News

Bomb crater uncovered at Old Trafford

A piece of Old Trafford's history came back to life today as workmen laying the new outfield at the ground came across the remains of a Second World War bomb crater.

Old Trafford was hit by several bombs during the War, with the Ladies Pavilion taking a direct hit and the rear of the main Pavilion badly damaged. A sentry on duty at the main gate on Talbot Road was killed by one of the blasts.

The Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies was photographed inspecting one of the craters on the outfield a few days later in 1941 (see below), and it was this crater that was uncovered today. The photograph top right shows Head Groundsman Peter Marron inspecting the area 67 years later.

Instead of continuing to extracting soil, as the outfield is being dug down a few feet, the workers discovered a circular area that was a mixture of clay, pot, glass and shale. This was probably used as backfill at the time, and would have likely been the only material to hand at the time. This area is the darker coloured patch in the foreground in the photograph below.

The two photographs below record the location of a small, and unusual, part of the ground's history before it finally disappears forever under the new outfield.