The impact of Hillsborough

[snez1]

Heartbreaking. Read Anne William's book a few years ago, impossible not to well up every five minutes, just like with that article.

[Liverpool lad]

Just read it then, I knew it would a hard read so I waited for the family to go to bed. I found it hard to read long passages in one go without feeling angry, sorry or upset. Justice for the 96

[Mick R]

It's strange reading posts by people saying they weren't born when the disaster occurred.

 

Reading that mag in the Observer today was an eye opener. I was on the Leppings Lane terrace for that match, and I've written several times about my own personal experiences of the day. I've attended memorials at Anfield and I even went to Hillsborough on my motorbike last April 15th - they kindly let me in and I walked around the Leppings Lane stand, looking up the tunnel, and looking up to the area I stood in on the day (long story, but - one of the side pens - the lad I went to the game with had been there for the semi the previous year, experienced the crush, and figured out a better plan than staying in the central pen behind the goal).

 

Yet some of the stuff I read today was new to me, and so utterly heart-wrenching. The first account, which told of men standing around the author, dead, eyes staring forward, bodies held in place by the crush - man, that's hideous. The lad who killed himself - when I read about his daughter walking in to the garage and finding him there, I sobbed, a proper hearty sob I never imagined myself capable of.

 

To some people we are whingeing Scousers who love having a gripe so that we can continue to moan. I guess that's often not far from the truth, but, unbelievably, people still fire this accusation at us in relation to 15th April 1989.

 

Hillsborough is different. A truly horrifying situation that could have been avoided. A disaster that touched so many hundreds (thousands) of people, and continues to touch them today. So many lives lost that shouldn't have been.

 

It's so very important that people are educated about what happened that day, about the causes, the reactions. Perhaps justice will never be achieved and the hastily re-written 183(?) police statements will help in achieving the goal that SYP aimed for - burying the truth forever. But I, along with many thousands of others, know the truth.

 

Any of you young whippersnappers who weren't around at the time, read Phil Scraton's book.

 

Never waver. One day there will be justice.

[Herp McDerp]

Thanks for that post. We as a club should be doing more to get stuff like this out in the open, I was 12 before I found out what actually happened at Hillsborough, and I'm pretty sure there are fans arround the world who know less about what happened than me. What makes it worse is that fans of opposing teams(guess which ones) in countries like Malaysia & Singapore spout as much shit about us being "murderers" as do the shower of shite in England, further compounding the problem is that many Liverpool fans abroad don't have a clue about what happened and may end up believing that crap. I was in a pub in Kuala Lumpur about a year ago when some dumb 5 foot tall Utd fan started with the murderer jibes and just kept going on and on,and some local Reds were asking why I lost it, they didn't have a clue about what actually caused the at Hillsborough. A lot of our fans abroad don't know about what happened on that day or have heard incorrect versions of the events that unfolded from rival fans, articles like these should be linked on the official website to enable fans like me who live outside of the UK to fully grasp what exactly caused the Hillsborough disaster and the effect it had.

[lifetime fan]

Michael had ended up hanging over this barrier. He severed the nerves in the top of his leg, which has left him partially disabled, and he suffered broken ribs - one of these fans had been hammering on his chest to revive him. He only found out what had happened three weeks later, when he went to the rearranged match at Old Trafford and bumped into these lads. One of them said: "Last time we saw you, you were dead!" They had been giving him the kiss of life when a policeman came over and said: "You're wasting your time, lads, leave him there with ... " (there was a line of bodies, you know). These lads got the fright of their lives when they saw Michael on his crutches, but they were overjoyed because their efforts hadn't been in vain.

 

Reading that just...I don't know what, its just so fucked up.

[halewood pete]

i went with four mates in a car.we got involved in the crush outside before the gates were opened ,but we were in the stands on the left of the leppings lane end and from the year before we knew the layout of the ground and not to head for the tunnel,but to keep to the left.ive never been to anfield for a 15th april memorial service,but i am going this year

[lifetime fan]

I'm not able to put into words what I wanted to say.

[Cath]

It's strange reading posts by people saying they weren't born when the disaster occurred.

 

Reading that mag in the Observer today was an eye opener. I was on the Leppings Lane terrace for that match, and I've written several times about my own personal experiences of the day. I've attended memorials at Anfield and I even went to Hillsborough on my motorbike last April 15th - they kindly let me in and I walked around the Leppings Lane stand, looking up the tunnel, and looking up to the area I stood in on the day (long story, but - one of the side pens - the lad I went to the game with had been there for the semi the previous year, experienced the crush, and figured out a better plan than staying in the central pen behind the goal).

Hi Mick, I remember chatting to you afterwards over a cuppa. There's maybe about 20 of is who go to Hillsborough every anniversary. We stand at the memorial by the roadside usually with the cars driving past oblivious to us and our feelings. I'm sure SWFC wonder why we still come year after year. Talking to you last year made me realise how important it is that we keep it going. If anyone who can't get to Anfield this year would like to join us in Sheffield everyone is welcome.

 

Yet some of the stuff I read today was new to me, and so utterly heart-wrenching. The first account, which told of men standing around the author, dead, eyes staring forward, bodies held in place by the crush - man, that's hideous. The lad who killed himself - when I read about his daughter walking in to the garage and finding him there, I sobbed, a proper hearty sob I never imagined myself capable of.

 

To some people we are whingeing Scousers who love having a gripe so that we can continue to moan. I guess that's often not far from the truth, but, unbelievably, people still fire this accusation at us in relation to 15th April 1989.

 

Hillsborough is different. A truly horrifying situation that could have been avoided. A disaster that touched so many hundreds (thousands) of people, and continues to touch them today. So many lives lost that shouldn't have been.

 

It's so very important that people are educated about what happened that day, about the causes, the reactions. Perhaps justice will never be achieved and the hastily re-written 183(?) police statements will help in achieving the goal that SYP aimed for - burying the truth forever. But I, along with many thousands of others, know the truth.

 

Any of you young whippersnappers who weren't around at the time, read Phil Scraton's book.

 

Never waver. One day there will be justice.

I've highlighted that para because to me that's been the most difficult thing of the last 20 years. I've lost count of the pubs I've left because someone is telling the story of those horrible Scousers and how they caused the deaths of their own. The woman whose husband had been so angry over Kelvin McKenzie is tragic. And they still ask us why we can't just forget it.

[Barrington Womble]

Thanks for that post. We as a club should be doing more to get stuff like this out in the open, I was 12 before I found out what actually happened at Hillsborough, and I'm pretty sure there are fans arround the world who know less about what happened than me. What makes it worse is that fans of opposing teams(guess which ones) in countries like Malaysia & Singapore spout as much shit about us being "murderers" as do the shower of shite in England, further compounding the problem is that many Liverpool fans abroad don't have a clue about what happened and may end up believing that crap. I was in a pub in Kuala Lumpur about a year ago when some dumb 5 foot tall Utd fan started with the murderer jibes and just kept going on and on,and some local Reds were asking why I lost it, they didn't have a clue about what actually caused the at Hillsborough. A lot of our fans abroad don't know about what happened on that day or have heard incorrect versions of the events that unfolded from rival fans, articles like these should be linked on the official website to enable fans like me who live outside of the UK to fully grasp what exactly caused the Hillsborough disaster and the effect it had.

 

As far as I knew the murderers stuff is about Hysel not Hillsborough anyway.

[RedinSweden]

A very good piece that. I always well up reading about it. I was so close to going to the match, but gave my ticket to a mate. I had been picked for the hockey first team and didn't want to miss out. My mates actually ended up in the upper tier, swapping their tickets with a couple of lads who wanted to be in leppings lane. If it had happened the year before at the same match i would have been right in the middle of it.

 

Disgusting that such extreme incompetence can be left unpunished. But anyone who used to go back then will not be surprised. The contempt for the fans was disgraceful.

[WaltonRed]

I find it very hard to read anything about it so I just came straight to this page.

 

I cant put in to words what I'd like to say so I'll just say justice for the 96 and their families.

 

YNWA

[Sangria]

Sorry but that is too much for me. Crying like a baby I am off.

[El Davo]

The 20 year anniverary is almost upon us and it has taken me a long time to prepare myself to read Prof. Scraton's book and articles similar to this one but having read it recently it has helped me.

 

God Bless

[Moe Town]

Am I right in thinking that there is a new TV documentary coming on soon? I'm sure I heard that it was something to do with the Hitory Channel, anyone know any info on this?

 

15 April is such a difficult date for me personally, my son was born in 2006 on that very date. He was born 2 minutes to midnight and shamefully I begged the midwife at the time to say it was a minute passed.

[Fugitive]

I've hardly ever seen my Dad cry but every year at the Service he and his mate usually break down. He said it is easily the worst day of his life and it's still so vivid in his mind. My Mum was in hysterics that day because she never heard from him until 11pm and she says she could not bare to think what those went through and still go through, who never ever heard from their loved ones again.

 

A fucking horrible horrible day that could have been prevented if those running it were not so utterly incompetent.

[Herp McDerp]

As far as I knew the murderers stuff is about Hysel not Hillsborough anyway.

 

 

Someone halfway arround the world isn't likely to know that.

[aws]

Am I right in thinking that there is a new TV documentary coming on soon? I'm sure I heard that it was something to do with the Hitory Channel, anyone know any info on this?

 

15 April is such a difficult date for me personally, my son was born in 2006 on that very date. He was born 2 minutes to midnight and shamefully I begged the midwife at the time to say it was a minute passed.

 

I think there is a documentary being broadcast on Yesterday channel on the anniversary.

[Lucky Pierre]

Spent my lunch reading that. Some very moving stuff there

[mattyq]

Started reading it but couldn't finish it.

I lived in Sheffield at the time and knew hillsborough quite well so realised that the central pen would be a nightmare so had planned to go to the corner terracing which was normally closed. As it was we got caught up in the crush outside and had just got to the outer turnstiles before things started to go seriously wrong.

There but for the grace of God etc

[RedinSweden]

I've hardly ever seen my Dad cry but every year at the Service he and his mate usually break down. He said it is easily the worst day of his life and it's still so vivid in his mind. My Mum was in hysterics that day because she never heard from him until 11pm and she says she could not bare to think what those went through and still go through, who never ever heard from their loved ones again.

 

A fucking horrible horrible day that could have been prevented if those running it were not so utterly incompetent.

 

That was the case for so many. People didn't have mobiles. It hadn't occurred to my mate to ring me until he got back to Shrewsbury later that evening. I was a fucking wreck waiting.

[Cath]

That was the case for so many. People didn't have mobiles. It hadn't occurred to my mate to ring me until he got back to Shrewsbury later that evening. I was a fucking wreck waiting.

 

You couldn't get through to Liverpool from Sheffield on the phones. It was 9 o'clock before I managed to get a line to family in Southport. I'd been home the weekend before and had been telling everyone I was going to the game. They were all gathered at my mam's waiting for news.

 

To be honest though I don't think getting to a phone occurred to most people. I went with a lad I shared a student house with. We'd got home and were sat motionless in front of the telly when his girlfriend appeared at the back door in tears. It had never occurred to him to phone her. We weren't thinking straight. (He was Forest fan BTW, not sure why it's relevant)

[P.S.D]

I know this is a slight sidetrack to the main thread, but was wondering Phil Scraton's book Hillsborough The Truth is coming out again in early april, I got the 1st edition & the 2nd updated edition, but can anyone tell me what new stuff if any is in this version that will be released on the 02-04-09,

[Mick R]

Hi Mick, I remember chatting to you afterwards over a cuppa. There's maybe about 20 of is who go to Hillsborough every anniversary. We stand at the memorial by the roadside usually with the cars driving past oblivious to us and our feelings. I'm sure SWFC wonder why we still come year after year. Talking to you last year made me realise how important it is that we keep it going. If anyone who can't get to Anfield this year would like to join us in Sheffield everyone is welcome.

 

Hi Cath - to be honest, most of that day is a blur to me now - the main thing I remember is how apt it seemed that as the service finished, the sky went black, really black, and these massive hailstones started pounding down. First I thought how right it seemed, then I realised I had to get back to Merseyside on two wheels!!

 

Interesting point on the mobile phones and lack of back in '89. This came up in a conversation I had the other day. There were queues of people outside loads of houses of residents in Sheffield. I was stood behind Brian Regan (Terry from Brookside).

 

One thing I remember about work on the Monday morning was how eerily silent it was, even though there were hundreds of people there. Eventually it filtered through that two lads from our place never made it back.

 

What a crazy time that was, the immediate aftermath...

[23_Carra_Gold]

I was born 2 years after the disaster. I've read so much about it, I've seen so many images, videos and after reading Phil Scrattons book which made my blood run cold from front cover to back I swore I'd read no more about it. Its fucking heart wrenching reading this thread and reading posts from people who were there or who knew people who suffered or passed on. There are literally tears rolling down my face after reading that article coupled with one or two of the posts in this thread.

 

Its fucking shocking that this still hasn't been cleared up and justice hasn't been delivered. Its even more shocking that some cunts who've read what I've read or seen what some of you have seen still sing about Munich at our games, but thats not relevant here. I don't understand how there's so many out there still ignorant to this. So many dickheads in Ireland who buy go in and buy the S*N wearing their replica shirts (they have all the shirts from 1990 onwards, real fans you see). I had just given up on educating people about it because I saw it as futile after 5 or 6 years of passionate lectures when I'd see it over and over again. But after reading this and reading what some people suffered I'm more passionate about it then I ever was. I will educate every single ignorant or souless person I can find about this issue and continue my own small fight for justice.

 

Truly heartwrenching and to everybody who posted personal accounts of that day I can only offer my heartfelt respect to you. You are the truly courageous ones.

[Malarkey]

I've read that article 3 times now and it makes me more sad and angry every time. How can people look on as so many people are struggling to live?

 

How everything has been swept under the rug by the "system" is baffling.

 

Justice.