On Saturday 11 May 2002, the 17th anniversary of the disaster, a memorial with the names of those who lost their lives was dedicated at the new entrance to the redeveloped Sunwin stand. His most recent painting is a powerful image; two fans in Bradford and Lincoln City kits, surrounded by 54 other figures. 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."[60]. "It wasn't covering anything up, it wasn't avoiding the truth of what happened, everyone knows what happened, everyone knows it shouldn't have happened. [10][11], Bradford's Telegraph & Argus newspaper published a souvenir issue for 11 May, entitled, "Spit and Polish for the Parade Ground". Your brain tells you, you are not going anywhere. The Bradford Disaster Appeal fund, set up within 48hours of the disaster, eventually raised over 3.5million (11.3million today). [3] It included a main stand which seated 5,300fans, and had room for a further 7,000 standing spectators in the paddock in front. he asks. "I feel such information should be made public and people should look at those facts, then make their mind up on those facts. I ran to the stand and tried to help people escape. Now a new film claims an Australian was responsible for the worst . The entrances to the stand were all at the rear and were higher than the rest of the ground. The blaze is believed to have begun when a dropped cigarette lit rubbish under the wooden seats of the wooden Main Stand at Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium It is not thought that there was any crowd trouble in this section but one theory the police are investigating is that a flare or smoke-bomb was thrown or was accidentally dropped. The stadium was known for its antiquated design and facilities, which included the wooden roof of the main stand. [38], 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. Popplewell's report was nowhere close to the quality of Lord Justice Taylor's report after Hillsborough, and since reading it as an adult I have always been very disappointed in it and considered it a poor piece of work. It's a nice little business and it's something positive that came out of a tragedy. Bits of my arms, bits of my legs, part of my face, part of my scalp. Coach Terry Yorath described the events as "the worst day in my life. Once we went out it was mayhem, manic, chaotic. It was a gruesome sight to see bodies still sitting upright in their seats, covered in tarpaulin. Watch Missed Warnings on BBC One in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire at 22:45 BST on Tuesday, 12 May. "As well as those who lost their lives or were injured, there are the relatives and friends, the others who were at the game, and those who would normally have gone to the match but decided not to that day. While Valley Parade was re-developed, Bradford City played games at various neighbouring grounds: Elland Road, Leeds; Leeds Road, Huddersfield; and Odsal Stadium, Bradford. He was helped out of the stand by other fans and spent a period of time in hospital. Thirty years on, the majority of survivors still find it too difficult to talk about what happened at the Valley Parade on 11 May 1985. In those days there was a lot of hooliganism and violence, so my initial thought was: 'I hope it has not kicked off - that's the last thing we need'. ", There has always been a close bond between the club and its supporters since the fire, he adds. In those days there was a lot of hooliganism and violence, so my initial thought was: 'I hope it has not kicked off - that's the last thing we need'. "A lot of investigative work had been done by the police when I got there. Last edited: May 11, 2021 May 11, 2019 #2 JohnnyKills Full Member Joined Jan 8, 2016 Messages 6,902 Yeah footage is horrendous isn't it. "Then we ran out in our tracksuits each holding a massive card with a letter. "The one thing I remember at the time is we were grateful that we got an answer quickly after the inquiry. Burning timber and molten material began to fall onto the seating below and black smoke enveloped the passageway behind, where fans were trying to escape. Within a few hours of the blaze starting, it was established that 56 people had been killed, many as a result of smoke inhalation, although some of them had survived until reaching hospital.[11]. On the recording are Dene Michael (Black Lace), The Chuckle Brothers, Clive Jackson of Dr & The Medics, Owen Paul, Billy Pearce, Billy Shears, Flint Bedrock, Danny Tetley and Rick Wild of The Overlanders. The firemen who arrived there were met by a wall of flame and dense black smoke. But a minute or so later there was suddenly a bigger whoosh of smoke so they went to get a steward. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. 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He appealed to people to be patient while forensic experts identified bodies. [45] 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. Spreading with almost unbelievable speed, a small fire under a wooden. Then the flames and smoke were all over the place.'. 'It is the worst day in my life. The stand slopes downwards from the South Parade. But looking back and seeing how much it really affected my dad makes me realise what we went through." [10] One eyewitness, Geoffrey Mitchell, told the BBC: "It spread like a flash. It transpired that the wooden stand had already been condemned and was set to be demolished just two days after the tragedy. The whole fire seemed to erupt in seconds,' he said. At 3.40pm, television commentator John Helm remarked upon a small fire in the main stand; in less than four minutes, with the windy conditions, the fire had engulfed the whole stand, trapping some people in their seats. There has been reports of people lighting paper under the seats, and it was important that as many fans as possible who were in the stand or at the Kop end contacted the police. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. Burning Man.NYC. 1909 - Flores Theater fire, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, on February 15, killed 250. I was there in hospital for eight weeks - it felt like a lifetime. Those are the words of David Pendleton, a survivor of the Bradford City fire disaster, which happened 30 years ago. ', 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. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. People were falling on to each other and screaming. 48,785 Location Lake Jonathan Creek The footage never gets any less shocking. "[23], 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.[24]. "[16] At the front of the stand, men threw children over the wall to help them escape. 56 dead and hundreds more injured. It was sort of the good thing to come out of the nightmare," says Simon Parker, a football reporter for the Telegraph and Argus. Helm: "The scene became progressively horrendous, grotesque, and I was having to describe things you couldn't possibly imagine.". Many who had walked out of the fire stood on the pitch looking back in horror as the flames destroyed the stand. [10] Bradford City's coach Terry Yorath, whose family was in the stand,[19] ran onto the pitch to help evacuate people. 1.7M subscribers in the CatastrophicFailure community. However, there is a lot in this book that troubles me about the science, or lack of it, used in the testing of the investigators' hypothesis as to the source of the ignition. Fifty people die in a fire in the grandstand at a soccer stadium in Bradford, England, on May 11, 1985. Mr Delahunte was screaming into his microphone describing the scene until it became impossible to continue broadcasting. Police had an official photographer at the game, watching for crowd disturbance. 56 people dead. They were immediately promoted back to the Football League in 1988, and survived for 23 years before being relegated again in 2011. "It's therapeutic and I've met so many people through doing this." He lit a cigarette and when it was coming to an end he put it down on to the floorboard and tried to put his foot on it to put it out. Within five minutes the whole stand was engulfed in flames. Bradford fan David Pendleton, then aged 21 and stood in the main stand: "For the first minute people were laughing and joking, it wasn't anything serious. Disaster struck at 3.43 pm. Today marks the 35th anniversary of one of the worst disasters in the history of British football. I dread to imagine how many more could have died if the wind had been blowing in the direction of the pitch, instead of away from it. [45] 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. We use necessary cookies to make our site work. I hope you enjoy some of the fascinating stories we have here.#History #Disasters 1985 disaster in Valley Parade Stadium, Bradford, England. Fletcher said that "The club at the time took no actual responsibility for its actions and nobody has ever really been held accountable for the level of negligence which took place. [6] 1908 - Parker Building, New York City, January 10. The 51 other bodies of children, women and men were so badly burned that identification will take many days. As a result, Bradford-born captain Peter Jackson was presented with the league trophy before the final game of the season with mid-table Lincoln City at Valley Parade on 11 May 1985. Smoke was seen coming from the third row in the section but people are apparently used to seeing smoke flares on the Bradford ground. "All I could see was eerie white lights that the fire brigade had set up and the smoke still in the sky. The main stand at Bradford was not surrounded by fencing, and therefore most of the spectators in it could escape onto the pitch if they had been penned in then the death toll would inevitably have been in the hundreds if not the thousands. Following the hearing in 1986, a test case was brought against the club by David Britton, a police sergeant serving on the day, and by Susan Fletcher, who lost her husband John, 11-year-old son Andrew, John's brother Peter and his father Edmond in the fire. "We went out on to the pitch and I could see so many happy faces. The plastic surgeon who treated the injuries of over 200, Professor David Sharpe, went on to set up a world-renowned burns research facility at the University of Bradford. Valley Parade during the early 1990s, after it had been redeveloped following the fire. The wooden roof that burned was scheduled to be replaced by a steel roof later that same . The other, situated by the main entrance, was donated by the club after its 7.5million (13million today) rebuilding of the original main stand in 2002. 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." [11], The disaster also had a long-lasting effect on the fans. The next day work began on clearing the burnt out shell of the stand, and Justice Popplewell released his findings into the disaster. Pendleton: "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. [10] Of those who died, 11 were under-18 and 23 were aged 65 or over,[20] and the oldest victim was the club's former chairman, Sam Firth, aged 86. [47] Scriptwriters of the play spent hours with the survivors and victims families. 24 Bradford City A.F.C. We were given the trophy before the game in front of the supporters and had to do a lap of honour. Police worked until 4am the next morning, under lighting, to remove all the bodies. The sling is now used internationally in the treatment of burns. I don't see that. One letter from the council said the problems "should be rectified as soon as possible"; a second said: "A carelessly discarded cigarette could give rise to a fire risk." Most of the fans who took this escape route were killed or seriously injured. [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. Four police officers, constables David Britton and John Richard Ingham and chief inspectors Charles Frederick Mawson and Terence Michael Slocombe, and two spectators, Richard Gough and David Hustler, were awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for their actions. ", Popplewell: "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. The Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, Mr Colin Sampson, said yesterday that a team of doctors and pathologists had worked throughout the night trying to identify the dead. Those who rescued people were themselves burned in the process. The local council was deemed to be one third responsible. The Popplewell Inquiry found that a discarded cigarette and an accumulation of litter beneath the stand were to blame. As he scaled the brick perimeter wall at the front, his father stayed behind to help others escape. When Town reached the Midland Road side of the pitch, he was faced with horrific scenes of the injured being treated and comforted by ambulance crews, fans and players. There were many cases of heroism, with more than 50 people later receiving police awards or commendations for bravery. The government inquiry into the disaster concluded the fire spread "faster than a man could run". Tarpaulin fell on them and stuck to their clothes and then ignited. The fire at a Brooklyn lumber storage building sent plumes of smoke over Williamsburg on Tuesday. People were scrambling for their lives to get out, and I know having sat in that stand normally that it is difficult and there is a drop to get to the pitch level," Harrison says. "[55], 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. [17], One witness saw paper or debris on fire, about nine inches (230mm) below the floor boards. They were donated by Bradford's twin city of Hamm, Germany, and are situated in front of Bradford City Hall in both locations. Bradford fan Matthew Wildman, who was aged 17 and using crutches because of rheumatoid arthritis: "When I got to one of the final walls, there was an eight-foot drop at the other side, concrete at the bottom. The name of the event comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred to as the Man, that occurs on the penultimate night of Burning Man, which is the Saturday evening before Labor Day. Although there was no perimeter fencing, such as led to the devastating crush at Hillsborough, locked turnstiles meant that many fans who tried to escape by that means were killed or seriously injured. Copyright , Fire Brigades Union, 2023. [2] By 1911, his work was completed. There is no evidence in the book, he is just pointing out there are some coincidences. However, as there was no real precedent, most Bradfordians accepted that the fire was a terrible piece of misfortune. "Us players must have been in the tunnel for seconds - and I mean seconds. Recommended The untold stories of the 1985 fire Most Bradfordians have accepted the fire was a terrible misfortune. Those are the words of David Pendleton, a survivor of the Bradford City fire disaster, which happened 30 years ago. ", "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. He was asked if precautions would have been adequate had the club been in the Second Division. Cigarette smoking was also banned at all grounds with wooden stands. "[37], Fletcher subsequently published a book in 2015, Fifty-Six: The Story of the Bradford Fire which revealed a history of fires at businesses owned by the Bradford City chairman Stafford Heginbotham. So I threw myself over the wall and luckily someone dived in to catch me before I hit the floor.".