hillsborough disaster interview

As the gate is opened I dodge the first few fans coming in as I try to wait around, but the numbers coming in becomes a flood and I am swept away, up the tunnel onto the entrance to the terraces.”, After being crushed against the wall outside the ground for what felt like an eternity, Steve Hart fell through a turnstile, with his ticket still intact, and was struggling to get his breath back in the concourse area between the turnstiles, exit gate C and the tunnel: ‘By the time I got into the ground I had lost my mates. Those who have failed should hold their hand up, admit their mistakes and take their punishment. To have lost someone and to have the majority of people think that they were killed by their own kind or through their own fault is not right. As the saying goes, “the lie is halfway around the world before the truth has got its pants on”. The crowd was building up, when Paul Jarvill joined it: “There was no queuing system. Overcrowding in the stands led to the deaths of 96 fans in a crush. The kids know to turn the TV off if something about Hillsborough comes on; they know to leave me alone on the anniversary of the day itself. There was a mounted officer with a bullhorn shouting, 'Get back, step back', but you couldn’t. As I went down the slope, I went into the terraces in one movement and by the time I got myself together, I realised that I was looking back at the way I had come in.”, Dr Glyn Phillips realised straight away that the central pens were abnormally full: “I knew this was not a good place to be and we decided to move higher up the terrace. Here is a look at the Hillsborough Disaster, a 1989 tragedy at a British soccer stadium. On Saturday 15 April 1989, some 96 Liverpool fans attending the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest were killed when a crush developed at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. The policeman had a flat cap, so he was obviously not an everyday bobby. There were police on horses; the horses were trying to move about. By then, people couldn’t stand aside, so we went down on hands and knees and crawled through legs. Then we were looking at each other with faces of incredulity. Everyone just headed for the tunnel. How much does that mean to the people of Liverpool? We fight for what we believe in; no matter how hard we need to fight or how long we need to fight for, we just keep fighting. The next thing we knew we went tumbling forward. There wasn’t much you could do, though, because you were stuck, penned in by the side against railings. I remember seeing The Sun headline and thinking to myself: “Wow. Whenever it got dark, it gave you the incentive to keep fighting. That brought a lot of comfort to me because it helped me realise that I wasn’t the only one struggling to cope with the horrors of that day and that even big dockers cry sometimes.”. People underestimate us. I kept saying to my partner that something was wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what. I never saw any of that”. "Those responsible need to face the consequences of their actions – no more, no less. Steven Gerrard says the memory of his cousin who died in the Hillsborough disaster has inspired him to reach the pinnacle of his profession. It doesn’t matter that it was 23 years ago or that some may have retired or changed jobs. When I looked out across the pitch, it was like a war zone. To wait that long to get the truth widely accepted is far too long to wait. I never did go to the replayed match but I did go to the final against Everton with my dad, who is an Everton fan. Imagine having your elbows down by your side and your hands up in front of your chest. He just laughed and said, “Well, in that case I'm better off in here.”, At around this time, Richie Greaves and his friends also arrived at the Leppings Lane end: “Outside the turnstiles it was absolutely chocka. I looked around and there were people being dragged up into the stands behind us and I said to the lads, ‘Let’s try and get back towards the wall, because at least if there was a wall behind us we’re not going to get hurt’.”, Grant Walker also recalls the moment that the gate opened: “Everyone was worried that we were going to miss the kick-off. We made our way into the little pen in front of the turnstiles and probably got through at about 2.45 p.m.”, Inside the ground, Danny Rhodes, a Nottingham Forest supporter at the Kop end, picks up the story: ‘As time ticked on towards 2.30pm, the Forest end started filling up. I remember little things like that nobody had a mobile phone in those days so you couldn’t phone or text to let people know that you were ok. If that happens, we will be able to move on without ever forgetting the 96 and what happened on that day. In cases where it is appropriate, I would like to see criminal charges brought against individuals responsible. Even those who chant for justice for the 96 at football matches have done their bit in keeping up awareness of the campaign and kept the profile high. All of those responsible for the decisions that they took on the day and participated in the cover up afterwards should face the consequences. It’s an open concourse outside the turnstiles, and everyone was allowed onto it. I couldn’t believe what I saw. The truth has been revealed but the 96 deserve justice now. Since the recent report was published various individuals including the UK Government, South Yorkshire Police and Kelvin MacKenzie have apologised. It was a squeeze, but we made it down, probably more by luck than judgement. Trying to get towards the turnstiles was like swimming in mud. At that point I thought there was no point hanging around any longer, so I went down the tunnel.”, Peter Dalling remembers walking through the gate into the tightly packed tunnel: “The coppers just said, ‘Go in there’ so we walked through and down the tunnel. I’ve often wondered who else might have noticed. Once inside, he remembers seeing only one way to go: “There was nobody inside the compound between the turnstiles and the tunnel directing people where to go. There were no exits left and right, so you could only go forwards. That was my first ever visit to Hillsborough and I thought if everyone is headed for the tunnel then that must be the right way. I never knew any of the 96 who died but, even still, that day has affected me ever since. ", ...red sky thinking for an open and diverse left. I remember saying that I had never seen it so full before. That caused many people to lose their footing, as Peter Carney recalls: “As we walked in, we heard the roar of the crowd as the teams came out. Every so often, you’d hear a small cheer as someone was brought back to life on the pitch, only to fade away again. "To be honest, I didn’t catch on too quickly. Tim Knowles, originally from Formby , was 17 when he went to the FA Cup semi-final on April 15, 1989. The Hillsborough Independent Panel has presented its 395-page report on the Hillsborough disaster of April 15, 1989 in which 96 Liverpool fans went to a football match and never came home. The The term ‘panic’ occurred frequently in their accounts, but more detailed descriptions of their This is an edited extract from ‘The Hillsborough Disaster: In Their Own Words’ by Mike Nicholson (Amberley Publishing, £12.99), Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. St George’s Hall in Liverpool became a focus for remembrance following the verdict last month, Relatives react after the jury delivered its verdict at the new inquests into the Hillsborough disaster, in Warrington, Relatives of those who died in the Hillsborough disaster celebrate outside the Hillsborough Inquest in Warrington, Margaret Aspinall holds a banner after the jury delivered its verdict at the new inquests into the Hillsborough disaster, Relatives of the Hillsborough sing 'You'll never walk alone' as they depart Birchwood Park after hearing the conclusions of the Hillsborough inquest, Relatives of Hillsborough victims show their emotions as they depart Birchwood Park after hearing the conclusions of the Hillsborough inquest, Relatives of Hillsborough victims hug as they depart Birchwood Park after hearing the conclusions of the Hillsborough inquest in Warrington, Margaret Aspinall (C), whose son James died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, makes a statement following the conclusion of the inquest into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, Relatives sing "You'll never walk alone" after the jury delivered its verdict at the new inquests into the Hillsborough disaster, Relatives of Hillsborough victims hold up banners as they depart Birchwood Park after hearing the conclusions of the Hillsborough inquest, Donna Miller (R), sister of Hillsborough victim Paul Carlile holds up a banner as relatives depart Birchwood Park after hearing the conclusions of the Hillsborough inquest in Warrington, Andy Burnham's tribute to Hillsborough victims, Read more South Yorkshire Police 'tried to spin Hillsborough inquest reports', Accountability does not end with Hillsborough, the South Yorkshire Police need to be held responsible for Orgreave, Eamonn Holmes apologises after comparing Manchester United bus attack to Hillsborough disaster, Hillsborough disaster: PCC Alan Billings to investigate claims South Yorkshire Police ‘tried to spin inquest reports', Hillsborough disaster's '97th victim' killed himself after selling ticket to friend who died at match, {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, Hillsborough families react to inquest conclusions, Witnesses give their accounts of the events that led to Hillsborough, Up to 50% discount on bed & breakfast stays across the UK, Use this Debenhams discount and save up to 70% on men's lines - Spring offer, Exclusive Ideal World promo code: 20% saving on fitness, Up to 70% AliExpress discount on super value deals this week, Argos promo: Up to 50% off in the Tu Kid clothing sale. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? What would you say to those who failed to address the injustice when they had the chance? ‘Open the fucking gates, people are going to die outside,’ is heard by a number of people and the coppers are standing taking it, looking scared and out of their depth. Hillsborough disaster, incident in which a crush of football (soccer) fans resulted in 96 deaths and hundreds of injuries during a match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, on April 15, 1989. Interview. The pressure just kept building. I said to my friends, ‘We can’t stay in here, we’ve got to get out.’ We went left at the end of the tunnel into Pen 4. (Hillsborough Independent Panel Report, 2012; RIV, 2016), they were regarded as responsible, for many years. I saw with my own eyes what happened that day and I knew the truth but most people didn’t and that was difficult to accept. At the Leppings Lane end, in the already packed central ‘pens’, 96 Liverpool supporters died after the police opened an exit gate on them to relieve crowd pressure outside the ground. This harrowing account of the Hillsborough disaster is told through the eyes of a survivor. Next minute there’s a cheer, and the exit gate opened up, so we all filed through. Dave Roland was seen sitting on a terrace with his head in his hands in the aftermath of the catastrophe in which 96 people died. And that is uncomfortable, with the weight of people behind you and an iron bar in your chest. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. By 2.30pm, I was becoming concerned. And we noticed very early that something was wrong with the Leppings Lane end. Whenever I recall the day and see the pitch, in my mind, I always think of a scene akin to something from World War I: The shell suits turn into army uniforms with tin helmets on, those advertising stretchers are real stretchers. My parents never even knew that I was alive until I walked through the door at around 10pm that night. Immediately inside, there was a police officer guarding a programme seller. It’s completely unacceptable. The pressure was now so great that I had my arm in front of me at head height so that it was more comfortable and I could hold myself off the person in front of me. I got under the horse and went through the turnstile. One lad near me joked that Liverpool hadn’t sold all their tickets. But it wasn’t like that– you could see the crowd moving forward, but you couldn’t see anyone moving back again.”, The constant flow of people coming down the long, dark tunnel behind was immediately filling any space that a forward motion created, and leaving the crowd that bit more compressed. I can’t imagine what the families of the deceased have been through. The crush wasn’t as bad as it was to be inside, but the police had lost control of it, basically. And we strained our necks upwards, we could see a little bit of the pitch, with only a small gap that you could actually see down. It has become a little easier as groups began to form and provided us with a voice and a platform. Even this early, people looked tense, and as time got closer to kick-off it was getting more and more tense. Find professional Hillsborough Disaster videos and stock footage available for license in film, television, advertising and corporate uses. The anger, disgust and realisation of what was being said and what was going on kicked in shortly afterwards.". Higher up, it was still so tight that standing up was difficult but we did it. People were running around in circles in sheer desperation doing their best to help those who were dying. I believe that the Hillsborough disaster and the circumstances surrounding it are a unique case that justifies unique action. Football club marked 32nd anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster yesterday Flags were flown at half mast and shoppers stopped to reflect in city at 3.06pm By Katie Weston For Mailonline I’m in, but what the hell is going on outside?”, Brian Johnson was by this time safely inside the ground in the far right of the West Stand seated section above the Leppings Lane terraces: “About 2.40ish, I decided to go to the toilets. Twenty-seven years ago, the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, turned into carnage. Writer of Hillsborough The Truth, Professor Phil Scraton gives a unique account of the Hillsborough football disaster. Hillsborough disaster: police officer in charge showed 'lack of leadership' This article is more than 2 years old. So we moved down further still to try and get a barrier behind us again…”, Nick Braley moved to the side as gate C opened briefly and he took advantage of the opportunity: “It was dangerous out there, really dangerous. The truth is a massive step forward for everyone but only justice will provide us with closure. There was a barrier to my left, so I tried traversing across, thinking that if I get behind that then I can’t go further forward as it would offer protection.”. It helped you to realise that you were right and that there was a fight to be taken on.". Surely the authorities did? Following the Hillsborough disaster, the Taylor Report made recommendations to prevent anything similar happening again, chiefly ensuring that all … On a bright sunny day in Sheffield, an exit gate had increased the density of the crowd considerably and, with no direction and no attempt to seal access, the lives of thousands were about to change forever…. At that time I was scared and starting to panic. I believe that the close relationship between the Government and South Yorkshire Police, partly because of the Miners’ Strike meant that the Police believed that they were untouchable and that they could do whatever they wanted. We don’t have justice yet but, at last, we have truth. The philosophy in Liverpool is that you look after your own. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Afterwards, the memories are difficult to deal with. It’s very wrong.". For anyone to lose someone very close to them, even due to natural causes, the feeling of loss lasts for a very long time. It was at this point that Match Commander Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield – who was watching the crowd on CCTV from his position in the police control box overlooking the Leppings Lane terraces – gave the order to open the gates. Our Steve is a personal insight into the process of new inquests into the disaster (2014) and the forensic search into how my brother Steve died there. Everything was good-humoured, but I was already getting jostled about as people were singing and dancing. I was in agony, I could hardly breathe, and I was gasping for air.”, The situation outside was now dangerous, and clearly wasn’t going to be resolved without urgent action. I decide to hang on and wait for my mates and am stood for a couple of minutes until the call to open the gate is made – thank God for that. A not-guilty ruling related to the 1989 disaster presented a difficult reality: The 96 who died were unlawfully killed, but nobody, most likely, will ever be held responsible. The very name, ‘exit’ gate, tells you they were not designed to allow fans to enter. Interview: A Hillsborough survivor speaks. At the time I was not concerned, as I was used to standing behind the goal and it is part of why I loved to go the game: the atmosphere, the hustle and bustle. Outside, Nick Braley decided it was getting to be too much: ‘I say to the lads that I don’t care if I miss the kick-off, don’t care if I miss the match, this is dangerous and I want out. That simply is not good enough. Hillsborough is a definitive account of the 1989 Hillsborough Stadium disaster in Sheffield, England, during an FA Cup semi-final football match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. "Waiting 23 years is a long time to have waited for the truth. I was concerned for my safety. I’ve always found that what happened that day to be a very difficult thing to talk about and the smears were a big part of that because people believed the lies. The memories are, of course, focused on what happened but the build up to the match itself was nothing unusual. Twenty years after Britain's worst stadium disaster, Adrian Tempany and five other survivors describe the impact Hillsborough has had on their lives Hillsborough … From where I was, you could see the individual people in each of the wing pens, but the central pens were far, far busier and just one big mass of heads. Die Hillsborough-Katastrophe war ein schweres Zuschauerunglück mit 96 Toten und 766 Verletzten am 15. He never told anyone about what he thought that he’d seen. An interview study investigated survivors’ accounts of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. When I got back to my seat, I said to my dad, ‘There is no way that lot are getting in before kick-off; you wanna see it out there’!”, The crowd in the cramped courtyard outside the turnstiles had become compacted, as the number of fans arriving at the back outnumbered the number that the turnstiles could admit. My dad was convinced that he’d seen my jacket being packed away into a plastic bag during a television update and, so, my parents hadn’t seen any updates for hours because my dad wouldn’t let my mum watch it. What do you think of those apologies? There were a number of people seriously hurt in the tunnel, but I think we must have missed that. Fans are getting agitated. Opening the gates was a decision not taken lightly. However, I was finding that when I was pushed forward there was no going back. Official misinformation, misrepresentation, falsified evidence and a deliberately constructed incorrect narrative, had informed the world with this version of the Hillsborough disaster. I stuck my foot on the bottom and jump through, the last one in as the copper pulls it shut behind me. Neil spoke to The Point's Willie Duncan about his recollection of the events of that day, the aftermath of the smear campaign and cover up perpetrated the UK Government, South Yorkshire Police and the media, as well as his hopes for the future of the campaign for justice for the 96. The crowd only grew denser as they got closer. For me, justice must be done and that will enable us to get closure. "The fight for justice needs to be carried on. Then, of course, people started to climb over the fences or climbing up a tier in the stand and when some fans started running towards Bruce (Grobbelaar, Liverpool goalkeeper) to tell him what was going on, it became clear how serious the problem was. For South Yorkshire police to be so inept and corrupt and to get away with it is unbelievable. "Those apologies were long overdue and needed to be said, particularly the apology from David Cameron on behalf of the UK Government. There were people crying everywhere, walking about the pitch in a state of shock. After 23 years, the truth has finally been revealed. If you’ve ever done anything like that, then you have played your part in the truth coming out and you should be proud of that. In an interview with LFC TV, Ms Aspinall said: "The group has folded now - it's a … Now the inquest has judged them unlawful killings, the witnesses can give their accounts of the events leading to this tragedy, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile, Peter Carney recalls walking towards the Leppings Lane end: “What was noticeable from the year before [when the FA Cup semi was also played at Hillsborough] is that we’d had to walk through barriers. The sways and surges were getting more and more violent, and I was just thinking that I was going to get shoved about for 90 minutes. Finden Sie professionelle Videos zum Thema Hillsborough Disaster sowie B-Roll-Filmmaterial, das Sie für die Nutzung in Film, Fernsehen, Werbefilm sowie für die Unternehmenskommunikation lizenzieren können. What followed was hell on earth for those trapped in the central pens. The apologies aren’t worth a tuppence to me, though. Much to the pain of the victims’ families, the legal process to establish the facts and ascribe guilt for the Hillsborough disaster has endured for more than 30 years I was screaming then at the police inside the ground that it was carnage outside and if they didn’t do something it was going to be bad. You just couldn’t move your arms because you were so crammed together.”. However, despite taking this drastic measure, effective management of the crowd could still have averted disaster. There was another problem with the tunnel, though, in that it was dark inside; and it initially sloped slightly upwards in the dimming light of the entrance before falling away downwards into the dark and a one-in-six gradient. There were no signs telling you anything different. How quickly were you aware that the UK Government, police and media were preparing a smear campaign against Liverpool fans and how did it make you feel? Hillsborough disaster: Witnesses give their accounts of the events that led to a tragedy. Three deny perverting course of justice after Hillsborough disaster. They weren’t interested, and just told us to get in the ground.”, John Joynt got through a turnstile around 2.45pm. I would like to see those who were responsible to be held accountable for their actions and I believe that previous reviews into the case and decisions that have been made should be overturned immediately. “The strange thing is that my first worry was actually how packed the Nottingham Forest (Liverpool’s opponents that day) end was. The tragedy was largely attributed to mistakes by the police. Getty Images offers exclusive rights-ready and premium royalty-free analog, HD, and 4K video of the highest quality. 70-year-old simply says 'yes, sir' We got into the pens and the crowd had stopped moving by then. image caption The 32nd anniversary of the Hillsborough stadium disaster will be marked on Thursday. "They should face justice today. What needs to happen for justice to be done for those who lost their lives as a result of the tragedy? In a television interview played in court, ... Police collect evidence at 4.42pm, shortly after the Hillsborough disaster. "The thing that people don’t realise about Liverpool is that it’s really like a big village.

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