Bradford City fire anniversary

[dublinbluenose]

31 years ago 56 people lost their lives in English football's almost forgotten tragedy

http://bradfordcityfire.co.uk/

31st anniversary of Bradford City fire disaster

A memorial service is taking place to mark 31 years since the Bradford City football stadium fire.

• SHARE
• TWEET
• PLUS
• REDDIT

1. 11 May 2016 at 7:22am

Memorial service to mark 31st anniversary of Bradford City fire disaster
A memorial service will take place today to mark 31 years since the Bradford City football stadium fire.

Credit: Press Association
Fifty-six fans died and hundreds were injured at Valley Parade in 1985.

The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Coun Joanne Dodds, will attend the memorial service in Centenary Square this morning. The Mayor and Mayoress of Lincoln, will represent the city of Lincoln at the event.

Bradford City were playing Lincoln City in their last home match of the season in 1985 when the fire ripped through the ground killing 54 Bradford City fans, two Lincoln City fans and injuring many more.

The service which starts at 11am will be conducted by the chaplain to Bradford City AFC, the Reverend Andy Grieff and the Lord Mayor's chaplain Reverend Canon Paul Bilton and supported by the Very Reverend Jerry Lepine, Dean of Bradford.

There will be prayers and a reading from the Bible before the act of remembrance which will include a minute's silence.

The Lord Mayor of Bradford will lead a wreath laying ceremony by laying a wreath on behalf of the city and the district. Wreaths will also be laid by the Mayor of Lincoln, a representative for Bradford City AFC, bereaved families and the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service. Once these wreaths have been laid, others who wish to lay their own wreaths or floral tributes are welcome to do so.

"It is extremely important to the city that we take time each year to remember those who were affected and continue to be affected by the tragic events of 11 May 1985."

– COUN JOANNE DODDS, THE LORD MAYOR OF BRADFORD
Last updated Wed 11 May 2016

 

[peteblue]

Still remember the TV images of the smoke, then the flames......dreadful......r.i.p........

 

[Minimeister]

More needless and horrific deaths caused by complete disregard for human life RIP 56.

 

[Walken]

remember seeing the video in a fire safety course, with a second counter in the corner, terrifying

Nt as popular as other disasters with the media, but no less tragic RIP

 

[Pilks]

Yep, gets brushed under the carpet. These lives somehow are deemed less important by the media, FA etc.

Remember vividly watching it. I can only imagine how those family members of these poor victims feel when other anniversaries are paraded by the media and they don't get a footnote.

Not right. Not right at all.

 

[summerisle]

Also the Ibrox disaster in 1971, where 66 died and over 200 injured. There's a whole litany of such catastrophes and little or nothing was ever done by the (S)FA.

 

[Donald Twain]

remember seeing the video in a fire safety course, with a second counter in the corner, terrifying

Nt as popular as other disasters with the media, but no less tragic RIP

simply awful viewing , that bit where the old gent walks out on fire is just utterly horrendous .

 

[Walken]

simply awful viewing , that bit where the old gent walks out on fire is just utterly horrendous .

yeah amazing the difference in knowledge, the poor fellas trying to help the guy actually fanning the flames, at least people know better now

 

[jaycee]

Hope this gets aknowledged at tonights games

 

[Jamo Martinez]

RIP The 56.

 

[dholliday]

simply awful viewing , that bit where the old gent walks out on fire is just utterly horrendous .

first (and last) time i saw that it etched itself forever in my memory. utter horror.

all disasters involving multiple deaths are equally horrible...we can be thankful they appear to be a thing of the past.

 

[Blu Bianco]

There were always serious doubts about the findings of the original inquiry. Requests for a subsequent proper inquiry have always been ignored. Shameful.

It's horrible that this gets such little press coverage. Bradford just doesn't resonate as highly with the FA or the media.

Definitely one of the most horrific events.

Never forget.

 

[summerisle]

Just listened to a play called The 54. A drama featuring eyewitness accounts (spoken by actors) of the terrible fire. Includes the local radio commentary. A truly horrific programme, detailing how awful it was for people in the stand that day, and its aftermath. By a horrible twist of fate the stand was due to be demolished in the following days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07v2mds#play

 

[arch stanton]

Just listened to a play called The 54. A drama featuring eyewitness accounts (spoken by actors) of the terrible fire. Includes the local radio commentary. A truly horrific programme, detailing how awful it was for people in the stand that day, and its aftermath. By a horrible twist of fate the stand was due to be demolished in the following days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07v2mds#play

its well worth a listen, very moving. I had to turn off for a few seconds when they played 'that' song though. Its not forgotten in their part of the world but the contributors to the programme who spoke about this were quite pragmatic about it. It still amazes me to this day how fast it spread. RIP sports fans

 

[bluenosedave]

Never forget!

Did fire training when i joined the railway 23 years ago and they used kings cross and valley parade to show how fire can spread. Truly horrific.

RIP the 56 x