Duncan Edwards leisure centre tribute 'will help Busby Babe's name live on'
Naming a new leisure centre after footballing legend Duncan Edwards will help keep his name alive for generations to come, community leaders have said.
Dudley Council chiefs revealed last week how the town’s £18 million facility will be called the Duncan Edwards Leisure Centre.
Today Rose Cook Monk from the Duncan Edwards Foundation said she was delighted at the decision.
Rose, who also wrote and directed a documentary about the footballer, said: “I am so pleased and so proud that the council have decided to name the leisure centre after Duncan. It is just another way of Duncan’s name being remembered. It’s brilliant, I am really happy about it.
“I had hoped they would look at naming it after Duncan. It had been talked about a few years ago when it was announced there would be a new leisure centre for the town.
“I always championed for it to be named the Duncan Edwards Leisure Centre and now it has been confirmed.
“I shall work closely with the council to make sure the story of Duncan is talked about. It is a really exciting time and I am honoured to be part of it.”
Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of Dudley Council, said: “We are forging our future in Dudley, with over £1 billion being spent on a number of exciting projects including the new leisure centre which will completely regenerate our borough. But we are also very proud of our past.
"Duncan Edwards put Dudley on the sporting map. It is testament to how good he was that his achievements continue to be celebrated more than 60 years after his tragic death. We think naming the new leisure centre after Duncan will be a fitting tribute to his legacy, and ensure his name continues to live on for future generations in the borough.”
Duncan Edwards was born in Dudley in 1936, and went on to play for Manchester United and England.
He was one of the hugely successful Busby Babes, the young United team formed under manager Matt Busby in the mid-1950s. But he died on February 21, 1958, following the Munich air disaster, two weeks earlier, on February 6 – where seven of his teammates and 14 other passengers died at the scene.
He was only 21 years old when he died from the injuries he sustained in the crash, having played for England 18 times during his short career.
His England caps and football shirts, along with other memorabilia, are on display at Dudley Museum, located on the first floor of the Archive Building in Tipton Road. The Duncan Edwards Museum opened in Castle Street last summer.
The Duncan Edwards Leisure Centre, in Flood Street, is set to open to the public early next year.
The new facility will include a 25-metre swimming pool, sports hall, gym and group exercise studio.
