Welcome To The Jungle Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 56 football fans. 54 Bradford and 2 Lincoln City did not come home. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cidered abroad Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Thank goodness for modern, concrete, stadia that won't go up in flames because of one cigarette butt. Maybe not so atmospheric as some would like, but one hell of a lot safer than Valley Parade was and the countless other wooden grounds that I went to years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Remember watching a video of it on a fire training course, never been in a room so quiet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red-Robbo Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 4 minutes ago, Super said: Remember watching a video of it on a fire training course, never been in a room so quiet. Me too. Unbelievable how fast the flames spread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin phantom Posted May 11, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 RIP ACKROYD, John Douglas 32 Baildon ANDERTON, Edmund 68 Bingley BAINES, Alexander Shaw 70 Bradford BAMFORD, Herbert 72 Bradford BULMER, Christopher James 11 Burley-in-Wharfedale COXON, Jack Leo 76 Bradford COXON, Leo Anthony 44 Halifax CRABTREE, David James 30 Bradford CRABTREE, Harry 76 Bradford DEMPSEY, Derek 46 Morley FIRTH, Muriel 56 Baildon FIRTH, Samuel 86 Bradford FLETCHER, Andrew 11 East Bridgford, Nottinghamshire FLETCHER, Edmond 63 Pudsey FLETCHER, John 34 East Bridgford, Nottingham FLETCHER, Peter 32 Gildersome FORSTER, Nellie 64 Bradford GREENWOOD, Felix Winspear 13 Denholme GREENWOOD, Peter 46 Denholme GREENWOOD, Rupert Benedict 11 Denholme HALL, Norman 71 Bradford HALLIDAY, Peter Anthony 34 Bradford HARTLEY, Arthur 79 Bradford HINDLE, Edith 79 Bradford HINDLE, Frederick 76 Bradford HODGSON, Moira Helen 15 Oakenshaw HUDSON, Eric 72 Bingley HUGHES, John 64 Bradford HUTTON, John 74 Bradford KERR, Walter 76 Bradford LOVELL, Peter Charles 43 Bradford LUDLAM, Jack 55 Bradford McPHERSON, Gordon Stuart 39 Bradford McPHERSON, Irene 28 Bradford MASON, Roy 74 Silsden MIDDLETON, Frederick Norman 84 Bradford MITCHELL, Harold 79 Bradford MUHL, Elizabeth 21 Leeds NORMINGTON, Ernest 74 Shipley ORMONDROYD, Gerald Priestley 40 Bingley ORMONDROYD, Richard John 12 Bingley ORMONDROYD, Robert Ian 12 Bingley POLLARD, Sylvia Lund 69 Bradford PRICE, Herbert 78 Shipley ROBERTS, Amanda Jayne 20 Bradford SAMPSON, Jane 18 Leeds STACEY, William 72 Sleaford, Lincolnshire STOCKMAN, Craig Albert 14 Bradford STOCKMAN, Jane Ashley 16 Bradford STOCKMAN, Trevor John 38 Brighouse TURNER, Howard Malcolm 41 Bingley TURNER, Sarah Elizabeth 16 Bingley WARD, Simon Neil 18 Shipley WEDGEWORTH, Robert 72 Guiseley WEST, William James 78 North Hykeham, Lincoln WRIGHT, Adrian Mark 11 Bradford Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin phantom Posted May 11, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Saturday 11 May 1985, the day should have gone down in the history books as a day of celebration. Following nine months of sweat and hard graft, Bradford City were to be crowned the Third Division Champions - their first piece of sliverware in 56 years. But it turned out to be the day which sent shock-waves round the world as fire engulfed the antiquated Main Stand at Valley Parade and eventually claimed the lives of 56 supporters. 11,076 fans were present at Valley Parade on that fateful day when Bradford City met Lincoln City in the Bantams' final home match of the season. Over three thousand supporters were estimated to be in the main stand that day. Prior to kick off, they had witnessed Bradford-born captain Peter Jackson being presented with the Championship trophy by the Football League's Life President at the time, Dick Wragg. Unfortunately, the team's achievements were about to be tragically overshadowed. At 3.40pm the first signs were noticed and fire-fighting equipment was requested. Within four minutes the flames were visible and the Police began to evacuate people in the area of Block G. Match Referee Don Shaw from Sandbach stopped play three minutes before half-time with the score at 0-0 after having been alerted to the situation by one of his linesmen. The Football League subsequently ordered the scoreline at the time of the abandonment to remain. What followed will live in the memory forever. The events of the fire in the main stand resulted in 56 supporters tragically dying and approximately 265 injured. Reaction to the horror was instant with messages of sympathy arriving from the Queen, the Pope, the Prime Minister, Church leaders and a host of political figures from around the globe. According to forensic scientist Dr. David Woolley, the main cause of the fire was possibly the accidental dropping of a match or a cigarette stubbed out in a polystyrene cup. It was described as the worst fire disaster in the history of British football and the worst stadium disaster in Britain since 65 supporters perished at Ibrox in January 1971 at the end of a Rangers vs Celtic 'derby' fixture. On the instructions announced in the House of Commons by the Home Secretary, Leon Brittan, a seven day hearing was conducted at City Hall in Bradford from 5 June 1985. Statements from 77 witnesses were heard by appointed High Court Judge, Oliver Popplewell (sitting as Mr. Justice Popplewell) following a preliminary session on 23 May 1985. His interim blueprint on the findings, collated with the help of two assessors, was published on 24 July 1985. The tragedy unwittingly brought about new legislation governing safety at the nation's sports grounds and stadia. This was a move felt long overdue by many in view of some of the antiquated wooden stands that had been in use for decades, especially in the lower divisions. It also undoubtedly brought about an unprecedented united community spirit in Bradford, buoyed by world-wide messages of condolence and monetary contributions from a host of public events. The majority of the funding went towards a Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund (83% of the total, amounting to £3.35m, distributed to sufferers in November 1985) and a return to a new Valley Parade stadium. Following the disaster, Bradford City had to play all their 'home' League and Cup fixtures for the whole of the 1985/86 season and the first half of the following season at their adopted grounds of Bradford Northern RLFC (now Bradford Bulls) at Odsal Stadium in Bradford, Huddersfield Town (Leeds Road) and Leeds United (Elland Road). The dream of returning to Valley Parade though, came to fruition on 14 December 1986 with an emotionally charged commemorative fixture against an England X1, before a 15,000 full-house when Bradford City triumphed by a 2-1 scoreline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Dawe Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 57 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said: Me too. Unbelievable how fast the flames spread. Warm dry day, bit of wind. The fires in Canada currently are awesome (in the old fashioned sense) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welcome To The Jungle Posted May 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 7 minutes ago, Super said: Remember watching a video of it on a fire training course, never been in a room so quiet. Had a school assembly with a firefighter after people kept setting off the alarms. We watched this and listened to a woman die whilst still on the phone to 999. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordie Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 1 hour ago, Super said: Remember watching a video of it on a fire training course, never been in a room so quiet. Remember doing the same and some ***** made a crass joke about it(can't remember what he said) but the bloke presenting it soon shut him up when he told him he was a season ticket holder but couldn't make the game so gave it to his mate that day, the guy seemed pretty genuine and quite emotional about it and the video was a very hard watch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slartibartfast Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Never realized how many kiddies died ! Without making a point, we don't get to hear about these every five minuets . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lew-T Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 I've seen a few sons and fathers/uncles together there in that list, a lot of young women too. Terrible tragedy! Nobody should go to a football match and never return home. RIP 56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin phantom Posted May 11, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 43 minutes ago, Lew-T said: I've seen a few sons and fathers/uncles together there in that list, a lot of young women too. Terrible tragedy! Nobody should go to a football match and never return home. RIP 56 Agree - it's quite clear from the list above that many sadly passed from same families, which I admit I was never aware of. Looking at the age of some it would appear it was a dad and two sons, can't imagine the anguish and pain they would have suffered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin phantom Posted May 11, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Hadn't realised that this was the same day The father of a teenage fan fatally injured 30 years ago during fighting between Birmingham City and Leeds United fans has said safety at grounds has come "a very long way" since then. A wall collapsed on to Ian Hambridge, a 15-year-old Leeds fan, during the trouble at St Andrews on 11 May 1985. His death was overshadowed by the Bradford City fire on the same day. Vic Hambridge said his son was a "happy-go-lucky lad" attending his first football match. "There was a weakness in the wall where all these fans pushed it and Ian and a few more fans got caught under it," he said. 'Never to be forgotten' The teenager died from head injuries the following day at Smethwick Neurological Hospital. His father, who lives in Northampton, was not at the game. "A lot's been improved since then [at stadiums] - they've had seating put in instead of terracing and they've come a very long way," he said. A plaque to the teenager was unveiled at Birmingham City's St Andrew's ground in 1998, following a campaign by relatives. The inscription finishes: "As a football supporter, one of us, never to be forgotten." Birmingham City tweeted: "Today we remember those who perished at Bradford and our thoughts will always remain with the family of Ian Hambridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILINFRANCE Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 I remember only a few years later sitting in the old wooden stand at Elm Park, watching numerous smokers around me stubbing out their cigarettes simply by half-heartedly crushing them under their feet - given the numerous holes in the timber flooring, I am sure that several glowing butts fell through on to the floor below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForeverRed Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Remember watching us draw 1-1 at Valley Parade that season, on the huge terrace that overlooked that stand. And the shock I felt when this happened only a month or so later. Devastating! RIP the 56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Coach Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 4 hours ago, Super said: Remember watching a video of it on a fire training course, never been in a room so quiet. Yes seen the full video years ago while doing training with the Fire Brigade. As you said, a very quiet room. Very sad video to view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pongo88 Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 7 hours ago, Super said: Remember watching a video of it on a fire training course, never been in a room so quiet. I saw the video. At first the TV / radio commentator treated it as a bit of a joke as he didn't realise the seriousness of it. Within minutes it turned to tradigy. If I remember correctly, some exits at the back of the stand were locked which prevented some fans escaping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glastonred Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 A few years before moving back to the west country and my first match as a Bristol City fan in 1976, I lived up in Yorkshire, and as a teenager I used to regularly watch games at Bradford City, and can clearly remember being in that stand and looking down at all the holes in the floor, and seeing all the paper and crisp packets, plus lots of cigarette butts and spent matches, and thinking how easy it would be for a fire to start. Later, in 1985,on the day of the fire, I was visiting my then girlfriend in Lincolnshire when her sister called out to us to come and see the coverage of the unfolding tragedy. As it was v Lincoln City it was reported live. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and my misgivings all came flooding back. The news coverage was dreadful to see and I can still remember the horror of it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glyn Rileys Mullet Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 After reading this thread I had a look at the match footage on YouTube. I don't mean to sound callous but how exactly did the unfortunate ones die? It looks like most got to the pitch from the footage. Certainly there were a lot of brave supporters and police going back and pulling people to safety. Incredibly sad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS4 on Tour... Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 And the anniversary of the Heysel tragedy is also in May... 29 May 1985 - 39 fans killed, 600 injured.... Will probably pass as usual with little or no recognition in the North West... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glastonred Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 25 minutes ago, Glyn Rileys Mullet said: After reading this thread I had a look at the match footage on YouTube. I don't mean to sound callous but how exactly did the unfortunate ones die? It looks like most got to the pitch from the footage. Certainly there were a lot of brave supporters and police going back and pulling people to safety. Incredibly sad My brother was a police officer in West Yorkshire at the time, and he was one of those called to the scene. He reported that a lot of the deaths were of fans trying to exit the rear of the stand, only to find they had been, inexplicably, locked. They were literally incinerated in the flames. Others died of fumes and major burns to their bodies. Horrible.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordofthebling Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Me being totally stupid, why were stands in the 70s/80s made mostly of wood, and people were allowed to smoke? Am I missing something? How was this allowed to carry on? Im 35, and I didn't think concrete was a new invention. Did the wood have a metal covering or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slartibartfast Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 7 hours ago, ForeverRed said: Remember watching us draw 1-1 at Valley Parade that season, on the huge terrace that overlooked that stand. And the shock I felt when this happened only a month or so later. Devastating! RIP the 56 I was in that stand that day. I remember saying to my mate" I hope there is never a fire"! So sad . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Dawe Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 13 minutes ago, Lordofthebling said: Me being totally stupid, why were stands in the 70s/80s made mostly of wood, and people were allowed to smoke? Am I missing something? How was this allowed to carry on? Im 35, and I didn't think concrete was a new invention. Cos they were built in the 20s, 30s and 40s, and by the 70s and 80s, football clubs were skint. Bradford averaged 6k that year, and they were champions. There was no money. The smoking thing seems so obvious now, but H&S was not what it is today. A Bradford fan who lost family in this tragedy wrote a book about the club owner, who had had several fires and insurance claims at his different businesses, something the subsequent inquiry and the police did not investigate. A cover up? In the 1980s? Surely not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordofthebling Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 7 minutes ago, Jack Dawe said: Cos they were built in the 20s, 30s and 40s, and by the 70s and 80s, football clubs were skint. Bradford averaged 6k that year, and they were champions. There was no money. The smoking thing seems so obvious now, but H&S was not what it is today. A Bradford fan who lost family in this tragedy wrote a book about the club owner, who had had several fires and insurance claims at his different businesses, something the subsequent inquiry and the police did not investigate. A cover up? In the 1980s? Surely not Thanks for the info. Absolutely shocking if it was a cover up to cover bills. I understand H&S wasn't what it is today, but I just read they had rubbish newspapers under the stand dating from the mid 60s and no fire extinguishers. Appalling. Don't think this disaster gets the recognition (right word?) it deserves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin phantom Posted May 12, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 12 hours ago, Jack Dawe said: Cos they were built in the 20s, 30s and 40s, and by the 70s and 80s, football clubs were skint. Bradford averaged 6k that year, and they were champions. There was no money. The smoking thing seems so obvious now, but H&S was not what it is today. A Bradford fan who lost family in this tragedy wrote a book about the club owner, who had had several fires and insurance claims at his different businesses, something the subsequent inquiry and the police did not investigate. A cover up? In the 1980s? Surely not Didn't want to post this link yesterday, but this is the story you refer to http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-3040110/Bradford-City-disaster-Martin-Fletcher-person-Valley-Parade-day-investigated-tragedy-15-years-finds-chairman-Stafford-Heginbotham-linked-EIGHT-fires.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aizoon Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 On Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 10:28, Red-Robbo said: Me too. Unbelievable how fast the flames spread. Some months later, I demolished and burnt an old creosote shed. Then I understood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red-Robbo Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 On 5/11/2016 at 21:45, Lordofthebling said: Me being totally stupid, why were stands in the 70s/80s made mostly of wood, and people were allowed to smoke? Am I missing something? How was this allowed to carry on? Im 35, and I didn't think concrete was a new invention. Did the wood have a metal covering or something? Sounds crazy, but in those days hazards were just sort of accepted. Look at the Kings Cross fire in the 80s - wooden slatted escalators in underground stations with no alternative exits, subject to a wind-tunnel effect and loads of folk smoking. You know, we all bemoan "health and safety culture" and indeed it has gone too far in many cases, but there was a reason why the state began to legislate in this area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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