due to the harrowing nature. [2] By 1911, his work was completed. Published: 3/3/2022 2:42:05 PM. The Bradford Township Volunteer Fire Department recently announced a raffle to win a 2022 Ford F-150 XLT SuperCrew. "Official Featherstone Rovers RLFC Web Site First Team Squad", "Ormondroyd junior the 'big daddy' of the family at 17 stone", "Much-changed Featherstone ready for Bradford Bulls test", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ian_Ormondroyd&oldid=1015639568, *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:00, 22 November 2007 (UTC), This page was last edited on 2 April 2021, at 16:48. RIP. The smoke was choking. Nigel Adams who worked for 12 years as a fire investigator with a British fire service was spurred on by the book to join the call for a fresh inquiry, stating that Fletcher's book was "one of the best accounts of a fire, as seen from a victim's point of view, and as a piece of investigative writing, I have ever read". Are you sure you want to delete this comment? And so it has been that while Liverpool supporters' refusal to accept the received narrative of Hillsborough the stadium disaster 40 miles north across Yorkshire in which 96 died has made it a source of anger and liberation at the heart of the national consciousness, Bradford became the forgotten tragedy. The main stand at Bradford was not surrounded by fencing, and therefore most of the spectators in it could escape onto the pitch if they had been penned in then the death toll would inevitably have been in the hundreds if not the thousands. "A football club's an integral part of the city you're in. HP10 9TY. Sylvia Lund Pollard (69) It was a massive tragedy for everybody at the club.". But it is Bradford, so they are just lying there, dormant, on the file, along with the question of the nine Heginbotham fires. And, before we knew it, the flames were racing down the whole stand. Regional Scout (Midlands): Stan Martin. by groove Fri May 11, 2018 10:48 pm, Post [38], The tragedy received immense media attention and drew support from around the world, with those offering their sympathy including Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. On May 11th each year a memorial service is held in Bradfords Centenary square with the Lord Mayor of Bradford being joined by The Mayor and Mayoress of Lincoln to remember those who passed away in one of the most shocking tragedies ever witnessed at a British football ground. by Silkyskills1 Fri May 11, 2018 1:36 pm, Post [40] Matthew Wildman was 17 at the time and needed crutches to walk because of rheumatoid arthritis. Didn't realise gabby Logan was doing a documentary now on BT To Add there were some nice floral tributes there today. Thats when everybody else had the same thought. And only after she had gone vanished into the kind of warm Bradford Saturday night on which wives, children, parents and friends first learned that they were the bereaved, 30 years ago next week did the significance of her gratitude become clear. [52], On 1 May 2010, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fire the football TV show Football Focus was hosted from Valley Parade by Dan Walker, the show included interviews with Terry Yorath and John Hendrie. Spare a thought or prayer for them today. On a day that should have been one for celebration, Bantams captain Peter Jackson lifted the Division Three championship trophy before kick-off. The aim is to preserve these memories for posterity as part of the club's museum at Valley Parade, together with a DVD, podcasts and more. [17], One witness saw paper or debris on fire, about nine inches (230mm) below the floor boards. In March 1985 the club's plans became more apparent when it took delivery of steel for a new roof. I have an image of a man with his hair on fire, in shock. A minute later he saw a small plume of smoke so he poured his coffee on it and so did his son. Share. Amanda Jayne Roberts (20) The CNN sports correspondent Alex Thomas was a school friend and he always asked Fletcher why he didn't have the ambition to make a go of it in that world. I was doing some research about football stadium disasters a few years ago as I find them fascinating and horrendous at the same time. When this house was purchased in December 2020 the House Price Index for WEST YORKSHIRE was 129.5. Agree with the above, the most horrific scenes ever seen at football. And there are also repeated references to the smell of burning plastic. "That made me angry: that people don't know about this.". He survived but clearly his life was also shattered on that day. on: May 11, 2012, 10:28:10 am . When cross examined by QC Robert Smith, then Chairman Stafford Heginbotham said he knew about the fire risk at the ground. The stand became an inferno in about 5 minutes. The project, which began in February this year, is now looking to hear from residents who helped with the rescue effort on the day. "A football club's an integral part of the city you're in. Rush Gaming Limited, Level 3, 203, BMW Building, Rue DArgens, Gzira GZR 1368, Malta. Christopher Hammond, who was 12 on the day, said on the 20th anniversary of the fire: "As a 12-year-old, it was easy to move on I didn't realise how serious it was until I looked at the press coverage over the next few days. All you could see was a black cloud, all you could hear was sirens and screams and all you could smell was burning.. Although some attributed Lincoln City's sudden demise to the psychological effects of the fire on its players (together with the resignation of successful manager Colin Murphy shortly before the fire), it symbolised the wider crisis that the introduction of new safety legislation brought to Lincoln's Sincil Bank home. The blaze, in the East Bowling area of the city, began at about 04:30 GMT. It wasnt until later on when assistant manager Terry Yorath came in and said: Its not good.'. It has a black marble fascia on which the names and ages of those that died are inscribed in gold, and a black marble platform on which people can leave flowers and mementos. The Documentary highlighted the 'poison pen letters' and graffiti targeted at the then club chairman Stafford Heginbotham over accusations that he was in some way personally responsible for the deaths of the 56 people who died at the fire.[54]. Forest Green new stadium going to be made out of wood. [1] When the association football club was formed, the ground was changed very little and had no covered accommodation. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's "I think the fire will play a big part in it. We will remember them. "So yes, it's right that these old questions be asked now. "I was out shopping in Bradford and he had gone to the match," she says. Nothing surprising in the construction of the stand to give this rate of fire growth," Woolley writes in an untitled script which appears to be his own notes from the first day of Popplewell's Inquiry. For every person who died or was injured it is easy to forget that their death/injury impacts dozens or even hundreds of family members and friends . It's why he gravitated to London and the enclosed spaces, moving to Brixton when his first base became gentrified. He was Leicester's record signing in 1992 when he joined from Derby for 350,000. It provides football coaching and education to young people, works with youngsters aged between 16 and 18 on the National Citizen Service and has done several projects in the local community. Sarah Elizabeth Turner (16) Even the received wisdom is enough to make you rage against football's breathtaking complacency: the same complacency which would turn the terrace at Hillsborough into a killing ground, four years later. Since 1903, when the club was formed, Bradford City Association Football Club had played their home games at the ground. Regional Scout (North): Ray Mathias. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. [34], During the case, Sir Joseph Cantley stated that: "It is only right that I should say that I think it would be unfair to conclude that Heginbotham, Tordoff, the Board of Directors, or any of them, were intentionally and callously indifferent to the safety of spectators using the stand. The residents also helped take victims to hospital. Jack Ludlam (55) The father whose attempts to make him a Bradford City fan he mischievously tried to resist, especially after the family's relocation to the detached surrounds of East Bridgford in Nottinghamshire turned the boy into a Nottingham Forest fan. Another player went into the office space to ensure there was nobody there. There was a documentary on local Yorkshire TV a couple of years ago, the guy who does the weather reports here was at the game as a youngster. Whenever I read the roll call of the dead of this tragedy, and its inherent tales of familial loss, it truly brings a lump to my throat. Only now, in 56: The Story of the Bradford Fire (Bloomsbury, 16.99) has he completed a 15-year quest to challenge history's interpretation of why the fire broke out. There were many cases of heroism, with more than 50 people later receiving police awards or commendations for bravery. The fire was merciless and took victims as young as 11 and as old as 86. [] I still have terrible memories of the day, but it is the humanity of those that helped us that I reflect on."[41]. The horrible thing is reading that list the number of fatalities that were obviously families wiped out. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. I don't see that. "What kind of 'mechanism'?" Gordon Stuart Mcpherson (39) Revealed: former Bradford chairman linked to at least eight fires before Valley Parade disaster Read more Six years later, Martin, then 27, set out to find the truth and started the 15-year quest. Ran home and put the television on." It was a terrible, terrible tragedy and one which I often think about and certainly will never forget.. Howard Malcolm Turner (41) 1 . He was actually one of the detectives involved in one of the gravest miscarriages of justices in the country, the murder of Carol Wilkinson in Bradford, where someone was locked up for 20 years for a murder he didn't commit."[60]. David James Crabtree (30) He remembers people coming out of the ground and going into his house and phoning people. Tributes have been pouring in from all corners of the footballing world as today marks 31 years since the Bradford City fire disaster. Bradford fan David Pendleton, then aged 21, was at the game that day in the main stand and remembers how something which initially appeared trivial quickly became a desperate situation. And Bradford seemed happy with it: five days of testimony, a 27-page report and everyone moved on. Please use the search above if you cannot find the record you require. by ashtonlongsider Fri May 11, 2018 6:28 am, Post As Bantams Community Manager, Ian hopes it will reveal what people living around the ground really think. Please note: census information may include figures for adjacent streets and postcodes. People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. Tickets are $20 each, and all proceeds will go toward funding the purchase of two new twin custom KME fire trucks for the department.. They all ventured back. Since then, it has been further re-developed and, today, Valley Parade is a modern 25,136 all-seater stadium, which is virtually unrecognisable from how it was at the time of the disaster, save for the original clubhouse that still stands beside the main stand, and the flank support wall that runs down the Hollywell Ash Lane at the "Bradford End". There was a bit of paper on fire, but it was so small. [10] One eyewitness, Geoffrey Mitchell, told the BBC: "It spread like a flash. by Pad1951 Fri May 11, 2018 9:15 am, Post The Bradford City stadium fire occurred during a Football League Third Division match on Saturday, 11 May 1985 at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, killing 56 spectators and injuring at least 265.The stadium was known for its antiquated design and facilities, which included the wooden roof of the main stand. Those lucky enough to escape, including players from both sides, took refuge in a pub across the road from the ground as friends and family members desperately tried to find their loved ones in the chaos. Video via Citizen. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. The scriptwriters' hours of interviews with those caught up in the horror are distilled into the narratives of three survivors, and the casual horrors of what befell football supporters that day are all in there. Police present in the vicinity of seats I142 and J142, where the fire was adjudged to have first taken hold, noticed it. It's gone," he says. It's with that in mind that Ian's Bantamspast project is underway in Bradford. The fact is that no one person was concerned with the safety of the premises. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. Ian Ormondroyd (born 22 September 1964) is an English former professional footballer who made more than 350 appearances in the Football League and Premier League. Gregg Ormondroyd has denied sleeping with his sick wife's carer. House Prices in Ormondroyd Avenue, Wibsey, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD6 Properties in Ormondroyd Avenue had an overall average price of 128,000 over the last year. Horrific, harrowing scenes intensified by the speed at which the fire spread. There was talk of "a raincoat smell" about 15.40pm that afternoon, as the fire took hold. It's the Ormondroyd & Stockman names that get to me - both of them dad and two sons. The fire of 1985 will also certainly figure highly in Bantamspast, says Ian: "A chap rang me up about a week ago and he used to live on Cornwall Terrace, just at the back of the ground. People know me here. Family Members . Powered By, Research,Grants and Collaboration Committee, University Institutional Ethics Committee, Buildings and Estate Services Committee (Including Transport), Students counselling and Mentoring Committee, University Institutional Animal Ethics Committee, Literary Arts, Cultural and Important Days Celebrations Committee, Students, Staff . I got pushed down to the front and I remember looking around and suddenly this smouldering, small fire had taken over virtually half a block and was starting to hit the roof. The money raised from this record was contributed to fund the internationally renowned burns unit that was established in partnership between the University of Bradford and Bradford Royal Infirmary, immediately after the fire, which has also been Bradford City's official charity for well over a decade. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover James' connections and jobs at similar companies. You must log in or register to reply here. However, the fire had consumed the stand entirely by that point and they were faced with huge flames and very dense smoke. At 3.40pm, television commentator John Helm remarked upon a small fire in the main stand; in less than four minutes, with the windy conditions, the fire had engulfed the whole stand, trapping some people in their seats. Martin Fletcher, a survivor who lost 3 family members is convinced of it. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to Harold Mitchell (79) On Thursday, department officials . A giant Christian cross, made up of two large charred wooden members[44] that had once been part of the stand, was constructed in front of the middle of the stand and behind the pitchside speaker's platform. [citation needed] Mathew Wildman, aged 17 at the time of the fire, commented that "I must have had five different experiments carried out on me with all sorts of new techniques for skin grafts and I had potions injected into me that helped my face repair naturally over time. Following his own 15 year investigation Into the fire, which killed four of his family members while he escaped, former tax accountant Martin Fletcher released 56: The Story of the Bradford Fire (2015). Ian says that Bantamspast is about much more than just the football: "It's where people come socially. Part of the service was also held in Urdu and Punjabi as a sign of appreciation to the local ethnically Asian Subcontinental community in Manningham, Bradford and around Valley Parade who had opened their homes to Bradford City supporters to provide assistance in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.