Project update: Plaques to honour Blackpool FC legend Jimmy Armfield and goalkeeper Frank Swift

What’s happening?

Plaques to honour Blackpool FC legend Jimmy Armfield and goalkeeper Frank Swift will be unveiled in Revoe on September 6. Frank was born yards from Revoe Primary and went to the school as a youngster. Jimmy was also later a pupil there.

The plaque for Frank will be sited at Revoe Library and the plaque for Jimmy will in the school entrance.

What will happen on the day?

At 12.30pm a playground mural of both England internationals will be unveiled by school pupils and descendants of both men.

At 1.15pm at the entrance to Revoe Learning Academy, members of the Armfield family and Gordon Taylor of the Professional Football Association (PFA) will unveil a plaque to Jimmy Armfield.

At 2pm at Revoe Library, Manchester United international goalkeeper Harry Gregg will unveil a plaque to Frank. The event is a link up between the PFA and Blackpool Civic Trust.

Who was Frank Swift?

Frank was born and raised yards from the school and later played briefly for Fleetwood Town before making his name at Manchester City.

He played 33 times for England before going on to be a journalist.

He was among the victims of the Munich Air Disaster in 1958.

A total of 23 people including players, crew, coaching staff and journalists, including Frank, then a reporter for the News of the World, were killed.

Harry Gregg was among the survivors and rescued four people from the wreckage.

And Jimmy Armfield?

Jimmy was a one club legend at Blackpool FC and played 627 times for the Seasiders and on 43 occasions for his country.

He died on January 22 in Trinity Hospice after a battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.