Topic: HFSG officially closes - interview on .tv with Margaret Aspinall. *

[24/7]

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/announcements/430756-margaret-aspinall-on-hillsborough-anniversary-and-hfsg

"Margaret Aspinall recently spoke to LFCTV to explain plans for the forthcoming 32nd anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

Private remembrances will be observed next Thursday to honour the 96 children, women and men who lost their lives as a result of the tragedy that occurred at Liverpool’s FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989.

Aspinall, former chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, discussed how the families intend to mark the anniversary and detailed why the decision has been taken to now fold the HFSG.

Watch the interview with Aspinall in full above. App users should tap https://video.liverpoolfc.com/player/0_vf9u15xb to load the video."

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This thread can be a thank you and acknowledgement, absolutely deserved. Please though remember to observe the need to refrain from comments regarding the ongoing trial process. Margaret, thank you for all you and everyone else there have done for the families and the survivors. It's been a privilege to stand with you.

[Eeyore]

Thanks for that.

I would just like to applaud the dignity and perseverance of Margaret and the rest of the families.

YNWA.

[TepidT2O]

I second that Al.  What a remarkable woman

[El Lobo]

What she's done for the families, and by extension the club and the fanbase, has been amazing.

[disgraced cake]

Thanks Margaret and everyone involved. You are the real champions 

[Wabaloolah]

A truly remarkable lady, Margaret and the HFSG has shown an incredible amount of dignity under the most difficult of circumstances made worse by the disgraceful treatment by those who should have been helping them.

[Kashinoda]

Phenomenal person.

[4pool]

Let's also not forget another fighter for Justice:







Rip Anne

[reddebs]

A truly remarkable lady.

So much strength, determination and dignity to achieve what many thought would be impossible.

Thanks Margaret for everything you've done and continue to do for the 96, their families and friends, the survivors and those lost along the way.

YNWA ♥️

[Crosby Nick]

A truly remarkable lady.

So much strength, determination and dignity to achieve what many thought would be impossible.

Thanks Margaret for everything you've done and continue to do for the 96, their families and friends, the survivors and those lost along the way.

YNWA ♥️

Hard to add more than that.

YNWA Margaret

[ToneLa]

Margaret just... the word "legend" is overused. Here, it's underused.

What a person. What strength. Thank you so much for all you have done

YNWA

[liverbloke]

amazing woman - amazing women

inspirational

[Bird Bird Bird The Bird Is The Word]

Impossible to put into words how incredible the efforts of HFSG have been and will be in history.

[Hazell]

A truly remarkable lady.

So much strength, determination and dignity to achieve what many thought would be impossible.

Thanks Margaret for everything you've done and continue to do for the 96, their families and friends, the survivors and those lost along the way.

YNWA ♥️

Lovely post debs.

[Red Beret]

Thank you.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

Incredible the lot of them.

[Desert Red Fox]

words cannot describe my admiration and respect for Margaret Aspinall and the families involved with the HFSG and other similar instances, past and present - their fight for justice is truly something to behold.

Thank you so, so much. YNWA.

[TipTopKop]

Time could never silence such unbound determination and strength.

[kavah]

Thanks for the update and links Jim, great photo

YNWA Margaret 

[slaphead]

Remarkable lady. Remarkable work. Class, strength, dignity, humanity. To maintain all those things with what she has had to deal with, outstanding. These kind of people are exactly the type of people you want your children to grow up to be aren't they. Fantastic

[Morgana]

She's devoted so much her life to this cause. God bless her. YNWA. 

[Mighty_Red]

It's sad to know the HFSG is disbanding but every single family member will always have our support.

The strength, dignity and courage show by Margaret and all of the families in the face of immense grief and injustice is an inspiration to all of us. They've taught us to never give up, never stop fighting for justice.

For the 96 YNWA

[12C]

I met Margaret at the Cunard. I intended to watch a bit of the trial of Duckinfield but arrived during the lunch break. I stood wondering whether it was a good idea after all to turn up
Margaret was stood on the steps of the Cunard having a crafty cigarette with another of the families, she immediately said “Hello” and in return I asked how was it going.
She told me the latest from the day, and then turned and said “How are you coping?”
Didn’t know me from Adam. Yet she somehow knew perhaps from the look on my face. She was just so kind. They took me through the security at the door and into the lift, next minute she was sorting out tea and biscuits for me in the waiting room and even introducing me to the police observer. She is a force of nature. Through all she has been through she had time to stop and share a smile and a kind word of encouragement with me, at yet another grim moment in her life as I think everyone there realised deep down that Duckinfield would walk.
I met her a couple of times at the trial along other members of the families and other survivors who escaped the pens. I was always left terribly sad, yet inspired by the strength of character and decency shown in dealing with the cruel treatment doled out by the establishment.
I did Arthur Miller at school, I don’t remember much about it apart from the line where a character says “they were all my sons...”
I am aware that the story line and circumstances in the play are totally different, but it sticks in my mind that this is how she approaches the fight for justice. Somehow I felt that to her we are all her sons and daughters, that she can serve Phillip’s memory best by fighting for justice for all. It’s the best way I can find to sum her up.
It makes me proud to have met her.

[RainbowFlick]

Thank you all that did so much and fought for justice.

[Kitch83]

My partner is American, from a tiny town on Long Island, NY. Met her 10 years ago and she had no idea about football - had never heard of Messi... (I know, I know)...

Through me she became at first 'interested' in Liverpool - the club - and then educating her about the club, the city, the values, the history, etc. Hillsborough is obviously high on the list.

Americans - that I know - have a huge distrust in all their governments and instinctively disbelieve them in virtually everything they say and do, its ingrained in them, but even she became so angry and disillusioned about the entire process it took ahold of her. Researching, trying to help in any way possible, up all hours looking at facts and tales for months and months. By extension of this her immediate family also became (I cannot think of the right word for this), fascinated with the entire scandal.

She is a teacher at a school on Long Island, and dedicated classes to extremely bewildered children about the entire disaster and subsequent cover up. When I would travel over to see her, if I went to her school, random 12 year old kids I have never met would be asking me 'why were they saying people like me we drunk', 'why did the firefighters not help' (firefighters are their ambulances there), and a million other questions we have all asked over the years. I often felt embarrassed or a fraud as I felt I had no right to be a 'spokesperson' or sounding board etc.

Quick side note, one of her former students is in our U23's, I met him a few times, maybe it's common knowledge or I am naive, but they get educated on the entire story of Hillsborough relatively early in to their induction - or at least he did. Which I was happy to find out.

Towards the start of the most recent court case, I flew over to see her, I met her at her parents and they had all been discussing what may happen, what could happen, what should happen, what will happen if this happens, what will they do if they can't do this and so on...

In that moment it made me realise that one person, one family, 3000 miles removed, who lost nobody, and had never even seen a game of football and had no affiliation to the city, the club, the sport, even the country just 2 years earlier become so tired and worn out with it all... so HOW on earth did the families have the fight, the energy, the dignity, the will, the resilience, the power and the strength to fight for all those years and years and years, I cannot comprehend it. I cannot process it, still. They are an inspiration to everyone. I do not have the vocabulary to express my respect for them.

I am not from the city. I support Liverpool because my then sisters boyfriend took me to Anfield for the memorial in the days after the disaster, I was 5 I had no clue what was happening, but the feeling in the city, the stadium and the communities those days stuck with me for life and despite my Arsenal supporting family trying everything, I was a Red.

Over the years I spent countless days, weeks, months in the city, with scousers, in Liverpool, and had a few opportunities over the years to meet some of the families, albeit briefly. I have also met people that suffered in/after the 9/11 disasters, and the two places and people do share similarities. Loyalty, fight, strength, compassion, community. I strongly believe if Hillsborough was any other club, in any other city, with any other set of 'families', with any other set of fans, the cover up would have worked and the scumbags would have never had a single question to answer.

God bless the families and their inspirational fight for what they got. Vindication.

I don't know how they did it, but they did.

[aw1991]

Can only echo what everyone else said here. An amazing, inspiring person who devoted her life to do good for those who suffered a tragedy. Wish her all the best.

YNWA.

[Thepooloflife]

A heartfelt thanks from me to all in the HFSG and especially to the incredible fortitude and compassion of Margaret, a truly wonderful person....thank you from the bottom of my heart. From the time she became chairperson, to have especially shown leadership for the whole group, sometimes at the expense of her own feelings and emotions over the loss of her own son James - shows what a remarkable woman she is.

God bless you, Margaret......God bless all the families.....God bless all the survivors......God bless the 96.

YNWA

[John C]

Great contributions 12C and 83.
Thank you.