathieson: How did the MEN staff learn the news of the tragedy that day and where were you at the time?

David Meek: It was just another day as far as I was concerned and around 4 o’clock on the afternoon of February 6, 1958, I was thinking about leaving the office for home and wondering what I would be writing about for the next day’s leader column in the Manchester Evening News.

Like most of the staff, I was excited by the reports of Manchester United’s draw against Red Star in Belgrade that had put them through to the semi-finals of the European Cup, but of course we had no idea of the tragic events about to unfold.

The Busby Babes were wowing everyone with their accomplished football and anyone with an ounce of sporting interest was thrilled by the way Sir Matt Busby’s youngsters were blazing an exciting trail for English football in Europe.

We all knew United were flying home that afternoon from Yugoslavia via a re-fuelling stop at Munich, so it was no great surprise when a telex message clattered into the office that their plane had been delayed in snowy conditions in Munich.

A few minutes later came another message saying that there was a technical problem with the plane. Still nothing to worry about of course.

Not long after that, however, came a further report that the United plane had crashed on take off and suddenly the whole mood in the office changed as we waited for more details.

No mobile phones in those days of course, or e-mails for the quick dispatch of news. We were in suspense.

Those of us ready to go home started to gather round the desk of the sub editor receiving the telex messages from the wire room in the hope of finding out more about the problem.

At that point nobody in our Cross Street office had any idea the enormous tragedy unfolding on the slush covered runway in Munich.

Our editor, Tom Henry, perhaps with the sixth sense that had made him such a great editor, came running out of his office to take charge of what he quickly realised would become the most dramatically painful story of his time.

He told the sightseers to go on home as he gathered a small but experienced team of senior editorial men to put together a special edition of the Evening News with all the latest reports from Munich as they arrived through the creed machines.

There were conflicting reports to make sense of, Tom and his team fashioned a remarkably accurate picture of what had happened.

People had gathered in Cross Street outside the office hoping for news and very quickly they had this special edition with its dire page 1 news of casualties and heartbreak.

Manchester, and indeed the world of sport, was totally stunned. For many United fans, the Busby Babes had become family and the next day the city was in mourning.

SM: As well as the shock over the loss of United players and staff there were sadly journnalists also killed in the tragedy among them the MEN's United reporter Tom Jackson.

DM: The Evening News family was devastated, too, because our United reporter, Tom Jackson, was one of the eight journalists who perished in the crash.

Tom’s career had been interrupted by the war, but he had still managed to cover the Reds for 25 years, a sure indication that he was a supporter as well as a reporter. He had become part of the Old Trafford family, sharing in the adventure of European football and caught on camera on one occasion being carried shoulder high by the players after one particularly impressive victory abroad.

He was a kindly, modest man who handled best he could the requests for match tickets from colleagues as the team’s success made them the side to watch.

He was a family man and a good journalist, much respected by both the Evening News and Manchester United, together not always easily achieved.

SM: How did you come to step into the breach?

DM: Obviously the death of Tom Jackson left a tragic void on the Evening News Sports Desk. My job at the time was writing about politics and producing the daily opinion piece for the leader reflecting the Editor’s views.

But Tom Henry knew I had done some football writing on my previous paper the Yorkshire Post and soon after the accident he asked me if I would abandon politics and take over as the United reporter. Obviously in that kind of emergency you do what you can to help, in fact I quite got to like the job which I did for the next 37 years.

(Image: Mirrorpix)

SM: How difficult was it to cover the club at such an awful time?

DM: It was a very emotional time and with Matt Busby lying grievously injured in hospital in Munich my contacts at the club were the secretary, Les Olive, and the assistant manager Jimmy Murphy.

Murphy wasn’t a natural PR man, he preferred to work in the background, but he took on the job of talking to the Press because communication with United’s distraught supporters had become paramount.

With hindsight Jimmy did remarkably well. We were a new bunch of reporters because all the journalists he had known had perished in the crash. So it was a strained atmosphere and difficult for me also being completely new to Manchester United.

Murphy took his remaining players and promoted juniors to Blackpool in an attempt to give them some peace and quiet. He would hold press conferences after training by the side of the swimming pool at the Norbreck Hydro hotel where they stayed.

I shall always associate my early interviews with Manchester United with the smell of chlorine from the baths.

Les Olive who had also had to step up to take over from Walter Crickmer the secretary who had been killed at Munich, was under great strain but he too rose to the occasion to maintain a flow of information.

Looking back, both men did brilliantly in the circumstances.

SM: What was it like covering the first match after the crash against Sheffield Wednesday at Old Trafford?

DM: The pressure was intense with United due back in action within a fortnight to play their postponed FA Cup fifth round tie against Sheffield Wednesday at Old Trafford. United had even managed to sign two new players in Ernie Taylor and Stan Crowther. Youngsters had been plucked out of the A team like Shay Brennan so there was no shortage of stuff to write about.

It was a weird atmosphere though as I tried to work out what the first post-Munich team would be and of course there was tremendous interest in that first game. In fact I never thought I was going to reach Old Trafford in time for the kick off. The roads were jam packed with traffic with as many people leaving Old Trafford as still more cars headed that way. It was chaos, but somehow I made it.

It was a mixture of emotions set against a background of pain and tragedy, but at the same time with an excitement wondering how the patched up team would respond. The fans inside Old Trafford didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, such was the contrast many were distraught with grief but at the same time excited by the Cup atmosphere.

From the reporting point of view, it was such a dramatic time that the story almost wrote itself, especially when United won and a new hero was launched in the shape of goal scorer Shay Brennan. It was difficult for the players to talk after the match but the older ones like Ernie Taylor stepped up to the plate and called on their experience to explain how things were in the dressing room.

See our Munich interactive timeline - click 'Open' below (not compatible with iPhone/Safari)