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The Bradford fire - 35 years ago today ...


BS4 on Tour...

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9 minutes ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

Today is the 35th anniversary of that dreadful tragedy at Valley Parade. The pictures and footage are still so haunting and heartbreaking. I hope the 54 Bradford City fans and 2 Lincoln City fans who lost their lives that day are resting easy ... 

City’s twitter have quickly changed their tweet about the disaster. Don’t think they knew 2 of the victims were Lincoln fans.

RIP to those 56.

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We`d played Reading at home that day. Straight after the game the former Mrs LR and I headed straight up to Tintern for a couple of nights break. I didn`t have a radio in the car and didn`t watch or hear any news that evening so the first I heard was when I picked up a Sunday paper to be confronted by the awful news. I couldn`t take it all in and had to sit on a bench for a few minutes.

Truly shocking and I hope we never see anything like it again. RIP to the 56 fellow football fans who were taken from us that awful day.

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21 minutes ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

We`d played Reading at home that day. Straight after the game the former Mrs LR and I headed straight up to Tintern for a couple of nights break. I didn`t have a radio in the car and didn`t watch or hear any news that evening so the first I heard was when I picked up a Sunday paper to be confronted by the awful news. I couldn`t take it all in and had to sit on a bench for a few minutes.

Truly shocking and I hope we never see anything like it again. RIP to the 56 fellow football fans who were taken from us that awful day.

I have vivid memories of being in the East End that day and hearing the tannoy messages about the game being abandoned due to fire.

As I remember, we knew nothing of the size of the disaster until listening to the radio on the way home.

RIP the 56

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Unfortunately some clubs have shown a lack of class by either forgetting or choosing to ignore, Leeds for example not a word despite being only 10 miles away, I’m glad at least some of the football family have remembered and paid tribute to 56 who went to see their team and never came home  

 

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49 minutes ago, richwwtk said:

I have vivid memories of being in the East End that day and hearing the tannoy messages about the game being abandoned due to fire.

As I remember, we knew nothing of the size of the disaster until listening to the radio on the way home.

RIP the 56

Like you, I can remember the announcement but (as I suspect most did) just assumed it was a minor thing and the ground would be cleared and not the tragedy it turned in to. No social media or mobile phones back then either. Hillsborough was the same - `match abandoned due to crowd problems` or something like that - and it was only later that the true scale of the tragedy became apparent.

Whenever one of these anniversaries comes along I always think  it could have been me or any of us and it is essential that football collectively continues to remember and mark these awful days.

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An anniversary that is very sad and should be marked in the same way that Hillsborough is. 

Disgusting that its not, because its not one of the "big" clubs, imo. 

It gets mentioned most years, but this was the case study on the fire safety course I did and was really quite shocking. 

RIP football fans. 

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2 hours ago, Bar BS3 said:

An anniversary that is very sad and should be marked in the same way that Hillsborough is

Disgusting that its not, because its not one of the "big" clubs, imo. 

It gets mentioned most years, but this was the case study on the fire safety course I did and was really quite shocking. 

RIP football fans. 

****** fat chance !

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I was at Valley Parade that season to watch Bristol City draw 1-1 with Bradford. We were going well in the old Div 3 and so was Bradford. Old wooden stands.

It was and still is harrowing to see that fire develop on TV reruns. Spine chilling stuff!

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6 hours ago, Super said:

They used to use the video on fire training courses. Never been in such a silent room. RIP to all. Never forgotten.

Yes me too. They used to go into detail on how people died, pretty horrific and a few other horrible videos. I've always been health & safety ever since especially travelling away. I was quite shocked how the QPR ground is. I was quite concerned how I was going to get out of that place in an emergency.

My old age is playing tricks with me I thought it was fulham but is definitely QPR(edit).

RIP the 56 fellow fans.

 

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1 hour ago, GasDestroyer said:

I was at Valley Parade that season to watch Bristol City draw 1-1 with Bradford. We were going well in the old Div 3 and so was Bradford. Old wooden stands.

It was and still is harrowing to see that fire develop on TV reruns. Spine chilling stuff!

Me to, sat in that stand, me and my mate were amazed at the amount of rubbish under the seats. We both agreed that it was a fie waiting to happen !

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1 hour ago, slartibartfast said:

Me to, sat in that stand, me and my mate were amazed at the amount of rubbish under the seats. We both agreed that it was a fie waiting to happen !

Was that a bitterly cold day/night where Andy Llewellyn scored for us? If so I was there too but stood on that vast bank of an away end.

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55 minutes ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

Was that a bitterly cold day/night where Andy Llewellyn scored for us? If so I was there too but stood on that vast bank of an away end.

Correct. Good following by City. Big open away end behind the goal into the corner. It was a freezing cold day. The stand that burnt down was on the right hand side looking down the pitch. There was only circa 5000 in the ground if memory serves me right but they made a hell of a lot of noise. They were great days following City away but came with a government health warning.

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Remember being stood on the East End that day when the announcement came through, chilled me right to the bone, and the rest of the day was in a mist of disbelief. Watching it all these years on, it seems such an innocuous fire to start with plenty of time to evacuate then a monstrous inferno. Horrific.

RIP the 56, thoughts with you and your families still. And those that were there that still carry the scars, physically and psychologically, to this day.

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On 11/05/2020 at 03:37, One Team In Keynsham said:

The speed at which the stand was engulfed in flames never fails to astonish me. Heartbreaking day.

This.  I watched it on youtube a while back as of course I remembered it at the time, but just wanted to reacquaint myself of the what exactly happend.  Absolutely frightening , suffice to say I wont ever watch again.  RIP

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53 minutes ago, Southport Red said:

Friend of mine was there with a journal mate.  Was trying to get people to turn around and go onto the pitch but the signs said 'stay off the pitch' so they wouldn't.  People were running past him down into the fire.  He still has nightmares about it.

That is horrific to read

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