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The Commemorative Activity at the Grave of Munich Air Disaster Victim, Duncan Edwards: A Social and Cultural Analysis of the Commemorative Networks of a Local Sporting Hero by Gayle Rogers A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Central Lancashire July 2017 ABSTRACT The Commemorative Activity at the Grave of Munich Air Disaster Victim, Duncan Edwards: A Social and Cultural Analysis of the Commemorative Networks of a Local Sporting Hero The Munich Air Disaster claimed the lives of 23 people in a plane crash in Munich in 1958. It is a significant event within modern England’s cultural history as a number of Manchester United footballers, known as the Busby Babes were amongst the dead. The players who died have continued to be extensively commemorated, especially Duncan Edwards. This research considers the commemorative activity associated with Edwards since his death and was initiated when the researcher pondered the extensive commemorative activity by strangers that she encountered at the family grave of her cousin Edwards. The commemoration of the Disaster and of Edwards has been persistent and various with new acts of commemoration continuing conspicuously even after fifty years since the event. Such unique activity particularly demonstrated at Edwards’ grave was considered worthy of further investigation to ascertain why such activity was occurring at such a volume. Although general historical and biographical accounts of the Disaster and Edwards are apparent, specific research concerning the commemoration of the event was not evident. The researcher set out to identify who the commemorators were, why they were undertaking dedicatory acts and what those acts manifest as. At Edwards’ grave the offerings left upon it were regularly documented from 2010-2014 and analysed. Interviews with identified significant commemorators were undertaken including Edwards’ family members and fans. A comprehensive literature review was undertaken and relevant online sources and data were also examined in order to inform a distinct social and cultural analysis of the event within the context of its commemoration. The study focussed upon the researcher’s connection to the subject, commemorators, memorials, commemorative objects and sites. Although there was a distinct personal element to the research, the data collected was analysed in the wider context of commemoration, the perception of heroes and attitudes towards the dead, death and dying. This research specifically considers the commemoration of Disaster victim Duncan Edwards as a local sporting hero. The unique contribution to the knowledge and understanding of this research topic is principally through the generation and interrogation of new research data, created from fieldwork undertaken at Edwards’ grave and from interviews with significant commemorators. The interview-generated research data from certain Edwards’ family members was only possible to attain because of the researcher’s particular ancestral link to the interviewees. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTERS CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION 1-5 CHAPTER 1: RESEARCHER AS COMMEMORATOR AND 6-20 COMMEMORATOR AS RESEARCHER Introduction 6 1i: My Duncan 7 1ii: My Ancestral Connection 10 1iii: My Second Generation Commemoration 13 Summary 18 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 21-51 Introduction 21 2i: The Munich Air Disaster, Manchester United and the Busby Babes 21 2ii: Duncan Edwards 32 2iii: Death, Dying and Commemoration 35 2iv: The Commemorative Network 47 Summary 51 Chapter 3: THE NOTION OF HERO WITHIN THE 52-75 COMMEMORATIVE NETWORK OF DUNCAN EDWARDS Introduction 52 3i: The Concept of Hero 52 3ii: The Hero and Death 56 3iii: The Sporting Hero 60 3iv: The Hero and The Celebrity 65 3v: The Local Hero 69 Summary 72 CHAPTER 4: COMMEMORATION: COMMEMORATORS 76-123 Introduction 76 4i: Commemoration 76 4ii: Significant Commemorators 83 4iii: Themes of Alliance, Impedance and Hierarchy 101 4iv: Fans as Commemorators 109 Summary 121 CHAPTER 5: COMMEMORATION: COMMEMORATIVE OBJECTS 124-156 Introduction 124 5i: Defining Commemorative Objects 125 5ii: Defining Commemoration as an Active Process 128 5iii: Photographic and Virtual Commemorative Objects 142 Summary 150 CHAPTER 6: COMMEMORATION: MEMORIALS 157-209 Introduction 157 6i: The Grave of Duncan Edwards 159 6ii: The Dead Body and the Presence of the Dead 178 6iii: The Unique Canonisation of Duncan Edwards 186 6iv: The Statue of Duncan Edwards 191 6v: The Permanency and Longevity of Memorialisation 195 Summary 203 CHAPTER 7: COMMEMORATION: COMMEMORATIVE SITES 210-242 Introduction 210 7i: Negotiating Commemorative Sites 211 7ii: Appropriation of Sites for Commemoration 218 7iii: The Localisation of Commemorative Sites 229 Summary 240 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION 243-266 Introduction 243 8i: Researcher as Commemorator, Commemorator as Researcher 244 8ii: Commemorators, Family and Hierarchy 246 8iii: The Commemorative Network 251 8iv: Edwards The Local Sporting Hero 254 8v: Significant Cultural Shifts in Commemorative Practice Since 1958 257 8vi: Memorials and Commemorative Objects 259 8vii: Predicted Changes Within Edwards’ Commemorative Network 265 BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY i-xvi (at end of thesis) APPENDICES APPENDIX PAGE APPENDIX A APPENDIX A1-6 MUNICH AIR DISASTER Historical Summary of the Munich Air Disaster APPENDIX B APPENDIX B1-7 DUNCAN EDWARDS Biographical Summary of Duncan Edwards APPENDIX C APPENDIX C1-25 FIELDWORK UNDERTAKEN AT DUNCAN EDWARDS’ GRAVE Summary of research undertaken and findings Ci: FIELDWORK PHOTOGRAPHS APPENDIX Ci1-5 Photographs of Edwards’ Grave and other Disaster victim and survivor graves (figures 1-5) APPENDIX D APPENDIX D1-8 FAMILY COMMEMORATOR INTERVIEWS Summary of methodology and interviewee details APPENDIX E EMAILS, INTERVIEW SUMMARIES AND INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS Ei: Phil Maddison APPENDIX Ei1-2 Summary of Emails Eii: Mike Thomas APPENDIX Eii1-3 Summary of Emails Eiii: Pauline Lamb APPENDIX Eiii1-2 Summary of Telephone Interview Eiv:Laurence Brownhill, Keith and John Edwards APPENDIX Eiv1-3 Summary of Group Interview Ev: Maurice Perry APPENDIX Ev1 Summary of conversation Evi: Colin Daniels APPENDIX Evi1-7 Verbatim Interview Transcript Evii: Joey Edwards APPENDIX Evii1-7 Verbatim Interview Transcript Eviii: Loraine Rogers APPENDIX Eviii1-21 Verbatim Interview Transcript Eix: Mike Thomas APPENDIX Eix1-14 Verbatim Interview Transcript LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE TABLE A APPENDIX C p.2 DATES OF FIELDWORK RESEARCH VISITS TABLE B APPENDIX C p.7 SUMMARY OF OFFERINGS AT OBSERVED AT EDWARDS’ GRAVE TABLE C APPENDIX C p.8 SUMMARY OF OFFERINGS WITH SIGNIFICANT DETAILS OF OFFERINGS TABLE D APPENDIX C p.23 SUMMARY OF OFFERINGS OBSERVED AT GRAVES 6 & 7 MARCH 2014 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE PAGE FIGURE 1 APPENDIX Ci1 Duncan Edwards’ Grave (8 September 2011) FIGURE 2 APPENDIX Ci2 Duncan Edwards’ Grave (22 February 2012) FIGURE 3 APPENDIX Ci3 Duncan Edwards’ Grave (19 May 2013) FIGURE 4 APPENDIX Ci4 Duncan Edwards’ Grave (7 March 2014) FIGURE 5 APPENDIX Ci5 Graves of Matt Busby, Eddie Coleman and Geoff Bent (6 March 2014) INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND TO RESEARCH The 1958 Munich Air Disaster1 is widely acknowledged as a significant event within modern England’s cultural history. It is distinct from other football-related disasters such as the Heysel Tragedy2 and the Hillsborough Disaster3 (discussed further in Chapter 7iii) because the Munich Air Disaster caused the death of players and staff of a football team rather than fans of a team. The Munich Air Disaster has inspired numerous ‘popular’ general texts and a number of biographical accounts have also chronicled the event. However, a socio-cultural based academic study of the Disaster and its commemoration has yet to be undertaken. The researcher has an ancestral link to Duncan Edwards, a Manchester United and England footballer who died as a result of injuries sustained in the Munich Air Disaster. This particular link to the research subject is discussed in further detail in Chapter 1. INSPIRATION FOR THE RESEARCH The researcher’s familial connection to the research is underpinned by the researcher’s broader interest in death, dying and commemoration. It is acknowledged that this interest may have been influenced by growing up with such a distinct ancestral heritage. However, this interest manifested in the development of the researcher’s career as an artist and designer, leading to studies in funerary design and memorial art and commemoration as an artistic concept or construct. 1 On 6 February 1958 a British European Airways plane crashed whilst attempting to take off in Munich, Germany. 23 out of the 44 people on board died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. Several others were badly injured and amongst the injured and fatalities were a number of Manchester United football team players (see Appendix A for further detail). 2 The Heysel Tragedy occurred during a match between Liverpool Football Club and Juventas (an Italian football club) at Heysel Stadium in Brussels in 1985. 39 people (predominantly Juventas fans) were fatally injured when a perimeter wall collapsed. 3 In the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster 96 Liverpool Football Club fans were killed in a crush at the Hillsborough Football Stadium in Sheffield. 1 The researcher has distinct recollections of visiting Edwards’ grave with family members and being puzzled as to why so many strangers left offerings at her relative’s grave for so many years after his death. This puzzlement kindled a significant