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Family received postcard from daddy days after tragedy

6/ 2/2008

LITTLE has been written about the sports journalists who lost their lives in the Munich tragedy.

But after 50 years, the daughters of Bramhall reporter Archie Ledbrooke have broken their silence to reveal their heartbreak at receiving a poignant postcard from him just days before his funeral.

Helen and Jane Ledbrooke remember reading hundreds of sympathy messages with their mother Eileen when, through the letter box of their Bramhall Lane home, a postcard from Belgrade arrived.

The postcard simply said: "This is the famous Blue Danube river. Not much snow here but saw plenty on the way. Love Daddy." Archie, who was a journalist with the Manchester Evening News before landing the position as top sport’s writer with the Daily Mirror in 1955, was one of nine journalists killed in the tragedy.

Speaking for the first time about the disaster, Jane, 74, who had been skiing in Switzerland when she heard the news, said the most devastating memory of her father’s death was that she never got to say goodbye.

Helen, 71, was with their mother when they received the call that would tear their world apart.

"We didn’t know who had survived and who had died. Maybe I could have accepted it better had everyone been killed. That sounds awful but you think to yourself, ‘Why hadn’t he sat in a different seat?’ If only he had been one of the ones who had survived," said Helen.

A medical report confirmed Archie had been killed instantly.

One image that will live in their minds forever is that of Bramhall village on the day of his funeral.

Bramhall Lane was unrecognisable as hundreds of Manchester United supporters and fellow journalists lined the streets to pay their respects.

"Going through the village everyone stopped to look. That was very difficult for us. The house was just solid with flowers from neighbours, friends and strangers. There were just so many it was overwhelming."

Helen and Jane will join the relatives of those who died in the disaster at a memorial service today at Old Trafford.