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[News] Bradford City fire: Valley Parade memorial held online



neilbard

neilbard

Hedging up
Oct 8, 2013
6,245
Tyringham
Bradford City were playing Lincoln City at Valley Parade when the fire killed 54 Bradford fans and two Lincoln supporters on 11 May 1985.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-52615281

Shocking.

_112227006_gettyimages-1214546521.jpg
_112227281_001975833-1.jpg
 




Perfidious Albion

Perfidious Albion

Well-known member
Oct 25, 2011
6,039
At the end of my tether
35 years ago today... ( can it really be that long! )
I can remember listening to the football commentaries on Radio 5 . They were there as the last day of the season. At first it seemed a small problem but quickly turned to a tragedy,
56 dead, over 250 injured ...All for watching football.
I read that the club had been warned about potential dangers of the stand but nothing had been done.
RIP 56 times over....
 


D

darkwolf666

Well-known member
Nov 8, 2015
7,576
Sittingbourne, Kent
A horrible horrible day, I remember watching that unfold on TV, truly horrendous scenes.

Some people crave for a return to the old days, this acts as a stark reminder as to how bad some old stadia were...
 


Bry Nylon

Bry Nylon

Test your smoke alarm
Helpful Moderator
Jul 21, 2003
19,866
Playing snooker
That fire was just one of at least nine fires at businesses owned by or associated with the club’s then chairman, Stafford Heginbotham. There had been at least eight other fires at business premises either owned by, or connected to, Stafford Heginbotham, Bradford’s then-chairman, in the previous 18 years, resulting resulting in insurance payouts of around £27m in today’s terms.


1) May 1967: fire in Stafford Heginbotham’s factory at three-storey Cutler Heights Lane, Bradford
2) April 1968: fire at Genefoam Ltd, managing director Stafford Heginbotham, Cutler Heights Lane
3) August 1970: store-room explosion at Matgoods, founded by Heginbotham, in Wyke, Bradford
4) December 1971: tenant fire at Castle Mills building, Cleckheaton, owned by Heginbotham
5) August 1977: fire at Yorkshire Knitting Mills, in Heginbotham-owned Douglas Mills building, Bradford
6) December 1977: fire at four-story Coronet Marketing factory, Leeds Road, Bradford. Coronet Marketing a subsidiary of Tebro Toys, owned by Heginbotham
7) November 1977: fire with toxic fumes at Douglas Mills factory
8) June 1981: fire in plastics factory at Heginbotham-owned Douglas Mills

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/apr/15/bradford-fire-stafford-heginbotham-martin-fletcher
 


B

blue-shifted

Banned
Feb 20, 2004
7,645
a galaxy far far away
Bry Nylon said:
That fire was just one of at least nine fires at businesses owned by or associated with the club’s then chairman, Stafford Heginbotham. There had been at least eight other fires at business premises either owned by, or connected to, Stafford Heginbotham, Bradford’s then-chairman, in the previous 18 years, resulting resulting in insurance payouts of around £27m in today’s terms.


1) May 1967: fire in Stafford Heginbotham’s factory at three-storey Cutler Heights Lane, Bradford
2) April 1968: fire at Genefoam Ltd, managing director Stafford Heginbotham, Cutler Heights Lane
3) August 1970: store-room explosion at Matgoods, founded by Heginbotham, in Wyke, Bradford
4) December 1971: tenant fire at Castle Mills building, Cleckheaton, owned by Heginbotham
5) August 1977: fire at Yorkshire Knitting Mills, in Heginbotham-owned Douglas Mills building, Bradford
6) December 1977: fire at four-story Coronet Marketing factory, Leeds Road, Bradford. Coronet Marketing a subsidiary of Tebro Toys, owned by Heginbotham
7) November 1977: fire with toxic fumes at Douglas Mills factory
8) June 1981: fire in plastics factory at Heginbotham-owned Douglas Mills

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/apr/15/bradford-fire-stafford-heginbotham-martin-fletcher
Click to expand...

How unlucky can one man be?

Rest in peace to our brothers from Bradford who died on that horrific day
 




Swansman

Swansman

Pro-peace
May 13, 2019
22,320
Sweden
Bry Nylon said:
That fire was just one of at least nine fires at businesses owned by or associated with the club’s then chairman, Stafford Heginbotham. There had been at least eight other fires at business premises either owned by, or connected to, Stafford Heginbotham, Bradford’s then-chairman, in the previous 18 years, resulting resulting in insurance payouts of around £27m in today’s terms.


1) May 1967: fire in Stafford Heginbotham’s factory at three-storey Cutler Heights Lane, Bradford
2) April 1968: fire at Genefoam Ltd, managing director Stafford Heginbotham, Cutler Heights Lane
3) August 1970: store-room explosion at Matgoods, founded by Heginbotham, in Wyke, Bradford
4) December 1971: tenant fire at Castle Mills building, Cleckheaton, owned by Heginbotham
5) August 1977: fire at Yorkshire Knitting Mills, in Heginbotham-owned Douglas Mills building, Bradford
6) December 1977: fire at four-story Coronet Marketing factory, Leeds Road, Bradford. Coronet Marketing a subsidiary of Tebro Toys, owned by Heginbotham
7) November 1977: fire with toxic fumes at Douglas Mills factory
8) June 1981: fire in plastics factory at Heginbotham-owned Douglas Mills

source: 1) May 1967: fire in Stafford Heginbotham’s factory at three-storey Cutler Heights Lane, Bradford
2) April 1968: fire at Genefoam Ltd, managing director Stafford Heginbotham, Cutler Heights Lane
3) August 1970: store-room explosion at Matgoods, founded by Heginbotham, in Wyke, Bradford
4) December 1971: tenant fire at Castle Mills building, Cleckheaton, owned by Heginbotham
5) August 1977: fire at Yorkshire Knitting Mills, in Heginbotham-owned Douglas Mills building, Bradford
6) December 1977: fire at four-story Coronet Marketing factory, Leeds Road, Bradford. Coronet Marketing a subsidiary of Tebro Toys, owned by Heginbotham
7) November 1977: fire with toxic fumes at Douglas Mills factory
8) June 1981: fire in plastics factory at Heginbotham-owned Douglas Mills
Click to expand...

Yes. And regarding the stand that burned down that day was to be demolished the same summer with a new one of steel replacing it, at a cost of £1,2m (todays value). Instead, Bradford got £7m (also todays value) in insurance money.

Heginbotham had a sign in his office that said "There are three types of people – those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened".

Sure, the investigation didnt show any proof of arson, but it was also by all accounts half-assedly done in like three days. Considering the circumstances and the history of this asshole... its hard not to get suspicious, especially when you read Martin Fletchers book about it.
 


Official Old Man

Official Old Man

Uckfield Seagull
Aug 27, 2011
8,559
Brighton
Quote from the commentary-
"They came to watch the football. This is human tragedy"
A small fire can be seen at 15:44. Within just four minutes the entire stand is alight. Could you have got out of the Goldstone West Stand in that time?
Luckily no fencing or the death toll would have been thousands (2500 in a full stand).
My thoughts will always be with those we lost that sad day.
 


Poojah

Poojah

Well-known member
Nov 19, 2010
1,881
Leeds
If you look on the memorial, there are four names from the same family - the Fletcher's. I was good friends with a lad from that family at school; he lost his dad, his granddad, his uncle and his cousin in that fire. He was only a few months old at the time - absolutely galling for the family. A massive tragedy for all concerned, RIP.
 




atfc village

atfc village

Well-known member
Mar 28, 2013
5,018
Lower Bourne .Farnham
The one tragedy of the 80's that doesn't get the coverage of others . RIP the 54 Bradford and 2 Lincoln . Always made a point of stopping at the memorial at Bradford every time i've been.
 


Guy Fawkes

Guy Fawkes

The voice of treason
Sep 29, 2007
8,205
Swansman said:
Yes. And regarding the stand that burned down that day was to be demolished the same summer with a new one of steel replacing it, at a cost of £1,2m (todays value). Instead, Bradford got £7m (also todays value) in insurance money.

Heginbotham had a sign in his office that said "There are three types of people – those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened".

Sure, the investigation didnt show any proof of arson, but it was also by all accounts half-assedly done in like three days. Considering the circumstances and the history of this asshole... its hard not to get suspicious, especially when you read Martin Fletchers book about it.
Click to expand...
Police identify Australian man whose dropped cigarette started the Bradford City fire
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uk...cigarette-started-the-Bradford-City-fire.html
 


M

Munkfish

Well-known member
May 1, 2006
11,873
Guy I work with was there. I wish I hadn't started the conversation today. Poor people who were there that day.
 




Swansman

Swansman

Pro-peace
May 13, 2019
22,320
Sweden
Guy Fawkes said:
Police identify Australian man whose dropped cigarette started the Bradford City fire
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uk...cigarette-started-the-Bradford-City-fire.html
Click to expand...

About that article...

"On 17 April 2015, retired Detective Inspector Raymond Falconer, in a report by the Bradford Telegraph and Argus, said the police were aware of an Australian man who admitted to starting the fire.[59] Following the 30th anniversary of the fire, a number of news organisations named this man as Eric Bennett who was visiting his nephew in Bradford from Australia and attended the game on the day.[60] 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. He is quoted as saying: "I don't believe the statement of retired Detective Inspector Raymond Falconer at all. I don't know where Falconer is getting this cock-and-bull story from… the inaccuracies in this report [documentary] are dumbfounding."[61]

Raymond Falconer's reliability had previously been questioned by Daniel Taylor in The Guardian who stated that: "The Bradford Telegraph and Argus described him as a 'top detective'. 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."[62]"

(from Wikipedia)
 


Guy Fawkes

Guy Fawkes

The voice of treason
Sep 29, 2007
8,205
darkwolf666 said:
A horrible horrible day, I remember watching that unfold on TV, truly horrendous scenes.

Some people crave for a return to the old days, this acts as a stark reminder as to how bad some old stadia were...
Click to expand...

And also how poor attitudes were at the time towards the health and safety of fans (the authorities were more focused on hooliganism instead - also see Hillsborough)

You certainly wouldn't find padlocked exits at any event with a large crowd any more and i doubt rubbish being allowed to pile up under the wooden stand in the way it had would still be acceptable when it came to issuing safety certificates

It should never take a disaster like this (or at Hillsborough) to shift the authorities focus back onto making sure that fans can attend games and be able to return home safely afterwards as it should never have been moved away from that in the first place. RIP the 56
 
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DavidinSouthampton

DavidinSouthampton

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jan 3, 2012
16,594
I remember very well watching it on the TV. It was just horrible. Awful, frightening. All so quick. I'm sure a good many if us had been in similar stands.
 


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