Some may know of Denis Viollet (below) already, if not, he was one of the lucky Manchester United players who survived the Munich Air Crash, when Matt Busby's "famous" Babes were dessimated by the horrific Airline crash over Germany on their return from European football, on March 7th in 1958.
Bobby Charlton was another "lucky one", although he carried the burden of the crash for his entire life. On this day, March 7th, in 2000, Charlton and the following England internationals, who were in the 1966 World Cup winning team, all received MBEs from The Queen at Buckingham Palace; they were described as the "forgotten five", who had not been decorated previously. They were Nobby Stiles, Alan Ball, Roger Hunt, Ray Wilson, George Cohen.
Additionally Jack Charlton, Bobby Moore, Gordon Banks and George Eastham were made OBE. Jimmy Armfield was awarded OBE in 2000 and CBE in 2010. Eleven members of the England squad eventually were awarded MBEs while Alf Ramsey in 1967 and Martin Peters in 1978. Squad trainer Harold Shepherdson also was rewarded with the MBE in 1969. Jimmy Greaves who missed the World Cup finakl by not being selected!! earned his MBE in 2021 for services to football on the field and on media. Bobby Charlton and Geoff Hurst received Knighthoods in 1994.
In August 2016, former Liverpool player Howard Gayle, the first black footballer to play for the club, revealed he had turned down an MBE for his work with "Show Racism the Red Card", stating that it would be "a betrayal to all of the Africans who have lost their lives, or who have suffered as a result of Empire." Howard is shown below....
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