[33] Speaking at the close of the case, the Judge said "They (the club) were at fault, no one in authority seemed to have appreciated the fire hazard. The director of that organisation, Dr David Woolley, was interviewed for just two hours by the inquiry team, and his private papers reveal his desperate rush to assemble information into a report for Popplewell. Bradford City Football Club Fire Disaster 11 May 1985. Burning timbers and molten materials fell from the roof onto the crowd and seating below, and dense black smoke enveloped a passageway behind the stand, where many spectators were trying to escape. Speculation an Australian man started the Bradford City stadium fire in 1985 IT killed 56 people and destroyed an entire stadium. When a memorial service was held on the pitch later in summer, part of it was in Urdu and Punjabi in recognition. Nothing surprising in the construction of the stand to give this rate of fire growth," Woolley writes in an untitled script which appears to be his own notes from the first day of Popplewell's Inquiry. People smothered him to extinguish the flames, but he later died of his injuries in hospital. Police present in the vicinity of seats I142 and J142, where the fire was adjudged to have first taken hold, noticed it. Bradford City stadium fire is within the scope of WikiProject Yorkshire, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to Yorkshire on Wikipedia. In the mass panic that ensued, fleeing crowds escaped on to the pitch but others at the back of the stand tried to break down locked exit doors to escape, and many were burnt to death at the turnstiles gates, which had also been locked after the match had begun. By the time they got back, the whole thing had taken off. [10][16] Geoffrey Mitchell said: "There was panic as fans stampeded to an exit which was padlocked. I don't see that. Lincoln City suffered two successive relegations, first to the Fourth Division in 1986, and again in 1987, becoming the first team to be automatically relegated from the Football League itself. The unheroic obstinacy of the woman who refused to leave without her handbag "because my teeth are in it." He and his mother rattled around in the beautiful detached Nottingham home afterwards and the place "was almost mocking you, like the birds in the trees," he says. The book also raises concerns about the speed of the inquiry and the fact that it commenced a few weeks after the fire and lasted for only a few days, whereas other inquiries into similar incidents, pre and post the Bradford fire, have taken years to come to fruition and months to be heard. [49] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. A discarded cigarette and a dilapidated wooden stand, which had survived because the club did not have the money to replace it, and accumulated paper litter, were considered to have conspired to cause the worst disaster in the history of the Football League. "I feel like I've been in my 20s for years," he says and his life now – south-west London flatshare, single professional – seems to reflect the world of a restive soul, struggling for an anchor. He had to undergo counselling and was unable to go to another game for several years. Some repair work was carried out, but in July 1984, the club was warned again, this time by a county council engineer, because of the club's plans to claim for ground improvements from the Football Trust. It was Fletcher's mother, Susan, who had always said that she did not believe the fire was an accident and who talked of the other blazes at businesses owned or linked to Stafford Heginbotham, the Bradford City chairman of the day. "[28], After controversial comments made by Sir Oliver Popplewell about the Hillsborough Disaster, Fletcher raised further concerns about the events following the fire saying that "I have many unanswered questions still about the fire in which four of my family died, as does my mother. This page was last edited on 15 May 2021, at 18:26. [53], On 1 May 2010, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fire the football TV show Football Focus was hosted from Valley Parade by Dan Walker, the show included interviews with Terry Yorath and John Hendrie. These are the kinds of loose ends which would now be investigated to the end of the earth by the Hillsborough team. Like all areas of forensic investigations, it has come on leaps and bounds. 2–4 Bradford City A.F.C. The revelations are contained in a book written by martin fletcher a bradford fan who lost three generations of his family in the stadium fire. That was nothing compared with the time it took to interview witnesses in the Hillsborough Inquiry.". A giant Christian cross, made up of two large charred wooden members[45] that had once been part of the stand, was constructed in front of the middle of the stand and behind the pitchside speaker's platform. [10], People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. The fact the inquiry also embraced the investigation into another incident which happened on the same day, a riot in which a young boy died at Birmingham City, makes it seem more frivolous. [14], The stand's wooden roof, covered with layers of highly flammable bituminous roofing felt, offered no resistance to the flames. The Bradford City stadium fire was the worst fire disaster in the history of football.It occurred during a league match, on Saturday, 11 May 1985, killing 56 and injuring at least 265. The playing area and stands were very basic but the ground had enough room for 18,000 spectators. It's right to know why it happened." The entrances to the stand were all at the rear and were higher than the rest of the ground. Club coach Terry Yorath incurred minor injuries while taking part in the rescue. However, the turnstiles were locked and none of the stadium staff were present to unlock them, leaving no escape through the normal entrances and exits. [46] In total, 28 police officers and 22 supporters, who were publicly documented as having saved at least one life, later received police commendations or bravery awards. [7], As it was the first piece of league silverware that the club had captured since they won the Division Three (North) title 56 years earlier, 11,076 supporters were in the ground. The most memorable of hundreds of fundraising events was a reunion of the 1966 World Cup Final Starting XI that began with the original starting teams of both England and West Germany, and was held at Leeds United's stadium, Elland Road, in July 1985 to raise funds for the Appeal fund. Now a new film claims an Australian was responsible for the worst fire disaster in English football history. 0:17. The CNN sports correspondent Alex Thomas was a school friend and he always asked Fletcher why he didn't have the ambition to make a go of it in that world. Coach Terry Yorath described the events as "the worst day in my life. It seemed to put it out. I don't know where Falconer is getting this cock-and-bull story from… the inaccuracies in this report [documentary] are dumbfounding. There is a twin memorial sculpture, unveiled on 11 May 1986, which has the names of the dead inscribed on it. Bradford City Fire Website messages of condolence from around the world, "Chuckle Brothers' single for Bradford City fire anniversary", "Bradford City stadium fire: The untold stories of the 1985 fire", "Emotive play of Bradford City fire disaster raises cash for burns unit", "Book Review: Four Minutes to Hell: The Story of the Bradford City Fire by Paul Firth – football book reviews", "Football Focus 1st May 2010 Bradford City Part 1", Bradford City – A year of healing Documentary, "Bradford fire: expert demands new investigation into blaze", "Bradford City stadium fire 1985 – IPCC investigation decision", "BRADFORD CITY FIRE: Accidental cause of tragedy 'not in any doubt', says detective", "Bradford City fire 'started by cigarette, "Bradford City fire: Briton attacks 'inaccurate' BBC documentary claiming his uncle started blaze", "Bradford fire: Sir Oliver Popplewell defends 1985 inquiry – interview in full", Living with Jacko – From Touchline to Lifeline, Fifty-Six: The Story of the Bradford Fire, The full Interim Report by Lord Popplewell into the Bradford City Fire, British Medical Journal article on the treatment of burns casualties after the Bradford City Fire, Peter Jackson's account of the Bradford City Fire, Nationally broadcast Yorkshire Television programme covering the fire, broadcast the following day, ITN bulletin covering the fire, also from the following day, ITN bulletin covering the aftermath, from three days later, Chelsea F.C. The smoke was choking. The Documentary highlighted the 'poison pen letters' and graffiti targeted at the then club chairman Stafford Heginbotham over accusations that he was in some way personally responsible for the deaths of the 56 people who died at the fire.[55]. One supporter found his way on to the pitch despite burning from head to foot, but he later died in hospital. Even the received wisdom is enough to make you rage against football's breathtaking complacency: the same complacency which would turn the terrace at Hillsborough into a killing ground, four years later. Bradford City Stadium Fire - 36 years ago today. Of the 56 people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. We talk in the anonymous surroundings of his publisher's, in Bloomsbury's Bedford Square. VG Tips TV. Mr Justice Popplewell, who led the inquiry into the fire, at the 'Turnstile Shrine' in the stadium (Rex) Shaw is still sometimes wrongly named as the match referee. Woolley's notes again: "Many referred to the smell of burning plastics." [4], Although there had been some changes to other parts of the ground, the main stand remained unaltered by 1985. Since then, it has been further re-developed and, today, Valley Parade is a modern 25,136 all-seater stadium, which is virtually unrecognisable from how it was at the time of the disaster, save for the original clubhouse that still stands beside the main stand, and the flank support wall that runs down the Hollywell Ash Lane at the "Bradford End". It's gone," he says. A capacity 6,000 crowd attended a multi-denominational memorial service, held on the pitch in the sunny shadow of the burnt out stand at Valley Parade in July 1985. And only after she had gone – vanished into the kind of warm Bradford Saturday night on which wives, children, parents and friends first learned that they were the bereaved, 30 years ago next week – did the significance of her gratitude become clear. Mathew Wildman, aged 17 at the time of the fire, commented that "I must have had five different experiments carried out on me with all sorts of new techniques for skin grafts and I had potions injected into me that helped my face repair naturally over time. By this date the appeal fund set up for survivors had paid out more than £4m with further payouts expected as the effects of physical and mental injury were determined. Fletcher's appearance on BBC regional news programme Look North looked like an inquisition, with playback in his headphones as he spoke from a London studio contributing to the difficulty. He was evidently very successful when his mother's acquaintance with local Bradford broadcaster Tony Delahunty – whose commentary of the fire is part of many Bradfordians' recollections – helped fix him some work experience, as a 14-year-old. "So yes, it's right that these old questions be asked now. [23], Immediately after the fire, Professor Sharpe planned and treated the injuries of over 200 individuals, with many experimental treatments being used. The city has seemed to want it to remain the forgotten disaster, though for many, the sense of what-might-have-been is too acute to want to block out the past. One man clambered over burning seats to help a fan,[18] as did player John Hawley,[15] and one officer led fans to an exit, only to find it shut and had to turn around. The Bradford Disaster Appeal fund, set up within 48 hours of the disaster, eventually raised over £3.5 million (£10.7 million today). Today marks the 35th anniversary of one of the worst disasters in the history of British football. Bradford City stadium fire: Remembering the 56 who died at Valley Parade It was the worst fire disaster in the history of English football. Jesus. The disaster led to rigid new safety standards in UK stadiums, including the banning of new wooden grandstands. "Yes," he told the inquiry when asked if he was "cautious" about the conclusion he had made about a match causing the fire. And there are also repeated references to the smell of burning plastic. The scriptwriters' hours of interviews with those caught up in the horror are distilled into the narratives of three survivors, and the casual horrors of what befell football supporters that day are all in there. [18][19] They queued there for a telephone to ring their families.[20]. Part of the Appeal funds were raised by a recording of "You'll Never Walk Alone"[43] from Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical Carousel by The Crowd (including Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers, who had recorded the 1963 version that led to Liverpool adopting it as their motto and team song), which reached number 1 in the UK Singles chart. [59] Following this report, Leslie Brownlie, who was the nephew in question, is reported to have said that his uncle never made such an admission of starting the fire. Joined Jan 31, 2014 Messages 47,680 Location France . Lawyers press Home Secretary May to launch new inquiry into fire that killed 56 supporters in 1985 His call was misheard, and instead the fire brigade were radioed. The files show how the possibility of arson was not even touched upon or tested. In March 1985, the club's plans became more apparent when it took delivery of steel for a new roof. Mon 13 May 1985 09.42 EDT 15 The horrific scenes of people burning alive seemed to live on in an eerie silence as daylight broke over the remains of Bradford City Football Club's ground … "I became an adult overnight at 12 and I'm still there," Fletcher says, and you wonder what's next, now that the book which has become his life's work is published. Or as a football commentator for that matter. The two sides met for the first time after the fire in April 1989, when they arranged a benefit match in aid of the Hillsborough disaster, at Valley Parade. The blaze ripped through the wooden structure in just a few minutes as Bradford City played Lincoln City in an end-of-season match, leaving many … However as the fire continued to burn, the scenes at Bradford’s Valley Parade turned into a panic. Together, flanked by undocumented supporters, they managed to clear all but one person who made it to the front of the stand. However, when Bradford City won promotion to the highest level of English football, Division One, in 1908, club officials sanctioned an upgrade programme. "Why should they not still want answers?" Fire at Bradford school (video: Glynn Beck) Yorkshire Evening Post. "[56], Adams also went on to state that "I have read in some newspapers that he is being berated for his campaign to have a new inquiry. A minute later he saw a small plume of smoke so he poured his coffee on it and so did his son. Those who helped are reluctant heroes now. It is a simple account laid out for all to see. He and the children all perished, along with the boys' father. She was Hazel Greenwood – the mother whose children, 13-year-old Felix and 11-year-old Rupert, had been ushered away from the flames of the stadium fire all those years ago by a traffic warden, seeking to shelter them under his tunic. [4] Football ground writer Simon Inglis had described the view from the stand as "like watching football from the cockpit of a Sopwith Camel" because of its antiquated supports and struts. No follow up question. [48] Scriptwriters of the play spent hours with the survivors and victims families. Scout. You could hardly breathe. 0:19. Elsewhere in Britain, only the 66 deaths at Ibrox Stadium in Scotland 14 years earlier had seen a higher death toll. Yorkshire Evening Post. "[24], On the 25th anniversary of the fire, the University of Bradford established the United Kingdom's largest academic research centre in skin sciences as an extension to its plastic surgery and burns research unit.[25]. Eight fires in the 18 years before the Bradford City fire were identified, many catastrophic and leading to large insurance payouts. [8], The Bradford City matchday squad of players and staff consisted of Terry Yorath, Trevor Cherry, Chris Withe, Don Goodman, Eric McManus, Tony Clegg, John Hawley, Dave Evans, Bryan Edwards, John Hendrie, Mark Ellis, Stuart McCall, Peter Jackson, Bobby Campbell, Martin Singleton and Greg Abbott.[13]. But a minute or so later there was suddenly a bigger whoosh of smoke so they went to get a steward. Fans flee to the pitch to avoid the flames in the wooden main stand, Mr Justice Popplewell, who led the inquiry into the fire, at the 'Turnstile Shrine' in the stadium (Rex), Martin Fletcher, author of '56: The Story of the Bradford Fire', A relative of one of the victims breaks down amid the ruins of the stadium (Rex), Thirty years after football's 'forgotten tragedy', the truth of what exactly happened when 56 people died in a fire at Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium remains elusive, Claims the disaster was started deliberately 'nonsense', Archives reveal the desperate rush to conjure an explanation, New evidence casts more doubt on verdict fire was accident, Bradford City stadium fire: The untold stories of the 1985 fire, Booking.com discount code: 10% with Level 1 Genius membership, Use this Debenhams discount and save up to 70% on men's lines - Spring offer, Ideal World Promo: Up to 30% discount off garden essentials, Take £12 off your £120 purchase using this AliExpress promo code, Argos discount code for 15% off selected Samsung Galaxy phones. Fans in the next stand (the "Bradford End") pulled down the fence separating them from the pitch. Police officers also assisted in the rescue attempts. Instead, there is nothing. The theatre production moved on to London last week, its players and writers wondering as they packed up what the response would be, in the capital city, to a subject even less well known and understood beyond the Yorkshire boundaries. "[11] Police Superintendent Barry Osborne, divisional commander for the area, said many of his officers cried when they saw how badly people had been burned. Most of the fans who took this escape route were killed or seriously injured. "I was out shopping in Bradford and he had gone to the match," she says. [11] Those who escaped were taken out of the ground to neighbouring homes and a pub, where a television screened World of Sport, which had live pictures from the ground. [39], The tragedy received immense media attention and drew support from around the world, with those offering their sympathy including Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. Two or three burly men put their weight against it and smashed the gate open. No, argues her husband, insulated as he was from that momentary horror his wife felt. He was helped out of the stand by other fans and spent a period of time in hospital. While Valley Parade was re-developed, Bradford City played games at various neighbouring grounds: Elland Road, Leeds; Leeds Road, Huddersfield; and Odsal Stadium, Bradford. The lack of perimeter fencing kept the death toll down, and prevented it from reaching the hundreds or potentially the thousands. The fire brigade arrived at the ground four minutes after they were initially alerted. It was clear that the stand was a fire risk; the club and local authority clearly knew that it needed improvements, even the fans who filled it could see the danger. A police officer shouted to a colleague for an extinguisher. The stand had already been condemned, and the demolition teams were due to start work two days later. The boy – Fletcher – discovered soon enough how boundlessly and profoundly life-affecting the afternoon would prove to be. "We were concerned there might be, because of the rapidity of the fire, a mechanism unknown to us." Original television coverage of the fire, as caught by cameras covering the match. Each year Lincoln send representatives to the annual memorial service in Bradford city centre and between 2007 and 2009, were managed by Bradford's captain that day, Peter Jackson. The Bradford City stadium fire was an accidental conflagration that occurred during an English League Third Division match between Bradford City and Lincoln City on Saturday, 11 May 1985, killing 56 spectators in the stadium and injuring at least 265. The 1985 Bradford City Stadium fire remembered. [11] The fire escalated very rapidly, and flames became visible; police started to evacuate the stand. [52] Another book; 56: The Story of the Bradford Fire (2015) was written by Martin Fletcher to discuss how the disaster was caused, and follows his loss of his father, brother, uncle and grandfather. [27], In July 1985 an inquest was held into the deaths; at the hearings the coroner James Turnbull recommended a death by misadventure outcome, with which the jury agreed. There is no malicious vendetta, there is no over-exaggeration, there are no trumped-up facts. [35], During the case, Sir Joseph Canley stated that: "It is only right that I should say that I think it would be unfair to conclude that Mr Heginbotham, Mr Tordoff, the Board of Directors, or any of them, were intentionally and callously indifferent to the safety of spectators using the stand. [10][11] The city's newspaper, the Telegraph & Argus, published a souvenir issue for the day, entitled "Spit and Polish for the Parade Ground". [40], The club's chairman, Stafford Heginbotham, said: "It was to be our day". "Yes you've already told us you were concerned," the inquiry's QC effectively says, before he moves the conversation along. Another player went into the office space to ensure there was nobody there. There actually used to be an old saying in Bradford: "If you see smoke go up in Bradford after 6pm, that'll be one of Stafford's." As Fletcher's investigations have given his book a huge profile, so its subtler components have in many ways been overlooked. The sling is now used internationally in the treatment of burns. I've never seen anything like it. He went on to state: "In 1985 fire investigation in Britain was in its infancy and some would say at that time most fire investigators were not much more than dust-kickers. But it is Bradford, so they are just lying there, dormant, on the file, along with the question of the nine Heginbotham fires. Helm described the start of the fire in an interview to the Express newspaper: "a man over from Australia visiting his son got two tickets to the game. Synopsis. He was actually one of the detectives involved in one of the gravest miscarriages of justices in the country, the murder of Carol Wilkinson in Bradford, where someone was locked up for 20 years for a murder he didn't commit. His father Tony went back the following day and said: "I wondered how anybody had got out alive, but I also began to feel guilty that I had got out when so many hadn't." Part of the service was also held in Urdu and Punjabi as a sign of appreciation to the local ethnically Asian Subcontinental community in Manningham, Bradford and around Valley Parade who had opened their homes to Bradford City supporters to provide assistance in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. This is the kind of understated remembrance we have seen in Bradford these past few months, at the onset of another significant anniversary of the 1985 fire which tore across the local football club's old wooden main stand, reducing it to a collapsing inferno in a mere four minutes and claiming 56 lives. There were many cases of heroism, with more than 50 people later receiving police awards or commendations for bravery. At 3:44 pm, five minutes before half-time, the first sign of a fire—a glowing light—was noticed three rows from the back of block G, as reported by TV commentator John Helm. After the fire, Bradford City also announced they would thereafter play with a black trim on their shirt sleeves as a permanent memorial to those who had died. [12] The work was expected to cost £400,000 (£1.2 million today). The local Bradford Telegraph and Argus has found many voices to challenge his testimony, too. He later said: "I have never known anything like it, either before, or since. "[17], One witness saw paper or debris on fire, about nine inches (230 mm) below the floor boards. [8][10] Three men smashed down one door and at least one exit was opened by people outside, which again helped prevent further deaths. "But I'd never heard of the Bradford disaster until I auditioned for this," she says. When cross examined by QC Robert Smith, then Chairman Stafford Heginbotham said he knew about the fire risk at the ground. Valley Parade re-opened on 14 December 1986, when Bradford City beat an England XI 2–1 in a friendly. And so, too, is the black tragicomedy which can exist at the boundaries. [...] I still have terrible memories of the day, but it is the humanity of those that helped us that I reflect on."[42]. Otherwise, I would not have been able to get out. Bradford City stadium fire - WikiMili, The Free "I wept with joy," she says. [15] They included three who tried to escape through the toilets, 27 who were found by exit K and turnstiles 6 to 9 at the rear centre of the stand, and two elderly people who had died in their seats. Danni Phillips, the young London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art actor who spent hour after hour listening back to the scriptwriters' interviews in preparation for her beautifully observed role in The 56, hails from South Yorkshire, half an hour down the M1 and her father played football for Halifax Town. [16] Messages of condolence were also received from Helmut Kohl, Chedli Klibi and Felipe González. [46] PCs Peter Donald Barrett and David Charles Midgley, along with spectators Michael William Bland and Timothy Peter Leigh received the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct. This was all somehow ignored, put off, filed as something to sort out later. The largest volume of evidence stored there relates to the Department of the Environment's Fire Research Council – the body responsible for providing scientific evidence for Popplewell. [11], The disaster also had a long-lasting effect on the fans. [10] The stand seats did not have risers; this had allowed a large accumulation of rubbish and paper waste in the cavity space under the stand, which had not been cleared for many months. "[61], 1985 disaster in Valley Parade Stadium, Bradford, England. It's hard to avoid the sense that Fletcher might have done, had it not been for that fateful May afternoon, which took away so many of the buttresses of his life. [47], In 2014, the theatre company Funny You Should Ask (FYSA) premiered their heartfelt tribute to the 56 people who died at the fire. But they had done their job. So do the sounds of some of those 150 people present, packing the little theatre's benches to capacity, needing to leave the dark space and take a moment to recover themselves. Some had been crushed as they tried to crawl under turnstiles to escape. Ran. Down there in the blackness lay tissues of debris which were testament to the ramshackle stadium's neglect. [10] Half of those who died were either aged under 20 or over 70,[10][21] and the oldest victim was the club's former chairman, Sam Firth, aged 86. 0:12. Bradford City stadium fire: ‘Police were to blame’ for most life lost in tragedy. The timber construction of St. Andrew's Stand, Main Stand and the roof of its popular Railway End terrace were immediately condemned as fire hazards, which saw seating capacity briefly cut to nil. Following his own 15 year investigation Into the fire, which killed four of his family members while he escaped, former tax accountant Martin Fletcher released 56: The Story of the Bradford Fire (2015). They were immediately promoted back to the Football League in 1988, and survived for 23 years before being relegated again in 2011. The blaze began to spread, and the roof and wooden stands were soon on fire. The after effects of Bradford stadium fire Introduction Fire is a disastrous occurrence that can be caused by different things likeaccidents, lightning and litter burning unexpectedly like what happened at the stadium in Bradford city 11/May/1985 in England (Raven et al, 2010). Thread starter esmufc07; Start date May 11, 2019 May 11, 2019 #1 ... That burning man. [15] At 3:44 pm, five minutes before half-time, the first sign of a fire—a glowing light—was noticed three rows from the back of block G,[10][16] as reported by TV commentator John Helm. Christopher Hammond, who was 12 on the day, said on the 20th anniversary of the fire: "As a 12-year-old, it was easy to move on – I didn't realise how serious it was until I looked at the press coverage over the next few days. News uk home news bradford city stadium fire. Following a 1–0 defeat to Leyton Orient at the end of September, the side went 13 games undefeated, during which they went top of the Division Three table by defeating Millwall 3–1. The Bradford City stadium fire occurred during an English League Third Division match between Bradford City and Lincoln City at the Valley Parade stadium on Saturday, 11 May 1985, killing 56 spectators and injuring at least 265. Called 'The 56' the play dramatises actual accounts of the Bradford City Fire with the purpose of the play showing how in times of adversity, the Football Club and the local community came together.
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