Harry Gregg, the Manchester United goalkeeper, was so uncomfortable cast as a hero of the Munich disaster that he long since ceased to share private stories such as this one about Duncan Edwards, who died 65 years ago today.
Edwards was fighting for his life in hospital when Gregg heard the young man had been asking about a gold watch presented to him by Real Madrid when the teams met in April 1957. Each United player received one.
Edwards, the young star of Matt Busby's brilliant young team, treasured his and was never without it but, in his confusion in the days after the plane crash, he feared it stolen.