The Week UK - 29.02.2020

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29 February 2020 THE WEEK

Obituaries

HarryGregg,whohas
diedaged87,wasoneof
thefinestgoalkeepersofhis
generation–andalsoone
ofthebravest,bothonthepitchandoffit,
saidTheGuardian.Inparticular,hewillbe
rememberedforhiscourageon 6 February
1958,whentheplanecarryinghisManchester
Unitedteamcrashedasittriedtotakeofffrom
MunichAirportinheavysnow.Gregglost
consciousnessonimpact.Whenhecameto,he
thoughthewasinhell.Regaininghissenses,he
managedtocrawlfromthewreckage.Outside,
thepilottoldhimtheplane’sfueltankswere
abouttoexplode,andorderedhimtorunfor
cover.ButGregghadheardababycrying,and
wentbackintotheburningplane.Herescued
theinfant,andherpregnantmother,andwent
backtohelphisteammates,draggingBobby
CharltonandDennisViollet,“unconscious,by
theirtrouserwaistbands”,andtendingtoJackie
BlanchflowerandMattBusby.Theyall
survived,togetherwithAlbertScanlonandRayWood,buteight
membersofthesquaddied, alongwith15 others.

HarryGregg wasborn inCountyLondonderryin 1932, the
eldestofsix children.Obsessedbyfootballfromearlychildhood,
he startedhiscareerplayingforlocalteams while workingas
acarpenter’sapprentice.Athleticandapparentlyfearless,he
becameknownfor throwinghimself atthefeet ofoncoming
forwards. Hemovedto EnglandtoplayforDoncasterRovers
in1952,madehisinternationaldebutin 1954 ,andwassigned
toBusby’syouthfulsquad –theBusby Babes –in 1957,forathen
recordfeeforagoalkeeper of£23,500. Thenextyear, Northern

Irelandmadeittothequarter-finalofthe

WorldCup,andhewasvotedthegreatest

goalkeeperofthetournament.

AtthetimeoftheMunichcrash,Gregg

hadonlybeenwithUnitedfortwomonths.

Thirteendaysafterit,hewasbackingoal,

helpinganadhocteamtoa3-0victoryover

SheffieldWednesdayintheFACupfifthround.

Althoughsufferingintenseheadachesowingto

anundiagnosedskullfracture,hecontinuedto

playandinMay 1 958,ManUnitedreached

thefinal,againstBoltonWanderers–butthere

wastobenoHollywoodendingthatnight:

Unitedlost2-0.BusbywouldleadUnitedtoFA

Cupgloryin1963,butGregghadbeeninjured,

andsomissedoutonawinner’smedal.Nor

washeabletoplayinUnited ’sgreatseasonof

1964 -5.Heretiredfromplayingin 1967 ,and

wentintomanagement.

Tallandhandsome,Greggwasoftenreferred

toastheHeroofMunic h,butitwasasobriquethedetested.

Foryears,herefusedtotalkaboutthe crashand,tormentedby

survivor’sguilt,avoidedtherelativesofthosewho’ddied.It

wasn’tuntil 199 8that he confronted hisdemons,byattending

acommemoration,andmeetingJoy,thewidow ofRoger Byrne.

“HarryGregg,” shesaid,“why haveyou beentorturingyourself

for40 years?” That night“washedyearsof guilt away”.But

Munichwasnot,hesaidin2003,theworst dayof hislife.That

came threeyearsafter thecrash, whenhisfirst wife,Mavis,died

of breast cancer,aged26.Theyhadtwo daughters,one ofwhom,

Karen, diedin 2009. Heissurvived byhis second wife,Carolyn

Maunders,withwhomhe hadfourmorechildren.

HarryGregg

OBE

1932-2020

WilfredDe’Ath,who hasdied

aged82, was ascrounger,

vagrant andpersistentthief

who wroteabouthislifeon the

street,andbehindbars,inalong-runningcolumn

inTheOldiemagazine,saidTheDailyTelegraph.

Aselfconfessedne-er-do-well,he never sought

toexcusehisbehaviour.As one reader putit,

“thepointof WilfredDe’Ath is toprovide us

withsomeonetowhomwe canallfeel morally

superiorwithoutanysignificanteffort”.Yethe

was not born toalife onthesocial margins: on

the contrary,hewas anOxfordgraduatewho

hadworked for many years asaBBC producer

andbroadcaster.

Born in Elstree,Hertfordshire,in 1937, hewas

the sonofatravel broker of Huguenotdesce nt, andaGerman

mother. She didnotassimilate into British life, andbrought him

up speaking German.Atprimary school, he wasbullied forbeing

a“little Hun”.He won ascholarship to QueenEliz abeth’s

School, Barnet,butwas so convincedhe had not even passed the

11-plus, he hadwhathecalled a“kind ofnervousbreakdown”.

From there,he won aplace at OrielCollege, Oxford. He wrote

for Cherwell,and acted inandproducedplays (including Caryl

Churchill’sfirst work). Yetsurroundedbypublicschoolboys,

he said henever fitt ed in ,and claimedto haveavengedhimself

on theclass systembyseducing asmany debutantesaspossible.

After graduating,hej oinedthe BBCasaproducer. Heshared an

officewith MelvynBragg, workedontheTodayprogramme and

developedayouth show calledThe Teen Scene,which featured

appearancesbythelikes ofJohn Lennonand

JimmySavile.In 2013 ,he gaveadisturbing

interviewinwhichhe recalledarrangingtomeet

SavileataLondon restaurant,andfindinghim

in thecompanyof a“waif ofagirl”who“must

havebeenallof tenyears old”. Savileexplained

to himthat hehadpickedherup atTopofthe

Pops.Thenextmorning,De’Athtelephonedthe

DJat hishotel, and discoveredthegirlwasthere

withhim.Yethe keptquiet,hesaid, because

“Savilewasahulk,ahorribleman and abig

star. Iwas frightenedofhim,tobehonest .”

In 1978, his marriage brokedown,and he lost a

libel suit that cost him hislifesavings.Heended

up on the streets. Dividing his timebetween

England andFrance, hestolefrom church

coll ectionboxes tobuy food,and was frequentlyjailedfor leaving

hotelswithoutpaying. He claimedtoenjoyhis courtappearances,

however.“It’slikebeing onstage ,” he told TheTimes .“It’s a

bat tleofwitsbetwe en you andthe chairman ofthemagistrates,

everyone islookin gatyou,and eventhoug hI’m in te rrible

troubleIfeelvery,very aliv e.” In 1997, Richard Ingrams–an

Oxfo rd contemporary–agreedtopublishapiece hehadwritten,

andevent uallyoffered himacolumn.Gainfully employed, hewas

able to rent astudio flatinCambridge, butheneither reformed

norrepented. On the contrary, hecontinued tosteal(he was

bannedfrom hislocalM&S forshoplifting underwear) and

relished thenotori ety his column brought him.“I know it is

pathetic andshallow andimma ture to wantto be famous,” he

wrote, “butIhave cravedfamesince Iwas asmal lboy (some

kind of inferiority complex?) andnow,atl ast, Ihave some.”

Wilfred

De’Ath

1937-2020

The reluctant hero of the Munich air disaster

Gregg:fearlessonthepitchandoff

De’Ath: an unrepentant rogue

Scrounger and vagrant who found fame through The Oldie