Bradford Remembered
Today is the 20th anniversary of the Bradford City Fire Disaster. 56 supporters died and over 250 were injured on a day that was to revolutionise British football stadia.Today is the 20th anniversary of the Bradford City Fire Disaster. 56 supporters died and over 250 were injured on a day that was to revolutionise British football stadia.
Saturday 11 May 1985 was to be a day of celebration. A crowd of 11,076 gathered at Valley Parade as Bradford City welcomed Lincoln City in their last game before returning to the second flight of English football for the first time since 1938. Before kick-off, Bantams captain Peter Jackson - now the manager of Huddersfield Town - was presented with City’s first championship trophy since 1929.
In the West Yorkshire sunshine, the game ambled towards half-time as the fans relaxed and enjoyed the final game of a fantastic season. Five minutes later, terror filled the air as the 77 year-old Main Stand - only two days away from being demolished - was a fireball.
Referring to its appearance rather than safety, Simon Inglis’ description of the stand in his first edition of ‘The Football Ground Of England And Wales’ (published in 1983) read: “So many apparent disadvantages, yet this is one of my favourite stands; quaint, run-down and uncomfortable certainly, but homely, and I think fully deserving of preservation.”
Mr Justice Popplewell, who led the inquiry into the disaster, concluded that it could all have been avoided but for, by today’s standards, two simple oversights; the years of litter collected under the stand and the padlocked and unmanned exit doors.
20 years on, the memories are still vivid. Stuart McCall - now the Sheffield United assistant manager - was in the Bradford team. His father, Andy - a former Leeds United and Halifax Town - was in the stand.
Andy survived but he suffered 30 per cent burns, was in hospital for a number of weeks and underwent skin grafts on his hands and head.
Stuart told the Yorkshire Post: “I played another three years at Bradford after the fire but my dad could not face going back.
“It was only when I returned to Bradford in 1998 that he felt able to watch live football again.
“I took him around Valley Parade on a non-match day, showed him the new stand, and after the first game he was fine. The fire still upsets him but, thankfully, the footage isn’t shown on television anymore.
“But if we are watching a film and a car catches fire following a crash, I can see it upsetting him. So, I turn the channel over and we watch something else.”
Flags are flying at half-mast in Bradford today. Relatives of the victims, Bradford City players, officials and supporters, members of the Yorkshire Fire Service and a civic party from Lincoln will be amongst those who attend a remembrance service at the Disaster Memorial Sculpture in Centenary Square.