Bury rugby club remembers victims of 1974 air disaster

Bury St Edmunds RUFC has this season worn black shirts embossed with the names of the players, officials and supporters who died in the 1974 air crash

A rugby club has paid tribute to players, officials and supporters who died in one of the world's worst air crashes 50 years ago.

Eighteen people from Bury St Edmunds Rugby Union Football Club were among more than 340 people killed in the disaster in France on 3 March 1974.

They were on their way home after watching a France-England rugby international in Paris.

Relatives will lay wreaths at the club to mark the anniversary on Sunday.

Craig Germeney, chairman of Bury St Edmunds RUFC, said those who died were "part of the fabric of the club".

The Turkish Airlines DC10 was on a regular flight from Ankara in Turkey to London, via Paris. All 340 people on board lost their lives.

The aircraft came down just minutes after take-off from Paris at 12:35 GMT and scythed a mile-long trail through the forest of Ermenonville near the French capital.

A Bury St Edmunds RUFC memorial to the players, officials and supporters who died in the 1974 Paris air disaster

Among the victims were 200 passengers, many of them British, who had been transferred from British Airways flights cancelled because of a strike by engineers at London airport.

"They are very much part of the fabric of our club," said Mr Germeney.

"It is important that we remember the 50-year anniversary. What happened devastated the club and the rugby world generally."

French police examine the wreckage of Turkish Airlines Flight 981 in the Ermenonville Forest outside Paris in March 1974

Club secretary Andy Herlihy added: "What happened left a massive hole in the club across all our teams for many years."

The club has this season changed its colours in tribute to the victims of the 1974 disaster.

Players are wearing black shirts, embossed with the names of those who died, instead of their normal yellow and green shirt.

Victims will also be remembered at events staged before Bury's next home game - against Dorking - on 9 March.

Businessman Laurie Cornish died in the 1974 air disaster aged 39

One, businessman Laurie Cornish, 39, a former Grenadier Guard who lived in Pakenham, Suffolk, had travelled with the Bury party after being given a ticket for the France-England game by a friend.

His son Austin Cornish, 53, of Buxhall, Suffolk, said he would lay wreaths with relatives privately on Sunday.

He is also planning a charity cycle ride in September, starting from the area where the aircraft crashed to Bury St Edmunds, in tribute to the victims.

Austin Cornish (right) whose father Laurie died in the 1974 Paris air disaster, pictured with his son Arthur, 17, at Bury St Edmunds rugby club

Mr Cornish took part in a similar ride to mark the 40th anniversary.

"My dad didn't play rugby for Bury but the club was part of the social life of the town," said Mr Cornish.

"They had gone to watch England play France and someone had given him a ticket."

He added: "I don't remember the crash and don't have any memory of my dad."