They Never Walked Alone: Hillsborough
Posted by Rob Shepherd on Friday, June 30, 2017
The families fighting for justice for the deaths of 96 people have finally been given the news they have waited over 28 years to hear. Six people will be charged by the Crown Prosecution Service for their actions during the 1988–89 FA Cup semi-final game between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
Ex-Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once famously said, “some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that”. Inspiring as these words are, it’s rhetoric! Football pales into insignificance when so many people lost their lives on that horrendous day in 1989.
Hillsborough – The Day the Football World Changed
There are certain events that happen in life and you remember them as if it was yesterday. Princess Diana’s death, the fall of the Berlin wall, 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Grenfell tower fire. Hillsborough is another such event.
Back in 1989, we didn’t have mobile phones, communication was a lot slower than the instant access to information that we have today.
I first heard about the horrors whilst travelling back from watching football at Blundell Park in Grimsby. To get back home, I had a 12-mile bus ride to take and when I boarded the bus (which was full of Grimsby fans travelling back) I sensed a sombre mood.
There was a young lad with a radio on sat at the back of the bus, at first I just assumed he was listening to the latest results coming in but the look on his face told me it was much more serious than that.
I approached him and by now a few other guys had gone over to him. “What’s going on?” I said. “It’s kicking off at the Liverpool game, sounds like there are many dead” came the reply.
Instantly, like many on the bus, I admit I thought “Fuc*ing hooligans, ruin it for everyone”.
Soon after, I saw a copy of the Sun Newspaper with the headline “The Truth” and under that there were three sub-headings;
“Some fans picked pockets of victims”, “some fans urinated on the brave cops”, “some fans beat up PCs giving the kiss of life”. The content of the article was so much worse, I don’t want to cover that in this article but you can read a Guardian article on it here.
I’m sad and ashamed to admit I believed every word. I was 16 at the time and naïvely didn’t think for a second that a national newspaper would lie about something like this.
Hillsborough – What Actually Happened?
• From 14:20 on 15th April 1989, large numbers of Liverpool fans were gathered outside the ground. Hillsborough itself was old and desperately in need of a refurbishment. Old style turnstiles slowed down the entry of supporters into the stadium, creating a bigger crowd.
• By 14:50 pens 3 and 4 were full to capacity. It was later established that there were in fact 600 too many at this stage. The capacity should have been 1,600 so that is almost 30% extra people crammed in.
• At 14:52 Police order that an external gate be opened to ease the congestion outside the ground. As the crowd enter through this gate they are heading towards the pens that are already overflowing. Crush barriers in place in pens 3 and 4 did not meet safety standards are were a contributing factor.
• By 14:59 the constant flow of supporters trying to get into the ground is causing severe crushing. Supporters try and climb over security barriers to get on the pitch to escape. By this time there are over twice as many people in that area that there should be.
• As the match starts at 3pm, the forward surge of the crowd causes a crush barrier inside pen 3 to collapse. Many supporters at this stage fall over and are crushed by the crowd. Many fans in the upper tiers are dragging people from the crowd and to safety.
• At 15:06, the full extent of the tragedy is obvious and the referee stops the match. Despite the heroic deeds of the emergency services and supporters, 730 people are injured in the crush and 96 lives are lost.
Hillsborough – The Forgotten Victim
If you watched BBC News this week you probably heard the heart-breaking story about Tony Bland, Hillsborough’s 96th victim. As Tony died four years after Hillsborough, the law at the time stated too much time had passed and no-one can be prosecuted over the death.
This is of course devastating for Tony’s family. However, in the statement released by Tony’s family, you can sense the undertone of determination and the knowledge that their son was included in the unlawful killing verdict that was delivered in court. The statement read;
“Whilst we are hugely disappointed with the exclusion of Tony from the manslaughter charge against David Duckenfield by the CPS, our relief for the families of the other 95 men, women and children outweigh our personal frustrations.”
“Justice has been achieved following the inquests [in April 2016], when the jury returned the verdict of all 96 victims being unlawfully killed at Hillsborough, and nothing will ever change that.
“We will continue to support the other families on the journey for accountability.”
Hillsborough – Who is Being Charged?
• Former Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield faces 95 counts of manslaughter. Duckenfield was the match commander at Hillsborough on the day of the tragedy.
• Ex-Chief Inspector Sir Norman Bettison faces four charges of misconduct in a public office with allegations he lied in the following investigation. It was Bettison who was largely responsible for the blaming of fans in the tragedy.
• Graham Mackrell, former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary faces health and safety charges.
• South Yorkshire Police’s solicitor, Peter Metcalf is charged with perverting the course of Justice. It is alleged he changed witness statements.
• Two other police officers, Former Ch Supt Donald Denton and former Det Ch Insp Alan Foster are also accused of perverting the course of justice.
They Never Walked Alone
I cannot praise the families enough.
If it was my son or daughter that had died through no fault of their own, would I be able to stay calm while there are lies being told? Could I resist revenge, “an eye for an eye”? Could I lead a peaceful protest?
I doubt I could conduct myself in such a composed manner, the families suffered police cover-ups, the press (The S*n newspaper) accusing their fans of stealing from the dead bodies and worse and perhaps worse of all, the public suspicion of there being no smoke without fire.
It has been a long road to justice for the families and of course just because people are charged it doesn’t mean they will be found guilty.
Trevor Hicks, who lost daughters Sarah and Vicki, said: “There will be six people facing criminal charges who might not have done if we hadn’t had been resilient and all stuck together and fought this long fight.”
“There are no winners in this, it doesn’t bring anybody back.
“What it does do is send a message about accountability, as we keep saying, that nobody but nobody is above the law; be it the police or anybody else.”