Robert Charlton was born on 11 October 1937 in the Northeast mining town of Ashington. His talents were first displayed for the East Northumberland Schools representative side,swheresone Matt Busby, manager of Manchester United and later to be knighted, was on hand to sign the 15-year-old to his first contract in January 1953. After working his way up through the youth and amateur reserve teams, Charlton marked his professional debut in October 1956 with two goals in a 4-2 victory over Charlton Athletic.

　　Manchester United were crowned champions that season, and Charlton, playing at outside left, played his part with ten goals in 14 matches. A Wembley cup final and a European Cup semi-final seemed to herald greater things, but fate was to intervene in the most tragic fashion. The "Busby Babes" side was decimated by the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958, in which eight players lost their lives. Twenty-year-old Bobby escaped physically unscathed, but the mental scars atshavingslost so many team mates and contemporaries in such circumstances were evident.

　　Busby rebuilt his side as best he could, and made Charlton the cornerstone of his new team. Success returned to Old Trafford in 1963 with an FA Cup final win, followed by league titles in 1965 and 1967. The crowning glory for Charlton on the domestic front came the following season when, 10 years after the Munich disaster, Manchester United beat Benfica 4-1 at Wembley in the final of the European Cup, becoming the first English team to win the trophy. For Charlton (who scored the first and fourth goals), Busby and Billy Foulkes, the only other survivor of the crash still involved with the team, it was an emotional moment.

　　Despite originally making his mark on the left wing, Charlton’s international debut came in the right half (defensive midfield) position on 19 April 1958, but as with his first match for Manchester United, he celebrated with a goal and a victory - a 4-0 thrashing of the Auld Enemy, Scotland, at Hampden Park. "I can still hear the sound of the ball lashing against the net," Charlton recalls. "After that, all you could hear was the silence." His performance was enough to merit a call-up for Sweden 58?, but the England squad went out after a first round play-off with the USSR. Charlton was a non-playing member, manager Walter Winterbottom regrettingshavingsselected him, believing that he was still suffering from the after effects of the Munich air disaster.

　　By the time the next FIFA World Cup? came round, in Chile in 1962, Charlton was firmly established on the left flank and Winterbottom showed no further misgivings in playing him. A goal against Argentina helped England through to the quarter-finals,swheresthey were beaten by eventual winners Brazil.