Best We Never Forget

21 years ago tomorrow 96 fans went to watch a team they love (just like we do), on a saturday (just like we do), following a sport like religion (just like we do),

THEY NEVER CAME HOME. (we do)

R.I.P 96 LIVERPOOL MEN WOMEN CHILDREN (FOOTBALL FANS)

As is usual at all important matches, Hillsborough was segregated between the opposing fans. The police chose to put the Nottingham Forest fans in the Spion Kop End of the ground, which had a capacity of 21,000. The Liverpool supporters were assigned to the Leppings Lane End of the stadium, which could only hold 14,600 fans, even though Liverpool were regarded as having a larger support than Nottingham Forest.[7]


The scene outside the ground as the disaster beganKick-off was scheduled for 3:00 pm, with fans advised to take up their positions[8] fifteen minutes beforehand. On the day of the match both radio and television advised that supporters without tickets should not attend.

It was reported that fans had been delayed by unannounced roadworks on the M62 motorway over the Pennines and the resulting road congestion. Between 2:30 pm and 2:40 pm, there was a considerable build-up of fans in the small area outside the turnstile entrances to the Leppings Lane End, all eager to enter the stadium quickly before the match started.[9] A bottleneck developed with more fans arriving than could enter the two cages set in the middle of the Leppings Lane Stand. People who had been refused entry could not leave the area because of the crush behind them but remained as an obstruction. The fans outside could hear the cheering from inside as the teams came on the pitch ten minutes before the match started, and again as the match kicked-off, but could not get in; the start was not delayed while the fans got in. A small gate was opened to eject someone, and twenty people got in through it.[10] A side gate was opened to ease the build up. With an estimated 5,000 fans trying to get through the turnstiles, and increasing security concerns over crushing outside the turnstiles, the police, to avoid deaths outside the ground, opened a set of gates, intended as an exit, which did not have turnstiles (Gate C).[11] This caused a rush of supporters through the gate into the stadium.

The result was that an influx of many thousands of fans through a narrow tunnel at the rear of the terrace, and into the two already overcrowded central pens, caused a huge crush at the front of the terrace, where people were being pressed up against the fencing by the weight of the crowd behind them. The people entering were unaware of the problems at the fence; police or stewards would normally have stood at the entrance to the tunnel if the central pens had reached capacity, and would have directed fans to the side pens, but on this occasion they did not, for reasons which have never been fully explained.


Liverpool fans desperately try to climb the fence onto the safety of the pitchFor some time, the problem at the front of the pen was not noticed by anybody other than those affected; the attention of most people was absorbed by the match, which had already begun. It was not until 3:06 pm that the referee, Ray Lewis, after being advised by the police, stopped the match several minutes after fans had started climbing the fence to escape the crush. By this time, a small gate in the fencing had been forced open and some fans escaped via this route; others continued to climb over the fencing, and still other fans were pulled to safety by fellow fans in the West Stand directly above the Leppings Lane terrace. Finally the fence broke under pressure of people.

The fans were packed so tightly in the pens that many died standing up of compressive asphyxia. The pitch quickly started to fill with people sweating and gasping for breath and injured by crushing, and with the bodies of the dead. The police, stewards and ambulance service present at the stadium were overwhelmed. Uninjured fans helped as best they could, many attempting CPR and some tearing down advertising hoardings to act as makeshift stretchers.

As these events unfolded, some police officers were still being deployed to make a cordon three-quarters of the way down the pitch, with the aim of preventing Liverpool supporters reaching the Nottingham Forest supporters at the opposite end of the stadium. Some fans tried to break through the police cordon to ferry injured supporters to waiting ambulances, and were forcibly turned back. 44 ambulances had arrived at the stadium, but police prevented all but one from entering, and that one was forced to turn back due to the vast number of people who needed help



By bluebirdnips at 2010-04-14

im 23 so bit young to know the ins and outs of it all, seen programmes, read stories etc.

but can onlY imagine the pain for the families who lost loveD ones.

hope they get the aswers they deserve and quickly.

R.I.P.

RIP liverpool

sad day for all football fans

Similar to what Milly said. I'm only 16 so I wasnt alive but I've read and seen things about it.

Very sad day for football.

Justice for the 96

It doesnt matter how many years go past - i remember the day like it was yesterday i was down in Portsmouth for a christening weekend and the day unfolded it just got worse.

R.I.P. to all those who just loved the game

All these problems wouldn't have happened if :

1) Given Liverpool the Spion Kop instead of the Leppings Lane

2)Delayed kick off time.

Too late for those 96. Having been at Hillsborough to watch City when we are in the Leppings lane stand I think that we are standing on a part of a ground that had a bad tragedy.

R.I.P. To the Liverpool 96

RIP to those fans who do exactly as us, we never know how lucky we actually are.
Rest In Peace Liverpool 96

It's something that has alway stuck in my memory, I remember settling down to watch it on live on TV as a 14 year old kid (a rare event in those days) and then just watching the horror of a live disaster being played out in front of my eyes, if I remember rightly it was shown live for a good 30 minutes before they realised that people were dying live on TV

RIP, Never forget

April 15th 1989

Remember the date, it's now set in stone,
Loved ones decked in red, never came home,

Whatever the truth is we'll not likely know,
The carpet its under was swept long ago,

The people we're taught as we grow up to trust in,
Ignore all our calls for the dead to have justice,

The families persistance is moving and right,
The police have closed ranks,but we'll carry the fight.

As days become weeks become months become years,
The Kop we will stand and remember in tears,

With strength and with honour,our Anfield home,
Justice 96, you shall never walk alone.


not made by me but very moving

April 15th 1989

Remember the date, it's now set in stone,
Loved ones decked in red, never came home,

Whatever the truth is we'll not likely know,
The carpet its under was swept long ago,

The people we're taught as we grow up to trust in,
Ignore all our calls for the dead to have justice,

The families persistance is moving and right,
The police have closed ranks,but we'll carry the fight.

As days become weeks become months become years,
The Kop we will stand and remember in tears,

With strength and with honour,our Anfield home,
Justice 96, you shall never walk alone.


not made by me but very moving

For me the Yorkshire Police are worse than the Yorkshire ripper.

MURDER MURDER MURDER

For me the Yorkshire Police are worse than the Yorkshire ripper.

MURDER MURDER MURDER

Absolutely spot on, David Duckenfield retired early and kept his pension.

with having family on my mothers side up that area we always had a soft spot for liverpool,and at the time i was only bout 4 or 5,but ill never forget my mother breaking down in tears in my living room after picking me up from a birthday party in aberfan leisure centre

justice for the 96 youll never walk alone!!!

For me the Yorkshire Police are worse than the Yorkshire ripper.

MURDER MURDER MURDER

Absolutely spot on, David Duckenfield retired early and kept his pension.

what always amazed me is that the same teams contested the same semi final at the same ground the previous season with no problems.
one big cover up by the police

agree steve, masive cover up by the OB it f*cking stinks

I was up at a Sheffield Wednesday game on the 10th anniversary I think it was and the atmosphere was very moving. Thousands of flowers and memorials were up outside the gates. It does give you some empathy with why they want us to sit in stadiums but to be honest, it was more than standing that caused what happened.

Let's not get into that argument though. Today is to remember those lost.

David Duckenfield retired on full police pension due to ill health, after a private prosicution against him was abandoned because his Doctor declared him 'unfit to stand trial'. This is after admitting he had lied in statements about the disaster, the main lie being that the Liverpool fans forced the gates into the Leppings Lane stand open themselves, all the while, he gave the order!!

Dr Steffan Popper, the coroner at the inquest refused to take in to account anything after 3.15pm that day, saying that all victims were either dead or brain dead!! The families of the 96 have campained long and hard, unsuccessfully, to have the inquest reopened. If it was reopened, it would mean more scrutiny for the actions of the Police that day!!

Kelvin Mackenzie, editor of the Sun, printed the front page story "THE TRUTH", with three subheadings of : Some fans picked pockets of victims, Some fans urinated on the brave cops, Some fans beat up PCs giving the kiss of life. The article contained quotes like : "Drunken Liverpool fans viciously attacked rescue workers as they tried to revive victims of the Hillsborough soccer disaster, it was revealed last night. "Police officers, firemen and ambulance crew were punched, kicked and urinated upon by a hooligan element in the crowd. "Some thugs rifled the pockets of injured fans as they were stretched out unconscious on the pitch. "Sheffield MP Irvine Patnick revealed that in one shameful episode a gang of Liverpool fans noticed that the blouse of a girl trampled to death had risen above her breasts. "As a policeman struggled in vain to revive her, the mob jeered: 'Throw her up here and we will **** her'". "One furious policeman who witnessed Saturday's carnage stormed: 'As we struggled in appalling conditions to save lives, fans standing further up the terrace were openly urinating on us and the bodies of the dead." A 'high-ranking' police officer was quoted as saying: "The fans were just acting like animals. My men faced a double hell - the disaster and the fury of the fans who attacked us." He later apologised for his actions, only to rescind his apology years later saying he only apologised because his boss, Rupert Murdoch, had told him too.

At the end of the day, no football fan should go to a game and not come home. But sadly, it would seem that the Police have learned nothing from the events of that day, from the Taylor report, and having gone to South Yorkshire as often as I have, it would seem that constabulary have gone 'the other way'.

Even though I can't stand plastic scouse fans from Cardiff, you have to feel for people who lost their lives because of people in charge .........makes you mad!!

Surprise surprise they got away with it!

Remember it vividly - went awy to play for my then under 14 team in Swindon followed by us watching Swindon v Walsall (If memory serves). Sat in the grandstand watching the start of the match - everyone was full of Liverpool have kicked off v Forest, Ugly scene. This was after Heysel etc so lots of heads shaking in the stand.

Got back to the bus, Driver told us what had happened. Going from a boisterous bus of teenage boys to silence all the way back to Bridgend.

Never forget it - at the rag The Sun days after.

As has been said, fans like us out to see their team on a special day.

RIP all - and condolensces to the families (Keep up the pressure!)

RIP the 96 FANS

justice for the 96

justice for the 96

Justice for the 96

R.I.P

Dr Steffan Popper, the coroner at the inquest refused to take in to account anything after 3.15pm that day, saying that all victims were either dead or brain dead!! The families of the 96 have campained long and hard, unsuccessfully, to have the inquest reopened. If it was reopened, it would mean more scrutiny for the actions of the Police that day!!

r.i.p 96.never forgotten

rip the 96

For me the Yorkshire Police are worse than the Yorkshire ripper.

MURDER MURDER MURDER

Absolutely spot on, David Duckenfield retired early and kept his pension.

what always amazed me is that the same teams contested the same semi final at the same ground the previous season with no problems.
one big cover up by the police

there had been problems with the lepings lane terrance during the 1981 semi. spurs fans had been housed in there

Families must be given the truth about Hillsborough so we can find our peace

Margaret Aspinall

The Times - 20 August 2011.

My son, James, was 18 years old when he died at Hillsborough. The day after the disaster I went to Sheffield to take his body home and, being a mum, I took his coat with me because he didn’t like the cold.

I remember saying to someone, “Put his coat on, I want to take him home”, and I was told he did not belong to me, he belongs to the coroner. In all my screams I said to them: “He still belongs to me because no one’s cut the umbilical cord. He’s mine and he always will be.” That’s why I carry on. As a mother what else could I do?

I brought five children into the world. James was my first-born. People say to me I have another four children to carry on for, but I did not give birth to four, I gave birth to five.

I carry on for the love, for the compassion and for the hurt I still feel for James and I’ve got to do everything in my power to fight for him. I didn’t only lose a son that day. My children also lost a brother.

He did nothing wrong that day. He did everything right, but like all other Liverpool supporters he got accused of being drunk and so much else. We’ve got to clear their names. As a mum with so much love for a child I can no longer see, he is still in my heart and always will be.

For 22 years the fans, the survivors and the 96, have been blamed for everything. The families have gone through hell. We are not fighting for revenge. All we have ever wanted is the truth and accountability.

As a group of bereaved people, the hard core of the families have been together since Day 1. Joan Traynor was our treasurer for 20 years before she became ill. She lost two sons. I spoke to Joan on the phone two days before she died and her last words to me were: “I hope God spares me just long enough to see the truth for my boys. That’s all I want.”

Unfortunately, God didn’t spare her. That is another reason why we must carry on.

We also lost Eddie Spearitt recently, while Phil Hammond has had his health concerns. The fight is now not just about the 96. It is also about the people we have lost along the way.

We are all old now. We started off having raffles to keep the group going and to keep the momentum going. It worked and it’s tremendous that we’ve all stuck together for this long.

We all have different opinions and rightly so, but we have stayed united. If it wasn’t for everyone else we would not have got this far. The support we’ve had, not just from Liverpool, has given us the strength to carry on when we have been at our lowest ebb.

We all want to know why our loved ones died at a football match. James came home five days later in a coffin. I need to know the truth. At the time I probably would’ve hung, drawn and quartered those responsible, but that was just anger. I’ve gone beyond that now. I just want the truth. I’ve got to have some peace in my heart and for the rest of my family.

I want someone to show that what The Sun did a couple of days later was a disgrace. I want somebody to print, not for people just in this country to see, but for people all around the world, that they did nothing wrong that day and I want the apologies that we’ve never received.

They said they had The Truth but they never did, they just had lies. That’s why we must have the real truth.

• Margaret Aspinall is chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group.