An Post and  Royal Mail team up  to honour Charlton 

The life of soccer player and manager Jack Charlton will be commemorated by a postmark applied to mail sent in Ireland and Britain.

The former Leeds United defender, who won a World Cup medal with  England in 1966, died on July 10, aged 85.

After a lengthy career in England, as a manager, he led the Republic of Ireland to their first major tournament finals in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

To commemorate his contribution to both nations, An Post and Royal Mail have collaborated for the first time to create a postmark in his honour.

The postmark, which reads “Jack Charlton, 1935 – 2020”, will be applied across stamped mail posted in Ireland and England from today until August 9.

David McRedmond, CEO at An Post, said: “Jack Charlton will always have a special place in the hearts and minds of Irish people.

“He gave our nation many of our happiest and proudest moments.

“Jack was the greatest example of a culture shared across these islands: That a proud Leeds player, a tall English football hero, could become an Irish legend,” Mr McRedmond said.

“That’s why it is so fitting that he should be the subject of the first joint postmark between An Post and the Royal Mail.”

Stuart Simpson, CEO at Royal Mail, said Charlton was a “football hero” in both countries.

Highlighting the postal services’ first postmark collaboration, Mr Simpson said: “The commemoration of the life of Jack Charlton is a fitting occasion to do so.

“Jack was an integral member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad and played a key role in the Republic of Ireland’s football history.”

Following the announcement of Charlton’s death, tributes poured in from his former clubs and the wider football family.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “He was an iconic figure, on and off the pitch, in England and Ireland.”

President Michael D Higgins said the nation had taken him to their hearts, as he brought Ireland to “some of our most celebrated moments in sport”.

“He leaves a legacy of outstanding leadership of a group of players of many diverse talents, which he moulded into the successful team that captured the imagination of the nation,” Mr Higgins said.

“It was not just the success on the field of play, Jack’s endearing popularity also had much to do with the warmth and personality of the person who quickly became such a legendary sporting icon.”

English Football Association chairman, Greg Clarke, said Charlton was “a true giant of English football”, adding: “He left an indelible impression on our national game and was guaranteed an affectionate and warm welcome wherever he went.”

Charlton’s family said he led an “extraordinary life” and remembered him as a “thoroughly honest, kind, funny and genuine man, who always had time for people”.