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Newcastle United to auction off MH17 crash victim John Alder's memorabilia for Sir Bobby Robson foundation

Flowers and tributes are left at St James's Park, home of Newcastle United Football Club in honour of John Alder a
Image: John Alder's haul of Newcastle memorabilia is to be auctioned off for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation

A century-old haul of Newcastle United memorabilia gathered by MH17 crash victim John Alder is to be auctioned off.

The 63-year-old's football globe-trotting following Newcastle left him with an extensive haul, and his family have now decided to auction the collectables off for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

The programmes, tickets, and books were gathered by Alder for over 40 years, and could fetch around £20,000 when they go under the hammer at St James Park on Sunday.

His sister, Joyce Robbins, said: "I knew my brother saved programmes when he went to the matches, but it wasn't until we went to the house after he died that we discovered he had more match programmes than I believed anybody could have."

Fred Wryley-Birch, an Anderson and Garland auctioneer, said: "It's an incredible collection, we're very proud to be a part of it."

Alder died alongside fellow Newcastle supporter Liam Sweeney on the way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur as part of their journey to see the side play a pre-season tour in New Zealand.

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