#LIVERPOOLFC
ON AUSTNET
#LIVERPOOLFC
ON AUSTNET
HILLSBOROUGH 15th April 1989
JUSTICE FOR THE 96
The 15th of April, 1989 was the most saddest and important day in the history of Liverpool Football Club and British Football.
The history of Hillsborough begins with the deaths of 96 people and the physical and mental injury of countless others.
However it does not end there. The enormity of the Disaster goes beyond even this.
Hillsborough becomes a metaphor for British society today. It is a microcosm of how society operates. Viewed in this way the history of Hillsborough becomes the history of injustice, of cover-up, and collusion.
History will record 'Hillsborough' firmly within the bounds of civil rights, and the bereaved and survivors of the Disaster will long be remembered for the heroic stances they took against the might of bureaucratic forces in the name of justice.
Liverpool were to play Nottingham Forest in the FA cup semi final at Hillsborough, Sheffield. Forest fans were allocated the Hillsborough 'Kop End' whilst Liverpool attracting the larger following were allocated the small Leppings Lane End. The fact they were allocated the Leppings Lane was that Liverpool fans were travelling up from the North.
Traffic caused heaps Liverpool fans to come late, and the match wasnt delayed until the deaths happened which had the match abandoned. Once the late Liverpool fans arrived outside the stadium, the Pens 3 and 4 were nearing full capacity.
Open the gate
By 2.45pm the crowd had swelled to over 5,000, making entry to turnstiles virtually impossible. Those who did get through were short of breath and sweating profusely from the crush.
As the minutes passed, it became increasing clear that, despite police efforts, the mass of people would never get through by 3pm.
There was also a more serious risk of some being dangerously hurt. Something had to be done.
Suddenly at 2.52pm, the large blue, concertina steel door - Gate C - in the perimeter wall was slid open by a police officer.
Those at its entrance tumbled through. Those at the back pushed harder still. The logjam was unstuck. But things quickly got out of control.
Where fans had been entering in ones and twos through the turnstiles, there was now a wave of about 2,000 racing to the see the start of the game.
The majority took the most obvious route: straight ahead through the tunnel of gangway 2.
They piled into the back of pens of 3 and 4, which were already uncomfortably full, crushing those at the front.
As the excitement of the game grew, there were more surges, each causing a squeeze more perilous than the last.
Finally, with fans spilling through a narrow escape onto the pitch or being lifted to the seating areas above, a policeman realised what was happening.
At 3.06pm, six minutes into the game, he ordered the referee to stop the game.
Only then did the scale of the disaster become clear. Bodies were lifted forward and laid out on the pitch - many teenagers and children.
People screamed for their loved ones as ambulance staff fought to save lives.
The Heroes of the day were the Liverpool fans who ripped down advertising hoardings to be used as stretchers.
Advertising hoardings were torn down as makeshift stretchers in a desperate attempt to bring faster relief.
By 4.50pm, the scheduled end of the game, the ground was empty.
Abandoned clothing and programmes littered the scene of the disaster.
While nearby the bodies of the dead lay in the stadium's gymnasium.
As the Disaster unfolded the atmosphere in Liverpool developed into one of overwhelming collective grief. Most people knew 'someone' who was or might be there. Those who had seen off their loved ones that morning watched and listened anxiously for news.
Although emergency numbers were being given out most were unable to get through to Sheffield and many decided to make the journey across the Pennines to find out for themselves whether their loved ones were alive or dead. Hundreds of people waited at Lime St Station for returning trains.
The city mourned its' dead and the sorrow was almost tangible. In the days that were to follow, the same people translated that grief into a spectacular tribute to the dead when the Anfield ground was turned into a floral shrine.
Once gate C had been opened police directed fans through the gate. The most obvious entrance to the terraces was through the tunnel opposite into pens 3 and 4. Evidence would later be given that in previous years police and/or stewards would stand at the entrance to the tunnel if these central pens had reached capacity and would direct fans to the side pens.
In 1989 however, no such direction took place as fans headed innocently into already overcrowded pens. It is quite incomprehensible that Duckenfield, failed to follow up the order to open gate C with instructions to allow for the swift increase in the volume of people entering that end of the ground. Indeed the reasoning capacity of Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield has to be seriously challenged when one considers his response to the situation in pens 3 and 4. Logic would inform the average person that the volume outside would be replicated inside once entrance was allowed and that therefore swift monitoring and control would be necessary if a catastrophe was to be averted. Logic however, does not seem to figure large in the consciousness of David Duckenfield. His response to seeing people spill out onto the perimeter track from the crushing in the pens was to call for reinforcements (including dog handlers) as he thought there was a pitch invasion!
This response of Duckenfield is even more obscene when it is realised that from his position in the control box he could clearly see the Leppings Lane end. Moreover, he had the advantage of CCTV with zoom facilities. His later testimony that he was unaware that people were suffering and dying becomes totally unbelievable to those of us who have visited that control box and know that it is possible see the colour of a persons eyes in pens 3 and 4 such was the power of the zoom facilities on the cameras. On the basis of his response given the carnage that could clearly be seen several theories have been postulated:
1. Duckenfield lacks the ability to reason at a very basic humanitarian level and therefore one has to ask does this reflect on the general standard of senior policing in Britain today.
2. Duckenfield was totally indifferent to the situation he was witnessing in the pens and ignored the plight of dying people
Media coverage of Hillsborough has had significant consequences on a number of levels. This section will argue how the media informed and potentially influenced the outcome of legal cases. It will also be argued that the consequences were far reaching by attacking, not only those involved in the Disaster but Liverpool in general, adding to the already negative reputation of its people.
The coverage of the Hillsborough Disaster brought a barrage of complaints to the door of the Press Council. However all this succeeded in doing was highlighting the inadequacy of the Press Council as a medium for dealing with complaints.
The Hillsborough Disaster occurred in an historical media framework that already labelled Liverpool as rebellious and anarchistic. The 1980's were the heady days of the Militant dominated council in the city. Not only the Thatcher government but also the Labour party under Neil Kinnock waged war on the leaders of the City Council (Derek Hatton and co). In reality they were waging war on the people of Liverpool - they became the real victims as they suffered the direct consequences of harsh measures imposed but also as they gained an undeserved negative reputation not only nationwide but internationally as well. It was this context which enabled the media to act so appallingly in relation to the Hillsborough Disaster.
The immediate reaction of the press following Hillsborough was to blame the fans. The proof is there for all to see and it extends way beyond the Sun's headlines. However as that headline is the most shocking even to this day it is only right that we remind people what they said:
The Truth; some fans picked pockets of victims; some fans urinated on the brave cops; some fans beat up PC giving kiss of life.
This was the front page of the Sun newspaper on the Wednesday following the Disaster. The question that has to be asked is where did the paper obtain its 'evidence' from - all routes lead back to South Yorkshire Police and the Lie Machine that was being put into operation.
BOYCOTT AND DON'T BUY THE S*N!
THE S*N = FILTHY RAG
BOYCOTT MURDOCH'S NEWSPAPERS
SOUTH YORKSHIRE POLICE = 'MASS MURDERERS'
JUSTICE FOR THE 96
>Hillsborough police 'blamed fans<
The Forgotten Truth (The Police & Hillsborough)
Things you may not have known about the role of the police and The Hillsborough Disaster
· The initial response of the police was not to send for the emergency services, but to send for dog handlers as reinforcements.
· Fire engines- armed with crucial fence cutting equipment arrived at the football ground- but were turned away by the police.
· Fans who managed to climb over the perimeter fencing to escape onto the pitch, were pushed back by police officers. Gate 3, which opened onto the pitch, actually sprung open twice under the weight of the crush. Fans were pushed back in by police, who then closed the gate, again. Clearly the emphasis for the police was on crowd control rather than crowd safety.
· The Major-Accident vehicle, which was equipped for dealing with disasters, was not sent out until 3.29pm. When it arrived at the stadium however, it was unable to enter the ground as Sheffield Wednesday had made unreported structural changes to the stadium.
· Former police sergeant Martin Long was awarded an estimated £330,000 compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing the tragedy. By comparison Anne Williams received £3,500 for her dead son Kevin. Fourteen years after the disaster survivors still contact the Hillsborough Justice Campaign for the first time, because they are still traumatised by the disaster. There have been a number of suicides of survivors.
· In October 1997, Lord Justice Stuart Smith chaired a scrutiny of evidence. At the beginning of the inquiry he turned to one of the bereaved and asked, “Have you got a few of your people? Or are they like the Liverpool fans- turn up at the last minute?”
· The police force that was in charge of investigating the disaster was The West Midlands Police Force. It included a former head of its Serious Crime Squad, which was disbanded the same year because of corrupt practices.
· Before the private prosecution of senior officers Duckenfield and Murray a Pre-hearing ruling was given by Justice Hooper (who presided over the case) that should the defendants be found guilty they would not go to prison.
· The inquiry into the disaster found that “The main cause of the Disaster was the breakdown of police control”.
JUSTICE FOR THE 96
John Alfred Anderson (62)
Colin Mark Ashcroft (19)
James Gary Aspinall (18)
Kester Roger Marcus Ball (16)
Gerard Bernard Patrick Baron (67)
Simon Bell (17)
Barry Sidney Bennett (26)
David John Benson (22)
David William Birtle (22)
Tony Bland (22)
Paul David Brady (21)
Andrew Mark Brookes (26)
Carl Brown (18)
David Steven Brown (25)
Henry Thomas Burke (47)
Peter Andrew Burkett (24)
Paul William Carlile (19)
Raymond Thomas Chapman (50)
Gary Christopher Church (19)
Joseph Clark (29)
Paul Clark (18)
Gary Collins (22)
Stephen Paul Copoc (20)
Tracey Elizabeth Cox (23)
James Philip Delaney (19)
Christopher Barry Devonside (18)
Christopher Edwards (29)
Vincent Michael Fitzsimmons (34)
Thomas Steven Fox (21)
Jon-Paul Gilhooley (10)
Barry Glover (27)
Ian Thomas Glover (20)
Derrick George Godwin (24)
Roy Harry Hamilton (34)
Philip Hammond (14)
Eric Hankin (33)
Gary Harrison (27)
Stephen Francis Harrison (31)
Peter Andrew Harrison (15)
David Hawley (39)
James Robert Hennessy (29)
Paul Anthony Hewitson (26)
Carl Darren Hewitt (17)
Nicholas Michael Hewitt (16)Sarah Louise Hicks (19)
Victoria Jane Hicks (15)
Gordon Rodney Horn (20)
Arthur Horrocks (41)
Thomas Howard (39)
Thomas Anthony Howard (14)
Eric George Hughes (42)
Alan Johnston (29)
Christine Anne Jones (27)
Gary Philip Jones (18)
Richard Jones (25)
Nicholas Peter Joynes (27)
Anthony Peter Kelly (29)
Michael David Kelly (38)
Carl David Lewis (18)
David William Mather (19)
Brian Christopher Mathews (38)
Francis Joseph McAllister (27)
John McBrien (18)
Marion Hazel McCabe (21)
Joseph Daniel McCarthy (21)
Peter McDonnell (21)
Alan McGlone (28)
Keith McGrath (17)
Paul Brian Murray (14)
Lee Nicol (14)
Stephen Francis O'Neill (17)
Jonathon Owens (18)
William Roy Pemberton (23)
Carl William Rimmer (21)
David George Rimmer (38)
Graham John Roberts (24)
Steven Joseph Robinson (17)
Henry Charles Rogers (17)
Colin Andrew Hugh William Sefton (23)
Inger Shah (38)
Paula Ann Smith (26)
Adam Edward Spearritt (14)
Philip John Steele (15)
David Leonard Thomas (23)
Patrik John Thompson (35)
Peter Reuben Thompson (30)
Stuart Paul William Thompson (17)
Peter Francis Tootle (21)
Christopher James Traynor (26)Martin Kevin Traynor (16)
Kevin Tyrrell (15)
Colin Wafer (19)
Ian David Whelan (19)
Martin Kenneth Wild (29)
Kevin Daniel Williams (15)
Graham John Wright (17)
For more information about the fight for justice for Hillsborough visit the Hillsborough Justice Campaign's website http://www.contrast.org/hillsborough/
