Author Topic: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough  (Read 4679 times)

Offline Rushian

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The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« on: April 15, 2005, 01:48:03 am »
Today is the 16th anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster. Our thoughts go out to the families of the 96, those injured in the disaster and those others that suffer to this day. You will never be forgotten and you will never, ever, walk alone.

Kenny Dalglish: "One morning, before everyone was in, I went out on to the pitch and tied my children’s teddy bears around a goalpost at the Kop end. The goals, the pitch and the whole Kop were covered in flowers, scarves and tributes. I remember describing it as the ‘saddest and most beautiful sight’ I had ever seen. It really was like that. It was sad because of the reason whey the tributes were there, but it was magnificent to see them. On the Friday night, after everybody had gone, I walked through the Kop with Kelly, Paul and Marina’s dad, Pat. Paul looked at all the tributes, the flowers, the scarves and said: ‘Why did it have to happen to us?’ Kelly, Paul and I stood at the back of the Kop with tears falling down our faces. Walking through the Kop was so emotional. A lot of tributes had been left by people in the place where their loved one had stood. People who had lost the person they stood next to to watch games would leave something special in remembrance. Seeing two oranges left beside one of the barriers really moved me. It was difficult not to weep on coming across little tributes like that. They were so insignificant and yet so full of meaning. Perhaps the two people took it in turn to bring oranges to matches, something to share at half-time. That really got to me. I wondered whether the person who laid the oranges ever returned to the Kop. I came across somebody’s boots, left there by his mourning family. Everywhere I walked there were endless messages, each of which embodied someone else’s grief. It was so difficult to pass through.

"The shameful allegations intensified the anger amidst the trauma. We spent the week consoling the bereaved and attending funerals. On the Saturday we held a service at Anfield. At six minutes past three there was a minute’s silence across the country. Then everyone at Anfield sang ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’ We tied scarves between Anfield and Goodison. We just wanted to show the unity existing on Merseyside. The following day, there was a final service on the pitch. It was really quiet, just the wind rustling the scarves tied to the crossbar. When somebody shouted out ‘We all loved you,’ we all broke down."

Alan Hansen: "I have heard people say that they should now ‘let it go’ and ‘get on with their lives’, a view that stems partly from the massive changes that have taken place in English football as a result of Hillsborough. But for the tragedy, and the Taylor Report in January 1990, which enforced the transformation of British football grounds into all-seat stadiums, it is possible that the long history of stadium neglect, and spectators treated as turnstile fodder, would have continued. The new-style British club stadiums, which are among the most impressive in the world for safety standards and facilities, have made it easier for clubs to be better run, and therefore improve the quality of their football. However, though a great deal of water has passed under the bridge since Hillsborough, my attitude to those who feel that the HFSG should now forget its grievances is, ‘It’s easy for you to talk - you didn’t loose anyone.’

"Had I lost someone, I would never have let it go."

John Aldridge: "Whenever I think of Hillsborough I am drawn to the story of young Lee Nicol from Bootle. Lee was fourteen but looked about ten. He reminded me of my son, Paul. Lee was in the middle of the crush at Leppings Lane but was still alive when he was pulled out. I went to see him in hospital. He looked a lovely kid. As he lay there in a coma, I whispered words into his ears. I asked the doctor about his chances of recovery. 'He's clinically dead, John,' he said. I hadn't realised how badly he was injured. That news ripped into me. My heart went out to Lee's family, decent people who didn't deserve to be victims of such a tragedy."

John Barnes: "The tributes were not just at Anfield. I walked into Stanley Park and saw all the Everton scarves tied together. They stretched from Goodison Park to Anfield, a symbol of the unity between the two clubs. All football fans were united in their grief. Even those from Manchester United sent gestures of sympathy. Every fan had reason to mourn."

In Remembrance:

John Alfred Anderson (62)
Colin Mark Ashcroft (19)
James Gary Aspinall (18)
Kester Roger Marcus Ball (16)
Gerard Bernard Patrick Baron (67)
Simon Bell (17)
Barry Sidney Bennett (26)
David John Benson (22)
David William Birtle (22)
Tony Bland (22)
Paul David Brady (21)
Andrew Mark Brookes (26)
Carl Brown (18)
David Steven Brown (25)
Henry Thomas Burke (47)
Peter Andrew Burkett (24)
Paul William Carlile (19)
Raymond Thomas Chapman (50)
Gary Christopher Church (19)
Joseph Clark (29)
Paul Clark (18)
Gary Collins (22)
Stephen Paul Copoc (20)
Tracey Elizabeth Cox (23)
James Philip Delaney (19)
Christopher Barry Devonside (18)
Christopher Edwards (29)
Vincent Michael Fitzsimmons (34)
Thomas Steven Fox (21)
Jon-Paul Gilhooley (10)
Barry Glover (27)
Ian Thomas Glover (20)
Derrick George Godwin (24)
Roy Harry Hamilton (34)
Philip Hammond (14)
Eric Hankin (33)
Gary Harrison (27)
Stephen Francis Harrison (31)
Peter Andrew Harrison (15)
David Hawley (39)
James Robert Hennessy (29)
Paul Anthony Hewitson (26)
Carl Darren Hewitt (17)
Nicholas Michael Hewitt (16)
Sarah Louise Hicks (19)
Victoria Jane Hicks (15)
Gordon Rodney Horn (20)
Arthur Horrocks (41)
Thomas Howard (39)
Thomas Anthony Howard (14)
Eric George Hughes (42)
Alan Johnston (29)
Christine Anne Jones (27)
Gary Philip Jones (18)
Richard Jones (25)
Nicholas Peter Joynes (27)
Anthony Peter Kelly (29)
Michael David Kelly (38)
Carl David Lewis (18)
David William Mather (19)
Brian Christopher Mathews (38)
Francis Joseph McAllister (27)
John McBrien (18)
Marion Hazel McCabe (21)
Joseph Daniel McCarthy (21)
Peter McDonnell (21)
Alan McGlone (28)
Keith McGrath (17)
Paul Brian Murray (14)
Lee Nicol (14)
Stephen Francis O'Neill (17)
Jonathon Owens (18)
William Roy Pemberton (23)
Carl William Rimmer (21)
David George Rimmer (38)
Graham John Roberts (24)
Steven Joseph Robinson (17)
Henry Charles Rogers (17)
Colin Andrew Hugh William Sefton (23)
Inger Shah (38)
Paula Ann Smith (26)
Adam Edward Spearritt (14)
Philip John Steele (15)
David Leonard Thomas (23)
Patrik John Thompson (35)
Peter Reuben Thompson (30)
Stuart Paul William Thompson (17)
Peter Francis Tootle (21)
Christopher James Traynor (26)
Martin Kevin Traynor (16)
Kevin Tyrrell (15)
Colin Wafer (19)
Ian David Whelan (19)
Martin Kenneth Wild (29)
Kevin Daniel Williams (15)
Graham John Wright (17)

Rest in Peace

We think it's appropriate to republish Dave Kirby's poem "The Justice Bell", which first appeared three years ago today, and poignantly illustrates why the fight for Justice continues to this day.

Dave writes: This is dedicated to the families and loved ones of all those who fell 13 years ago. Through lack of justice, they have never been allowed to close the book on this tragic chapter in their lives. I pray that those in charge that day and the conspirators who have lied and covered up evidence ever since, will one day seek deep into their consience and reveal the real truth of Hillsborough.

The Justice Bell

A schoolboy holds a leather ball
in a photograph on a bedroom wall
the bed is made, the curtains drawn
as silence greets the break of dawn.

The dusk gives way to morning light
revealing shades of red and white
which hang from posters locked in time
of the Liverpool team of 89.

Upon a pale white quilted sheet
a football kit is folded neat
with a yellow scarf, trimmed with red
and some football boots beside the bed.

In hope, the room awakes each day
to see the boy who used to play
but once again it wakes alone
for this young boy’s not coming home.

Outside, the springtime fills the air
the smell of life is everywhere
viola’s bloom and tulips grow
while daffodils dance heel to toe.

These should have been such special times
for a boy who’d now be in his prime
but spring forever turned to grey
in the Yorkshire sun, one April day.

The clock was locked on 3.06
as sun shone down upon the pitch
lighting up faces etched in pain
as death descended on Leppings Lane.

Between the bars an arm is raised
amidst a human tidal wave
a young hand yearning to be saved
grows weak inside this deathly cage.

A boy not barely in his teens
is lost amongst the dying screams
a body too frail to fight for breath
is drowned below a sea of death

His outstretched arm then disappears
to signal thirteen years of tears
as 96 souls of those who fell
await the toll of the justice bell.

Ever since that disastrous day
a vision often comes my way
I reach and grab his outstretched arm
then pull him up away from harm.

We both embrace with tearfilled eyes
I then awake to realise
it's the same old dream I have each week
as I quietly cry myself to sleep.

On April the 15th every year
when all is calm and skies are clear
beneath a glowing Yorkshire moon
a lone scots piper plays a tune.

The tune rings out the justice cause
then blows due west across the moors
it passes by the eternal flame
then engulfs a young boys picture frame.

His room is as it was that day
for thirteen years its stayed that way
untouched and frozen forever in time
since that tragic day in 89.

And as it plays its haunting sound
tears are heard from miles around
they’re tears from families of those who fell
awaiting the toll of the justice bell.

© Dave Kirby 2002

You can leave your thoughts and memories on our forum:

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php/topic,4238.0

Justice for the 96
If you're going to sign up on Betfair and fancy getting a free £25 on sign-up then use my refer code 749DCNQGK and I'll also get a £25 bonus ;)

Offline Crazy-Horse

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2005, 02:06:17 am »
Never forgotten.

RIP.

Online FiSh77

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2005, 08:28:09 am »
RIP 96 You'll Never Walk Alone

Online blert596

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2005, 01:47:52 pm »
Never forget

RIP
All the badge kissing in the world don't make up for the fact that they are, frankly, not Liverpool Football Club. It's not their fault. Its just how it is.

Offline smiggers

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2005, 03:17:45 pm »
RIP

Justice !

Offline MattLFC08

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2005, 03:38:54 pm »
I've been sitting in the I.T. room in college all morning, reading through the various websites dedicated to the Hillsborough tragedy. I couldn't hold back the tears, they just flowed from my eyes.
At 3pm i asked the Lecturer, could i be excused for 15 minutes. I strolled out to the courtyard where there is a fountain in the middle, sat back and had my moment of silence alone at 3:06.
 I thought about the various people who died and how there families must be feeling now. I thought about the young and the old who died there, the men the women, all supporters of Liverpool fc. I thought about the players on the field that day. I thought about the Management of either side. I thought about the stewerds. I thought about the various people working at the ground that day, programme sellers, stall owners.
 Then after a moment I remembered the people who died, again, all 96.
In all the thoughts we have about that day in sheffield, one thing is true.


YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN


RIP
« Last Edit: April 15, 2005, 03:40:53 pm by mattlfc05 »
"As I come here to Liverpool and to Anfield I have drummed it into our players time and again, they are PRIVILEGED to play for you and if you did not believe me! Do You Believe Me Now?"

Bill Shankly (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981)

Offline Tetti

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #6 on: April 15, 2005, 03:41:52 pm »
 :'(
Never give up

Offline Darren Page1

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #7 on: April 15, 2005, 03:59:29 pm »
I've been sitting in the I.T. room in college all morning, reading through the various websites dedicated to the Hillsborough tragedy. I couldn't hold back the tears, they just flowed from my eyes.
At 3pm i asked the Lecturer, could i be excused for 15 minutes. I strolled out to the courtyard where there is a fountain in the middle, sat back and had my moment of silence alone at 3:06.
 I thought about the various people who died and how there families must be feeling now. I thought about the young and the old who died there, the men the women, all supporters of Liverpool fc. I thought about the players on the field that day. I thought about the Management of either side. I thought about the stewerds. I thought about the various people working at the ground that day, programme sellers, stall owners.
 Then after a moment I remembered the people who died, again, all 96.
In all the thoughts we have about that day in sheffield, one thing is true.


YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN


RIP

Me too mate--i live in America now and as i sit here tears streaming down my face, i feel so isolated and alone--then i feel so guilty for feeling that way when people are mourning lost loved ones.
Sad day, i just feel like going to school and hugging my kids

Offline RedKennedy

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #8 on: April 15, 2005, 04:28:45 pm »
R.I.P. 96. You will never be forgotten.
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE.

Offline BazC

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #9 on: April 15, 2005, 07:29:06 pm »
i'm sitting here with tears welling up.

YNWA 96- always remembering.
“This place will become a bastion of invincibility and you are very lucky young man to be here. They will all come here and be beaten son”

Offline GlentoranMark

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #10 on: April 15, 2005, 07:52:51 pm »
Spent the last hour or so reading all these threads, by now just numb!

RIP the 96

Never to be forgotten - Justice To Prevail!
S*******s Is A 'Nasty Pastie'

Offline Gnurglan

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #11 on: April 15, 2005, 10:09:03 pm »
16 years already....

Just thought I should let you know. One of the leading newspapers over here had a page about it today. Their sports section is pretty thin, so this should be considered a big article. They sum up the day 16 years ago, they say the police was incompetent and that it was the main reason it all happened. They mention Anne Williams' struggle and a few facts that you all know about.
http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/sport/did_9544193.asp

JFT96

        * * * * * *


"The key isn't the system itself, but how the players adapt on the pitch. It doesn't matter if it's 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, it's the role of the players that counts." Rafa Benitez

Offline Darren Page1

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #12 on: April 15, 2005, 10:12:47 pm »
16 years already....

Just thought I should let you know. One of the leading newspapers over here had a page about it today. Their sports section is pretty thin, so this should be considered a big article. They sum up the day 16 years ago, they say the police was incompetent and that it was the main reason it all happened. They mention Anne Williams' struggle and a few facts that you all know about.
http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/sport/did_9544193.asp

JFT96
Thanks for the link --although i have absolutely no clue what they they have written--shame id have liked to have read it

Offline Gnurglan

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #13 on: April 15, 2005, 11:33:34 pm »
Alright, here's a translation:



The wounds have not healed.

16 years ago 96 people were crushed to death at Hillsbourough. The disaster has developed to a justice scandal in the UK.
Even today many of the relatives to the victims haven't been told the truth about the  horrible afternoon in April 1989. THe verdict after several investigations was: an accident. Anne Williams' 15-year old son Kevin was one of those who died in connection to the FA Cup Semifinal between Liverpool and Nottingham. Her lawyers are now preparing a case that may be brought up by the Chief Public Prosecutor. If that doesn't happen, she will go to the European Court(?)

Just like everyone else Anne initially thought the disaster happened because fans stormed onto the pitch and began fighting. When it occured to her that was not the casse, she began to dig in the events. She wanted to find out what happened on Saturday of April 15th after 3.15 pm, the time the investigators had put as the end point for their investigations.
-They claimed all the victims were dead or braindead by then. I have evidence my son was alive until 4 pm. I have managed to track five people who have helped Kevin after 3.15 am. It's a couple of Liverpool supporters, a policeman who was off duty and a female police who gave Kevin mouth to mouth shortly before 4 pm. When she felt that he was breathing she picked him up in her arms. Kevin opened his eyes and said "mum". My son could have been alive today if he had received medical care, says Anne Williams, chairman of "The Hillsbourogh Justice Campaign" that was founded in 1998 by survivors.

-Kevin was a lad who went to a game of football and never got home again. Because of all the lies from police and other authorities it has taken me four years before I have got to know what really happened to my son, says Anne Williams who has hired two of Great Britain's best (forensic experts???). Both claim Kevin was alive until 4 pm and could have been saved had he been given medical treatment. On tv pictures from the disaster one sees policemen who are chatting among fans who are lying dead and injured on the pitch. Those who helped the wounded Liverpool supporters were mainly other fans. A film sequence shows an ambulance driver who comes drinving onto the pitch and drives past a dying Kevin Williams. Anne Williams has found the ambulance driver who is still suffering from his experiences. He was ordered by the police not to stop. The police woman, in whose arms Kevin died is in a bad psychological state today.
-She has told me how she has been threatened by colleagues in the police force and how she has been forced to change her testimony.

During the trial it was claimed that Kevin had the worst injuries of all the deceased. They said he was blue and beyond recognition.
-I was shocked. It wasn't true. I saw him dead and he looked completely normal and fine, says Anne Williams who has written a book - "You'll never walk alone") about her fight for justice.

It wasn't just the life for the victims that changed on April 15th 1989. Football in the UK was was never the same after. The British government formed an investigation lead by Lord Justice Taylor. The result was all terraces was torn down and the English Division 1 became the Premier League in 1992. It was the fence that had been put up in front of the terraces that caused the deaths of 96 people. The police were trained in controlling the spectators, not to care for their security.

The reporting in some newspapers about the HIllsbourogh disaster was made up by pure lies and made up stories. The tabloid The S*n promised "The truth" to their reasders and described how Liverpool fans stole from the corpses and how they urinated on the pllice and beat them when they were giving mouth to mouth to the wounded. The S*n has acknowledged they lied and they have apologised, but the damage was already done and even today the majority of Liverpudlians are boycotting the newspaper, both fafans of Liverpool and Everton.
The clubs are arch rivals but when it comes to Hillsborough they stick together. Only weeks after the disaster they played in the FA Cup Final on Wembley. Liverpool won 3-2 ;D but the lasting impression was when both sets of supporters, almost 83,000, sang "You'lll never walk alone" together.
When Everton's wonderkid Wayne Rooney, now Manchester U, sold the right s to his life's story to The S*n, it caused an outrage in Liverpool.

The spokesperson for the protest group this time was Jimmy McGovern, one of the UK's most famous film makes (among other "Cracker" and "Priest"). In 1996 he made a drama documentary about the Hillsborough disaster:
-The players have a responsibility to the dead, in particular those who come from LIverpool. Had it not been for Hillsborough they would not have had the high wages they have today. The disaster contributed to the remake of the English League to "big business".

Charlotta Lindell
-----
Text on the right:


Facts

96 people were squeezed to death and over 150 were badly injured at Hillsborough in Sheffield on April 15th 1989.

Most of those who died were under 30 years of age and 1/3 were below 20. The youngest was a boy 10 years old. Several suicides among relatives and survivors are directly linked to the disaster. There were warning signs. The Liverpool fans were in majority, but they  were still placed in the part of the stadium, Leppings Lane, where there were the least capacity.

Half an hour before kick-off a bottleneck had shaped at the let in where more than 10,000 spectators were to go in. A number of fans said to the police they had to act "or people will die". But nothing was done. Several ambulances came to the stadium, but only one was let in on the pitch.

The disaster was caused mainly by severe incompetence by the police. Responsible were also the English FA and Sheffield Wednesday. That was the conclusion of Lord Justice Taylor, who investigated the events. At Liverpool's stadium Anfield Road [yes, quite a few think that's the name over here]  there's the Hillsborough Memorial, a place with the names of the 96 dead engraved. There burns an eternal flame as a sign that the dead will never be forgotten.

        * * * * * *


"The key isn't the system itself, but how the players adapt on the pitch. It doesn't matter if it's 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, it's the role of the players that counts." Rafa Benitez

Offline L4lad

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Re: The 16th Anniversary of Hillsborough
« Reply #14 on: April 16, 2005, 12:09:15 am »
i'd like to thank everyone who turned up today. my four uncles were at hillsborough, three of them in the leppings lane end but they couldn't get time off work so i attended.

i was in tears when we were all singing YNWA.

thank you everyone - the fight for justice goes on

JUSTICE 4 THE 96
'if i wanted to see my name on a piece of shit i'd write it meself' (me to a reporter from the s*n)

www.ilfc.co.uk