Munich Air Disaster:They came in droves to Old Trafford yesterday to remember those who lost their lives in the 1958 Munich air crash and to celebrate the memory of friends, of family and of the Busby Babes, the team judged by many to be finest in English football history.

"There is no doubt in my mind that the team decimated that night would have won the European Cup. That team was capable of anything," said Bobby Charlton, one of those who survived when a flight carrying the Manchester United team back from a European tie in Belgrade crashed as it attempted to take off after a refuelling stop. Twenty-three people died in the Bavarian snow, eight of them members of Matt Busby's precociously talented side.

Eight journalists also died.

Charlton, and the four other surviving members of the Busby Babes, were among 1,000 who attended a memorial service at United's stadium yesterday, marking the 50th anniversary of the tragedy. The club chaplain, the Rev John Boyers, read out a sombre roll-call of the dead as United's current captain, Gary Neville, himself a lifelong Red, lit candles in each individual's memory before a moment of silence was observed at 3.04pm - the time of the crash.

Alex Ferguson, who as manager has followed Busby's pursuit of European glory, then gave a reading: Psalm 103, verses 15-19: "As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children, to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

"The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all."

Outside, thousands of United fans, as well as supporters wearing the colours of other clubs, staged a less formal tribute at the East Stand, in front of the permanent stone memorial to the Babes. The moment's silence was observed with due solemnity, but followed by joyous choruses of the terracing favourite, Glory Glory Man United.

In Germany, hundreds of fans attended a service at the site of the tragedy outside Munich.

But if the day was marked by solemnity, it was also leavened by moments of humour, not least at a tribute hosted by the television presenter and United fan Eamonn Holmes.

The Babes' goalkeeper, Harry Gregg, who risked his own life to pull three others from the plane wreckage, recalled how he returned to the football field just two weeks after the crash.

"We didn't have counsellors or psychologists . . . we just got on with it. There was no point in sitting at home moping," he said.

Nobby Stiles, a 15-year-old apprentice in 1958, and later a 1966 World Cup winner, assessed the talents of those who died, including Duncan Edwards ("the greatest player I've ever seen") and Eddie Coleman ("my idol").

As ever, though, Bobby Charlton, who would fulfil the lost legacy of fallen colleagues by winning the European Cup in 1968, fashioned the perfect epitaph for a glorious team.

"I'll never forget what Sir Matt said to us one day when he pointed across to Trafford Park, which at the time was the largest industrial estate in Europe," he said, his voice cracking with emotion. "He told us: 'The people over there work hard all week long and it is your job to go out on the field and provide them with some entertainment'.

"And that is what we tried to do; we played for the team, for the club and for the country."