One year ago, the world of football lost one of its rising stars.
To Leyton Orient fans, this person was an icon. But for Charlie Edinburgh and his family, this man was so much more.
He was a husband, a father, a trusted friend; most importantly, he was a consummate professional who was a role model to many.
It’s difficult to comprehend that it’s already been a year since Justin Edinburgh was lost to a cardiac arrest, just weeks after he cemented himself into Leyton Orient’s history books by guiding the O’s back to the Football League and only days after returning from Spain having watched his beloved Tottenham Hotspur, a club he represented for ten years as a player, in the Champions League final.
He was in the gym at the time he suffered the cardiac arrest and had been in touch with his family just 20 minutes before it happened.
For Charlie, his son, it has been a year filled with grief and emotion, but also tinged with some real touching moments; Leyton Orient renamed their West Stand after Edinburgh and Newport County, another club his dad managed, inducted Justin into their Hall of Fame.
Charlie has also taken it upon himself to ensure his dad’s legacy is kept alive by launching the Justin Edinburgh 3 Foundation, which is campaigning for a law change to make it compulsory for all sports facilities in the country contain a defibrillator.
While today will undoubtedly be an emotional one for everyone associated with the Edinburgh family, it will also be a moment in which Charlie proudly remembers his dad’s achievements throughout his career.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, he said: “It’s a really bizarre feeling that we’re talking about it already being a year.
"Sometimes, I’m sat there scratching my head thinking it seems like five minutes ago I saw him, [while] other times it feels like ten years since I last saw him.
“It’s another first if you will. There are a lot of significant dates we’ve overcome; you were at his inaugural 50th birthday gala dinner back in December, which was a really tough day. We’ve had Christmas, Father’s Day, myself, my mum’s and my sister’s birthdays and he hasn’t been around. This one’s going to the toughest of them all so far when you look at it.
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“I think in a strange way, there’s a part of me that’s looking forward to it because people are constantly tweeting me or reaching out on Instagram, and when I’m out and about people are recognising my face a bit more and associating myself with dad and having nice things to say.
“Just for him, I’ll be really proud, in a strange way, that June 8 comes around and people are able to remember the man and give him the recognition he deserves.
“He was my hero and the person I look up to and he’s everything I strive to be. There were so many good traits and characteristics he possessed.
“It was quite a strange thing to lose dad in such tragic circumstances, but it wasn’t a normal person dying and I’m not putting him on a pedestal.
"Obviously, where it was in the public eye, a lot of people knew about it very soon after it happened [and] it didn’t really give us time to maybe not grieve, as we’re always grieving, but to strip it back as at the end of the day, he was a husband, he was my dad, a friend and a family member to all of us.
“I often catch up with my mates on the phone and [it’s become clear] just what a significant part he played in their lives and he’s never far away from a conversation, and I take a lot of comfort in that. For me, I’m really grateful to see that he’s not just an idol, hero and role model to me.”
Those touching moments from two football clubs - alongside Josh Wright, Justin’s last signing and family friend, scoring Orient’s first goal back in the EFL - have really helped carry Charlie through a challenging year, something he believes has made him more humble.
“I’ve had to step up,” he added. “My mum is the driver in this household, there’s no two ways about that, and often gets me doing bits and pieces I wasn’t doing before. It’s all about part of maturing as a person.
George Elokobi pays tribute to former manager Justin Edinburgh“I think for me, it’s just made me a more humble and better person, not that I would say I was a bad person before. It’s made me a lot more appreciative of things and up until this current period where we’ve all been locked down in our houses, it’s put a lot into perspective and made me think life is far too short and you’ve got to make the most of your time while you’re here.
“Bobby Moore’s got a statue outside of Wembley, Thierry Henry outside of Arsenal and Sir Alex Ferguson has got a stand named after him at Manchester United, and then dad’s got a stand named after himself and there is no prouder feeling. It’s just such an amazing thing that, in the future, I’m going to be able to take my children over to Orient and sit in grandad’s stand and explain to them what he achieved.
“I think we’ve done a lot of fantastic work in solidifying and getting the Justin Edinburgh 3 Foundation name and brand out there and we’ve made some amazing funds. You rewind to this time last year and if I’d been sat here having this conversation with you maybe a week before his death about whether I’d be running a foundation, I’d have said: ‘Absolutely, no.’
“But it just felt right and I feel so much pride in doing the work that we’re doing. It’s a really nice feeling to know that we’re making a difference to people and that’s all down to dad and him being the driver of that.”
One year ago today, we lost Justin Edinburgh.
A great man, who truly meant so much to so many.
Justin, you’re forever in our hearts ❤️
— Leyton Orient FC (@leytonorientfc) June 8, 2020The coronavirus pandemic which has wreaked havoc across the globe, has unfortunately prevented Charlie from organising any further events to build on the successful launch of the foundation at its inaugural gala evening last December, which raised thousands of pounds.
However, it’s not prevented him and the foundation’s trustees from getting creative during lockdown, with Charlie launching the #JE3Mile last week, a social media challenge where people nominate friends or family to run, walk or cycle 3km in Justin’s memory.
But that’s not the only idea the foundation have in the pipeline.
“We’re working towards starting a JE3 Foundation soccer school in the school holidays and this year, we were going to start across Essex as a county as that’s where dad was from,” Charlie revealed.
“We’d use that for children to come during their school holidays to enjoy a fun-filled soccer school with some really good people and connections I’ve been able to meet and coaches. Alongside that, we spoke about training and developing people in the skills of CPR and how to use a defibrillator and integrating the two so that we can help breed a new generation of lifesavers.
“So, the kids would come on the soccer school, partake in a lot of fun but also, there would be that element of teaching them these skills so they come away having learnt something which could be very valuable and they could be somebody’s hero one day.”
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