Proud moment: The first Mark Jones memorial, seen herw with fund raiser Jack Swift, Mark's daughter Lynn Hargreaves and daughter in law Susan Jones at the 2020 unveiling.placeholder image
Proud moment: The first Mark Jones memorial, seen herw with fund raiser Jack Swift, Mark's daughter Lynn Hargreaves and daughter in law Susan Jones at the 2020 unveiling.
A NEW memorial to tragic Wombwell footballer Mark Jones is to be unveiled in the town centre next week – joining others in his memory.
Councillors decided to include a memorial plaque in recognition of Mark, who was a Manchester United player an ‘Busby Babe’ who lost his life in the Munich air disaster of 1958 as part of the Love Where You Live initiative as part of a new public space in the town centre.
Wombwell councillors James Higginbottom, Brenda Eastwood and Robert Frost said in a joint statement: "We are delighted that Mark Jones will have a fitting and enduring memorial right in the heart of his hometown of Wombwell.
"Over a number of years there have been discussions as to how Mark's extraordinary legacy and the tragedy of his passing in the Munich Air Disaster can be commemorated and this feels like a fitting tribute to one of Wombwell's finest sons, sitting alongside the plaque in Wombwell Cemetery and the memorial at Wombwell Main.
"We are proud to see the installation of the memorial stone, which is an integral part of the wider improvements to the public realm in Wombwell High Street that we have seen take shape in recent years.
"Pride in our history and optimism for our shared future is an enduring theme of Barnsley Council's Principal Towns programme, through which this memorial has been funded, and we very much look forward to the upcoming opening."
It will be unveiled on February 6, at 11am.
The new memorial comes six years after a plaque was erected at Wombwell Main Cricket Club, where the player, who was aged 24 at the time of his death, enjoyed football and cricket as a youngster.
Mark’s two children had wanted to see a memorial in Wombwell but sadly, his son Gary died before it was done.
Gary’s friend Jack Swift raised money for that memorial, which was installed inside the cricket club building.
Mark was one of eight Manchester United players who died in the air crash, including fellow Barnsley man Tommy Taylor.
He is more widely remembered in Barnsley as he also had a history playing for Barnsley FC - leading the the new £12m bridge in the town centre being named in his honour.
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