From Steve Rhodes in Romsey, Hants on 06/02/2018 ...

60 years ago, after training on Thursday 6 February 1958, Bryce Fulton would have cut a frustrated figure. The Argyle team for the derby game at Exeter City had been named and once again he had been overlooked. He had arrived at Home Park in the summer of 1957, having been signed from Manchester United. At that time United had an abundance of good (and some great) young players. Argyle manager Jack Rowley, who had joined Argyle from Manchester United in 1955, believed that some of the fringe players at Old Trafford could do a job at Home Park. He persuaded Fulton that he would have more first team opportunities at Home Park, but 8 months on he had still not made his Football League debut. He had already asked for a transfer, angry that he had turned down two Second Division clubs to join Argyle.

Recruited to the Old Trafford groundstaff in 1952, in 1953 Fulton had been a member of the Manchester United under 18 team that won the first ever FA Youth Cup. He played right back while ...  More

From Steve Rhodes in Romsey, Hants on 06/02/2018 ...

60 years ago, after training on Thursday 6 February 1958, Bryce Fulton would have cut a frustrated figure. The Argyle team for the derby game at Exeter City had been named and once again he had been overlooked. He had arrived at Home Park in the summer of 1957, having been signed from Manchester United. At that time United had an abundance of good (and some great) young players. Argyle manager Jack Rowley, who had joined Argyle from Manchester United in 1955, believed that some of the fringe players at Old Trafford could do a job at Home Park. He persuaded Fulton that he would have more first team opportunities at Home Park, but 8 months on he had still not made his Football League debut. He had already asked for a transfer, angry that he had turned down two Second Division clubs to join Argyle.

Recruited to the Old Trafford groundstaff in 1952, in 1953 Fulton had been a member of the Manchester United under 18 team that won the first ever FA Youth Cup. He played right back while the wing half-backs were Eddie Colman and Duncan Edwards. The inside forwards were Billy Whelan and David Pegg. Edwards and Pegg were particularly close friends. Pegg lived close by and Edwards, whose home was in Dudley, often had his Sunday lunch at Bryce’s house because he could not always get back to the Midlands.

Fast forward 4 or 5 hours after that morning’s training at Home Park and the news would have been trickling through that there had been a crash at Munich Airport involving a plane carrying the Manchester United team. There was nothing like the blanket 24/7 coverage we enjoy now. At that time of the day the prime source of news would have been the billboard on the Herald seller’s stand and the paper he was selling. Few people had portable radios and television (a single BBC channel was all that was available in Plymouth) news was at fixed times.

It was a disaster that reached further than Manchester. It was a national disaster that saw people crying in the street. So imagine how 22 years old Bryce Fulton was affected. Three players that he had shared a dressing room with – David Pegg, Billy Whelan and Eddie Colman were dead. Edwards’ life was hanging by a thread.

Argyle’s initial gesture was to offer Bryce Fulton and Tommy Barrett, who was signed from United at the same time, back to United to help them fulfil their fixtures. The offer was not taken up but the club also gave Jack Rowley, Fulton and Barrett unlimited time off. The three men attended all the funerals.

Fulton finally made his Argyle debut on 15 February 1958 in a home win over QPR, probably heartened by the news that the bulletins on Duncan Edwards were encouraging. The German medical staff were said to be in awe of Edwards' determination to live. Fulton retained his place for the following Saturday, in a 3-0 win over Northampton. Tragically his great friend Duncan Edwards passed away the previous afternoon.

Sadly, Bryce Fulton died in 1975 aged just 40 years old. In 2012 I visited his widow Brenda, who still lives in the same Manchester home that belonged to Bryce’s parents. When Bryce first joined United she lived just around the corner from him and her brother was friends with Bryce. She recalled those happy days with David Pegg and Duncan Edwards. “Bryce’s Mum would cook a Sunday dinner for them and then they would go up the road and kick a ball around with the local kids until it got dark. They were such care free days but after the crash nothing really seemed the same again.”

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