Hillsborough: Twenty Year Remembrance

[frasermc]

I very recently finished this book -

http://server40136.uk2net.com/~wpower/images/product_images/9780224064361.jpg

It was a very good read and I'd recommend it to anyone. The book was printed in 2004. It had a chapter devoted to Hillsborough and it made me think a bit more about the tragedy and in particular, Sheffield Wednesday's part in it.

Here's the final paragraph of the chapter -

Even after ninety-six blameless young people needlessly died , Sheffield Wednesday seems never really to have acknowledged and accepted its own part in football's bleakest failure. Under Richard's leadership(their chairman who took over from McGee in March '90), for ten years they never even put a memorial up for the disaster, despite being continually pressed to do so by the families and supporters groups. Soon Mackrell was talking publicly about the clubs desire to 'move on'. They did so armed with those original lies about the disaster, comprehensively unpicked by Taylor, lingering in Sheffield, protecting the club and many of its fans from interrogating Wednesday's own part in the tragedy. Wednesday carried on into the world with which the men who run clubs are more naturally comfortable: the football soap opera, results, promotion and relegation, managers, points, cup ties, the game's involving, magic bubble. Plus, the money was coming. Football had no time for 'the fullest reassessment of policy for the game' as Taylor had urged, with matches to play, a TV deal to be done and breakaway talk in the corridors. The game dips its head every year, gives a minute's silence for the Hillsborough victims, stands solemn, its mind mostly empty. Then, as in 1989 when the semi-final and final were played despite the tragedy, the ref blows his whistle, real life can be forgotten and football moves on.

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

Help Restore The Hillsborough Garden (http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N164826090622-1445.htm)
Liverpool fans were today urged to play their part in helping restore the Hillsborough Memorial Garden in Port Sunlight after mindless vandals damaged the commemorative area earlier this month.

Memorial stones were thrown across the garden in the Merseyside village and decorative balustrades were smashed during the attack by a gang of youths in the early hours of Sunday June 7.

"Everybody I've spoken to in the village is deeply upset by this," said Lionel Bolland of the Port Sunlight Village Trust.

"I can't believe how anybody could act in such a base way and can't find the words to describe how despicable this act is.

"Someone was looking at the smashed stones lying on the ground and said to me that they might as well be the 96 who lost their lives in Hillsborough lying there.

"It's going to cost a lot of money to restore, because the monument features natural stone.

"We need to make sure that it's carefully and sensitively restored."

Distressed villagers are now appealing to supporters to help them raise the minimum cost of £20,000 needed to cover the insurance excess and repair and restore the monument.

Port Sunlight resident Kerri Dobbins told Liverpoolfc.tv: "I was so distressed by the whole thing that I felt the need to do something to help.
"The pain the Hillsborough families are feeling because of this damage must be horrendous.

"Although I'm a Stockport County supporter, I remember the day of Hillsborough vividly. It's ingrained on my mind.

"I watched the events unfold live on television and was distraught by the press photographs that arrived the following day. They've constantly been in my mind for the last 20 years.

"We want to put right the wrongs that have been done to the garden and restore it."

Leaflets will be distributed around Merseyside in hotels and railway stations urging fans to donate to the cause.

Mr Dobbins added: "We need to raise a minimum of £20,000 to cover the insurance excess, but we're hoping to raise over and above that so we can install CCTV security in the area, which the insurance won't pay for, as well as tidy up the other areas of the garden.

"Any remaining funds will be donated to the Hillsborough Family Support Group."

Fans can currently donate by cheque, which should be made out The Hillsborough Memorial Restoration Fund and sent to -

VK Dobbins
c/o Port Sunlight Village Trust
23 King Georges Drive
Port Sunlight
Wirral
CH62 5DX

A bank account has also been opened to allow fans to directly transfer funds to the appeal using the following details -

Port Sunlight Branch of Natwest
Account Number: 47625872
Sort code: 010702

The memorial area was built by Unilever shortly after the stadium disaster 20 years ago and is situated near the Grade II listed Lady Lever Art Gallery.

Port Sunlight Village Trust is a registered charity (1074713).

Home Secretary Alan Johnson's Hillsborough Documents Release Vow (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2009/06/20/home-secretary-alan-johnson-hillsborough-vow-100252-23929568/)
NEW Home Secretary Alan Johnson has agreed to meet Merseyside MPs to discuss how and when the Hillsborough files can be released.

He has accepted it is "high time" the uncertainties suffered by the families of the victims are brought to an end.

His predecessor Jacqui Smith, prompted by fellow Cabinet minister Andy Burnham, had already agreed in principle to dropping the 30-year secrecy rule on Home Office and police documents relevant to the Sheffield disaster 20 years ago.

Mr Johnson's decision to meet the MPs has allayed fears that the recent ministerial reshuffle would delay or threaten that release.

The invitation has been sent to MPs by Halton's Derek Twigg, who has acted as go-between.

Fans March For Hillsborough Probe (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8110552.stm)
Five families who lost their loved ones in the Hillsborough disaster have handed in a 40,000-signature petition to 10 Downing Street.

Joined by more than 4,000 supporters, they marched through the streets of London to demand further investigation into the events of 15 April 1989.

Jenny Hicks, who lost her two daughters in the tragedy, said it was time that "someone took responsibility".

The petition was handed in just after 1430 BST on Saturday.

Barry Thompson, chair of March4Justice which organised the event, said: "There were some very emotional scenes, especially when the families gave the boxes of petitions in to 10 Downing Street.

"We have had so much support from people in Liverpool, the UK and we have also have 480 letters of support from 67 different countries worldwide.

"Those who lost their loved ones said it was a positive thing handing in papers showing so much support for their plight.

"We gathered 40,000 signatures in just seven weeks, it has been a mad time.

"Let's just hope this encourages the government to realise its obligation to the families of the 96, the fans, the club and the city [Liverpool] as a whole."

The campaigners also want the release of some 300 boxes of information about the tragedy.

Ms Hicks added: "This march helped increase the pressure on the government to take some action.

"We were shocked and delighted when it was agreed that the documents should be released but we don't want to be waiting for years, we have already had to wait two decades.

"At the moment it's a waiting game, we just hope this march will have helped make a difference."

The marchers also want any new investigation to recognise that not all the victims had died by 1515 BST on the day of the disaster.

It was the cut-off time imposed during the original inquest into the deaths.

Earlier this year, former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith asked South Yorkshire Police to release the 300 boxes of information it holds.

And calls for a further investigation were backed by former Culture Secretary Andy Burnham.

The 96 fans were crushed to death in the Leppings Lane end of the Sheffield stadium during Liverpool's FA Cup semi-final with Nottingham Forest.

South Yorkshire Police opened a large exit gate which forced too many Liverpool fans on to the terrace, leaving the fans inside trapped between people entering the ground and the metal fences at the front of the stand.

Families of the victims have continued a two-decade long campaign for a full inquiry into the disaster.

[Samarkand]

Chelsea tell Cohen to piss off (http://www.empireofthekop.com/anfield/?p=1843). :eek:

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

Chelsea tell Cohen to piss off (http://www.empireofthekop.com/anfield/?p=1843). :eek:

Chelsea gives Cohen the "suck it".

Awesome. Still not a huge fan of Chelsea and the way they do things, but my respect for the club has risen a little bit.

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

Hillsborough Justice Campain Left Out Of Home Office Talks (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2009/07/28/hillsborough-justice-campaign-left-out-of-new-home-office-talks-100252-24255575/)
A GROUP of families who lost loved ones at the Hillsborough disaster today claimed they were being “frozen out” of new talks.

This afternoon, members of the Hillsborough Family Support Group (HFSG) will meet with Home Secretary Alan Johnson about the pending release of the previously undisclosed 2,000 documents on the 1989 disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans were killed in Sheffield.

But a small number of families from the Hillsborough Justice Campaign (HJC) are unhappy about being “left out” of negotiations.

They have contacted their Liverpool MPs to register their dissatisfaction over not being invited to the London meeting.

The families of the Glovers, who lost their son Ian, 20, the family of Peter Burkett, 24, and Steve Kelly, who lost his brother Michael, 38, are among those unhappy.

Mr Kelly told the ECHO: “I met with Jane Kennedy and Derek Twigg a couple of weeks ago to ask what was happening and we were told that archivists might be called in to release that amount of documents.

“The next I hear the Home Secretary is meeting families from what I read in the paper. It seems to be a closed shop.

“It feels we’re stigmatised in the Hillsborough Justice Campaign.

"I’ve seen my mum and sister die since Hillsborough who have never seen the family get justice for Michael.

"Somebody, somewhere picked my brother up and carried him.

"I want to thank him if I could.

"We want to be involved in these talks to find out things like that.”

During the fight for justice, the HFSG and HJC went their separate ways after disagreements about the direction the campaign should be heading.

Sheila Coleman, a spokesperson for the HJC, added: “Even now, when the government is trying to put things right, they are still creating rifts.

"There is all this talk about transparency, but the government is still ignoring a lot of families.”

Members of the HFSG meanwhile have signed a confidentiality agreement with the government preventing them speaking publicly about the progress of the talks.

The Home Secretary is not expected to reveal any fresh detail today.

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

Hillsborough Files To Be Released (http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11669_5460063,00.html)
Home Secretary Alan Johnson has agreed to release previously unseen documents relating to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

Johnson told the mothers of three of the 96 victims of his decision at a face-to-face meeting in London on Tuesday.

The release of the documents, in cooperation with South Yorkshire Police, will be co-ordinated by The Hillsborough Independent Panel, which is to be set up in the coming weeks.

The panel could start sifting through the paperwork as early as September.

The Home Office said the documents would be made available to the families before they are made public because they many contain sensitive and personal information about the last minutes of the victims' lives.

"Hillsborough was a terrible tragedy and the Government is committed to full disclosure of information held centrally and by local agencies in order to help provide a permanent record of documentation relating to the tragedy," a Home Office spokesman said.

"This will be done in close co-operation with South Yorkshire Police.

"The Home Secretary, together with Health Secretary Andy Burnham and justice minister Michael Wills, have had a useful and productive meeting with the Hillsborough Family Support Group to explore options that will enable them to have access to all relevant papers.

"The Government's intention is to appoint an independent panel, 'The Hillsborough Independent Panel', to oversee release of this information.

"Disclosure will take into account the wishes of the families to protect sensitive and personal information about the victims.

"With this in mind, the Government will seek to ensure that representatives of the Hillsborough families will have prior disclosure of documents on an agreed timescale before they are made more widely available.

"The Government will continue to work with the families to complete this work."

[Samarkand]

Why Hillsborough still matters. (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/blog.php?b=6188)

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

Why Hillsborough still matters. (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/blog.php?b=6188)

Great article.

I wasn't about the bloggers on BS, but I am definitely starting to warm-up to them now.

This article made my respect for the writer rise significantly.

[newterp]

Chelsea gives Cohen the "suck it".

Awesome. Still not a huge fan of Chelsea and the way they do things, but my respect for the club has risen a little bit.


More importantly - Cohen has been replaced by Wynlada on Fox Football Fone in.

That's impressive work by the boycotters.

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

More importantly - Cohen has been replaced by Wynlada on Fox Football Fone in.

That's impressive work by the boycotters.

Maybe someone should hang this plaque up near whatever street gutter Cohen is laying in.

http://nimishbatra.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/this-is-anfield.jpg
“It’s there to remind our lads who they’re playing for, and to remind the opposition who they’re playing against.” Bill Shankly about the ‘This is Anfield’ plaque

You don't ******** with our club or our supporters and expect nothing in return.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/223/509560236_4a099d01da_o.jpg

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

Signed LFC Photographs To Be Sold For Hillsborough Families (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2009/08/03/signed-liverpool-fc-legends-to-be-sold-for-hillsborough-families-100252-24299706/)
A SALE of 96 past and present Liverpool FC signed player photos is set to be launched to raise money for grieving Hillsborough families.

From today, pictures of Reds greats will go on offer in a bid to amass £96,000 or more for relatives whose loved ones died in the Sheffield tragedy.

Retro Reds, a respected LFC memorabilia firm, has struck an agreement with the Hillsborough Family Support Group (HFSG).

All proceeds from the sale will go towards the HFSG in the 20th anniversary year since the 1989 tragedy.

Ninety-six photos of each of the 96 players will go on sale on eBay at regular intervals over the coming weeks, with most on offer at around £50.

More sought-after signatures from the likes of Steven Gerrard and Kenny Dalglish could be auctioned and could fetch notable prices.

Retro Reds already has a good relationship with many Liverpool legends from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including greats like Terry McDermott, Ian Callaghan and Joey Jones.

Genuine signed shirts and photos from players in the current squad are much harder to come by in the more suspicious and fraudulent modern market.

HFSG president Trevor Hicks, who lost his two teenage daughters at Hillsborough, will approach the present Anfield team, including heavyweight stars like Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Jamie Carragher, to broach the idea.

Bob McKluskey, from Retro Reds, said: “This is an official Hillsborough Family Support Group project and 100% of the cash goes to them.

“The photos will be those of players in big games like cup finals and buyers will also receive a certificate from Retro Reds and the Hillsborough families.

“We are really pleased to be doing this in the 20th anniversary year.”

Margaret Aspinall, chairwoman of the HFSG, who lost her son James, 18, at Hillsborough, told the ECHO: “It is a fantastic idea.

“Retro Reds have always been very supportive of us and hopefully it will raise much-needed funds for the group.”

The HFSG need to pay for a number of trips down to London where talks were held with politicians about the disclosure of thousands of hidden Hillsborough documents. Due to sheer volume of material, the families are looking to move into a new office as the release of the files gathers pace.

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

New Ways For Liverpool To Honor The 96 (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2009/08/06/new-ways-for-liverpool-to-honour-the-hillsborough-96-100252-24328206/)
HUNDREDS of readers responded to our online Hillsborough poll emphasising a firm and widespread belief that even more should be done to remember the 96 victims.

Answers on exactly how that could be done varied; suggestions included 96 empty seats being dotted around Anfield to a stand in the new stadium being named the Justice Stand.

Anyone who has attended the annual memorial services to the disaster knows how passionate so many people remain about what occurred that day in 1989 and what has happened since.

Clearly those memorial services along with minute-silences and permanent memorials like Anfield’s eternal flame, offer some comfort to still-grieving families and help keep a sharp focus on the need for justice and the truth.

Many felt the intensity of the 20th anniversary memorial service at Anfield this year should be maintained annually.

But the poll yielded some interesting ideas about what else can be done to honour the dead.

Another strong suggestion was a city centre memorial with a feature which incorporates the names of every victim.

It is vital that we also embrace the most important memorial to the dead - a continued focus on safety at large scale sporting events throughout the country, and a determination that there should never be a return to standing and terracing at football matches.

Architectural trends can be as circular as fashion so the passage of time could theoretically see the concept of standing being considered for new stadiums.

But listening to the families of those who died in South Yorkshire one thing is clear - a return to standing at any UK stadia would be an insult to the memory of their loved ones.

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

New (Controversial) Hillsborough Memorial Statue To Be Unveiled In Liverpool (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2009/11/13/new-hillsborough-memorial-statue-to-be-unveiled-in-liverpool-100252-25161561/)
http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/liverpoolecho/nov2009/7/1/artist-tony-evans-proposed-statue-commemorating-hillsborough-picture-jim-connolly-_220-210548100.jpg

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

Liverpool Calls For Controversial Anniversary Monument To Be Scrapped (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2009/11/19/liverpool-hillsborough-survivor-calls-for-controversial-aniversary-monument-to-be-scrapped-100252-25203022/)
A WOMAN whose haunted face became one of the most poignant images of Hillsborough today called for a proposed controversial monument about the tragedy to be scrapped.

The tortured features of Debbie Routledge, then 18, pinned up against the Leppings Lane perimeter fence, were shown throughout the world following the terrible crushes in Sheffield over 20 years ago.

The Walton woman, who rarely speaks about her ordeal, today decided to tell the ECHO of her huge upset with the planned memorial.

Ms Routledge said she is horrified with the 15ft high artwork which is being considered for the 21st anniversary of the disaster.

The season ticket holder described the creation as a “mirror image” of what happened to her on the Sheffield terraces.

The metal sculpture incorporates three figures, two of them lying horizontal, one apparently looking up to the heavens, in a striking encapsulation of April 15, 1989.

Debbie, now 39, told the ECHO: “I’m horrified it should be considered a monument.

“It’s an image I put back to that day. It would be very wrong to put it on display.

“It’s not appropriate. There’s already a monument at Anfield, why do we need a second one?

“As soon as I saw it, I thought, ‘Oh no!’ It’s not an image I would want to see.

“If I was in Liverpool, I’d make a conscious effort to avoid it.

“It’s very graphic and too fresh for the survivors.”

Debbie was pictured with her pal Lisa Ridings crushed up against the fences.

Their faces looked pained and initial newspaper observers presumed they had been killed, but they survived.

Heroic fans hauled both Debbie and Lisa on to the other side and laid them side by side on the pitch,

They passed out but supporters brought them round by slapping their faces.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, Liverpool forward Craig Johnston gave Debbie lifts to Sheffield Hospital.

In 1997, she described her ordeal, recalling gasping for air when she really wanted deep gulps.

Inside the pen they had been able to breathe in but not out. Then, she added: "We were the lucky ones, we got out. I still don't know how but somehow we made it."

Debbie moved up to Glasgow 18 months ago, but has still got a season ticket for Anfield and tries to get to most home games.

She lost the use of her left hand temporarily after Hillsborough after she fell on it.

Debbie added: “The artwork is something different, but the survivor’s viewpoint has to be considered as well as the bereaved families.

“I was pushed over the fence and as I was on top I was helped over by another fan.

“Lisa was carried out on one of the stretcher boards

“I’d love to know who helped me.”

Today, Liverpool council said they were in a period of “reflection” until it is decided what to do next with the proposed sculpture.

The idea has not been scrapped, but given the opposition to the design, it seems unlikely it will be approved.

A council spokesman said: “The artist commissioned the memorial at his own risk, it’s not something commissioned by the Town Hall or the council.

“There is still an ambition to erect a memorial, but will it be this? We don’t know.”

Some bereaved families from the Hillsborough Family Support Group were shown a model of the sculpture by artist Tony Evans and began to canvass opinion among relatives of the 96 fans killed and survivors.

The group agreed to underwrite the cost of the artwork, but it was stressed that a lengthy period of consultation was always set to be followed before any approval is made.

The creation polarised opinion among Liverpool fans after images of the memorial were leaked on to the internet.

A poll run online by the ECHO revealed how 69% thought the design “inappropriate”, 23% viewed it as “thought-provoking” and eight per cent thought it “misguided.”

If it is approved, it could be stationed in the Town Hall ballroom and moved around to different locations in the city centre.

The idea for another monument was first broached by former Liverpool Lord Mayor and avid Red Steve Rotherham who presided over the emotional 20th anniversary events last April.

Dad John Glover, who lost his son Ian at Hillsborough, and campaigner Anne Williams, whose son Kevin, 15, was killed in Sheffield, have expressed their unhappiness with the proposed design.

Artist Mr Evans, himself an LFC supporter, has since stated he was shocked by the public reaction and said he did not want to offend anyone with his work.

He added he had amended the design after being told it was “not strong enough”.