Still horrifying after all these years. On a day of celebation, 56 never returned home. Very distressing scenes on here. Please be aware.
A few of my mates are Bradford supporters and you can see when they look back at that day it still affects them.... What an awful thing for them to have to remember every time they walk up to valley parade! God bless the 54 Bradford supporters and 2 Lincoln who never made it home that day!
Still remember when I first saw it, awful!, bless em. Like the dignified way Bradford go quietly about their memorial too.
Sobering. Your heart goes out to everybody affected by that. We all take fire and fire drills a little too lightly. I once saw smoke coming out of the roof of a factory opposite where I worked. The whole building was ablaze in minutes. Horrible.
Doesn't show it on there thank goodness, but on the footage at the time you can (could) see the figure of someone sat amongst the flames - witnesses at the time reckoned it was an old boy who couldn't move very well, who just couldn't get out.
Would recommend "56: The Story of the Bradford Fire" by Martin Fletcher to all, not just football fans. Read it earlier this year and it really is profound, not just about the fire but about being a fan in general.
I remember watching it on YTV. Was horrified. RIP. Thankfully I do think stadia are much safer these days.
I was in that stand watching the Reds some time before the disaster (we used to get staff tickets through Michael Spinks because one of my friends knew him). I clearly remember the same friend commenting, when we were below the stand, that it was a wind tunnel. Little did we know the significance of that remark at the time. There but for the grace of God...
My Country Band The Shack Band, had been one of the resident acts at Pontins Prestatyn Sands Holiday Camp for the week and as their Manager, I managed to get a room for the Friday night, so I could have a pint or two and take in their evening performance. There were lot of the Bands supporters from all over the UK and so we were guaranteed a really good reception and a cracking night was had by all. I delayed my trip back to Donny until after lunch on the Saturday because lots of Club promoters wanted to book dates for the band following their performances that week. I was enjoying a steady run home, when I put the radio on to catch the football scores. I was so upset over the reports coming from Valley Parade, I had to stop at the services en route for a coffee and a leg stretch before I could continue my journey. I will never ever forget that day. Made me even more emotional than ever when I finally got to see my wife and kids. Absolutely tragic incident , made all the more traumatising for the people of Bradford by Chubby Browns insensitive remarks when he appeared at a Club in Bradford shortly after the event.
I was watching us get beat 4-0 at Oxford that day and can remember the news coming through. I don't think anyone realised how serious the fire was at that time, and all the focus was on Oxford getting promoted and the celebrations that followed.
Horrific scenes that you never forget no matter how many years pass. RIP all who lost their life on that horrible, fateful day.
Absoulety horrible to watch that video. The terror of the people escaping that stand is painful to see. RIP to all those who never came home.
The anniversary and the whole event never gets the prominance it should do. Tragic doesn't really do it justice. Just horrific. I remember it so well. We played them a few years ago on the anniversary (was it 2 years ago? - the day a load of hardy people on here walked there). I spent quite some time at the memorial before the game - it was so poignant to see how many instances there were of multiple names from the same family. Undoubtably stadia are a whole load safer now and thank god for that. They truly were death traps back then.
Bizarrely, if my memory is correct, we also played Oxford, at home this time, on the day of the Hillsborough disaster. I was a young lad sat on the West Upper while an old fellow, with a transistor radio pressed to his ear, was shouting out the news as it unfolded. Reeling off the radio commentary, he said words to the effect of 'Liverpool fans rioting again so they've stopped the match', only when I got home did I actually learn the true horror. Back to Valley Parade, Neil Redfearn played for Lincoln that day, and John Hendrie for Bradford. Awful tragedies in both cases. Innocent people dying whilst they're supposed to be enjoying their pastime of supporting their football teams.
I was on the Cookoo Lane end of the old Manor Ground. I remember it being Windy day. the same wind fanned the flames at Valley Parade. What an awful event with such a tragic loss of life.
That differs from my recollection. I thought that we played out a hellish boring 0-0 with Birmingham City on the day of the Hillsborough disaster. I recall being stood at the bottom of the ponty talking to a copper, commenting on the game being boring and he mentioned that as soon as the match was over they had to go over to sheffield because something had gone on
That's right, it was a home game against Birmingham. I saw a documentary which said that other home games in the area made it even harder to get enough emergency services there