Hillsborough

[Lecter]

Letter in today's Guardian

On 15 April 1989, at 8.30 in the morning, Barrie left his home to travel to a football match. In the early hours of the following morning, a different man returned home. Barrie's friends, who had been seated elsewhere in the ground, had found him wandering the streets of Sheffield after an increasingly despairing search that lasted long into the night. Traumatised, his body covered in purple bruises that bled into each other, his arms torn from dragging adults and children from the terrible crush and passing them up to others hanging, arms stretched, to lift them to safety, Barrie came home but left part of his soul in the Hillsborough stadium.

In the 23 years that followed, time after time castigated as a cause of the tragedy; carrying the guilt of survival; knowing, as did everyone in Liverpool, "the truth" but condemned as self-pitying and told to "get over it" when any attempt to disseminate the truth was made; and taking every opportunity to show his solidarity with the families of the 96 in their search for justice.

Finally, vindication (Hillsborough: the reckoning, 13 September) but too late for many relatives and friends of those who were lost and survivors themselves. Too late also for Barrie, who died at 8.10 on Wednesday morning.
Pat Ayers
Liverpool

[Leyton388]

I started reading the report late last night. Im only 15 pages in but even so some of the stuff already is quite shocking such as the crush in 81, turnstyles not being up to scratch ad the ground having half arsed safety inspections and no certificate. TBH having only read this far i didn't sleep well last night and think we all owe it to the families and the 96 to read it.

[Yozza]

Bloody hell

[Shaggy]

Letter in today's Guardian

On 15 April 1989, at 8.30 in the morning, Barrie left his home to travel to a football match. In the early hours of the following morning, a different man returned home. Barrie's friends, who had been seated elsewhere in the ground, had found him wandering the streets of Sheffield after an increasingly despairing search that lasted long into the night. Traumatised, his body covered in purple bruises that bled into each other, his arms torn from dragging adults and children from the terrible crush and passing them up to others hanging, arms stretched, to lift them to safety, Barrie came home but left part of his soul in the Hillsborough stadium.

In the 23 years that followed, time after time castigated as a cause of the tragedy; carrying the guilt of survival; knowing, as did everyone in Liverpool, "the truth" but condemned as self-pitying and told to "get over it" when any attempt to disseminate the truth was made; and taking every opportunity to show his solidarity with the families of the 96 in their search for justice.

Finally, vindication (Hillsborough: the reckoning, 13 September) but too late for many relatives and friends of those who were lost and survivors themselves. Too late also for Barrie, who died at 8.10 on Wednesday morning.
Pat Ayers
Liverpool

[Eric Swindler]

I started reading the report late last night. Im only 15 pages in but even so some of the stuff already is quite shocking such as the crush in 81, turnstyles not being up to scratch ad the ground having half arsed safety inspections and no certificate. TBH having only read this far i didn't sleep well last night and think we all owe it to the families and the 96 to read it.

Yeah I read it on the day it was out and i didn't sleep at all that night. Just sticks in your head a lot of it. And if it had that effect on me, i can only imagine what kind of traumatic experience it has been for those closer to the tragedy.

[Leyton388]

Yeah I read it on the day it was out and i didn't sleep at all that night. Just sticks in your head a lot of it. And if it had that effect on me, i can only imagine what kind of traumatic experience it has been for those closer to the tragedy.

[Pablo]

Letter in today's Guardian

On 15 April 1989, at 8.30 in the morning, Barrie left his home to travel to a football match. In the early hours of the following morning, a different man returned home. Barrie's friends, who had been seated elsewhere in the ground, had found him wandering the streets of Sheffield after an increasingly despairing search that lasted long into the night. Traumatised, his body covered in purple bruises that bled into each other, his arms torn from dragging adults and children from the terrible crush and passing them up to others hanging, arms stretched, to lift them to safety, Barrie came home but left part of his soul in the Hillsborough stadium.

In the 23 years that followed, time after time castigated as a cause of the tragedy; carrying the guilt of survival; knowing, as did everyone in Liverpool, "the truth" but condemned as self-pitying and told to "get over it" when any attempt to disseminate the truth was made; and taking every opportunity to show his solidarity with the families of the 96 in their search for justice.

Finally, vindication (Hillsborough: the reckoning, 13 September) but too late for many relatives and friends of those who were lost and survivors themselves. Too late also for Barrie, who died at 8.10 on Wednesday morning.
Pat Ayers
Liverpool

Terribly sad . R.I.P Barrie.

[Vermilion]

Barrie.

[Leyton388]

John Glover. An inspiration and a founder member of the HJC. A MUST read.

Hillsborough: Terminally ill dad of victim fought off death to see report verdict - Mirror Online

Since that terrible day in 1989, John Glover has spent his life trying to get justice for his son – a battle that has taken a terrible toll on him and his family

For 23 years a question has haunted grieving John Glover – could his son have been saved?

Now the terminally-ill dad has the answer. Devastatingly, it is “yes”.

His 20-year-old son Ian is one of the 41 Hillsborough victims who could have lived but who were left to die.

Since that terrible day in 1989, John has spent his life trying to get justice for his son – a battle that has taken a terrible toll on him and his family.

He was diagnosed with cancer in October last year and, as he *deteriorated quickly, doctors told him he might only survive until Christmas.

The release of the Hillsborough report was not due for months and it seemed John, now 72, would be cheated out of the answers he craved.

But with grim determination he hung on and against all the odds he was helped up the steps to Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral on Wednesday to hear the truth.

The dad-of-six said: “I now know Ian was one of the 41 who could have been saved. He got out of those terrible terrace crushes and was left to die.

“A little bit of medical attention would have kept him alive.”

It is the news he feared, but finally at least he knows for sure.

He added: “All those ambulances were lined up outside but didn’t even get on to the park. That makes me feel terrible – that they could have been there for Ian, but they weren’t.

“These people take a job to save lives but they sat outside and nothing was done. There are so many faults with Hillsborough I could go on and on.”

John’s determination to get the truth led to him helping to launch the Hillsborough Justice Campaign – Ricky Tomlinson played him in Jimmy McGovern’s ground-breaking 1996 TV docu-drama about the disaster. And after two decades, John was there to hear about what has been called the worst cover-up in British legal history.

He said: “I was really pleased to be there and I’m made up with what went on. Hearing about the cover-up, and how the police and others tried to cover their own tracks and point the finger at the Liverpool supporters, I’ve known that for a long, long time.

“It’s so good the lies have been exposed because this injustice could have gone on and on. Why do these people do it? I just don’t know.

“Police received compensation for what happened to them at *Hillsborough. We lost our kids, yet we were told to go away. It’s all very wrong.”

John’s family were so fearful that he might not make it to hear the report, they asked for a special advance reading of it.

They hoped it would provide some solace before he died. Bishop James Jones, who led the independent panel, sympathised with their predicament, but said rules could not be broken.

Twice, however, the bishop visited John’s home in the Walton area of Liverpool, and the family sensed they were on the verge of a historic breakthrough. John said: “He couldn’t tell me anything, but you could tell by the way he was talking that something major would be coming out.

“I thank God for everyone who worked on this new report.”

John now has many of his answers but still hopes to see justice. He said: “I never stopped with Hillsborough. I’ve spent my life with it. I used to get downhearted when it looked like we weren’t getting anywhere.

“There’s still a long way to go. Things are nowhere near over.

“I don’t think the police will give in, but the evidence is all there now to take people to court and to hold them to account. Once that has been sorted, we can get on with our lives and get back to normal.

“That’s all we’ve been asking for during these 23 years, to try to put things behind us. But those in authority never let us.

“I think criminal prosecutions are the right way to go because they destroyed the lives of 96 families.

“One of my other sons, Joe, who was with Ian on the Leppings Lane was badly affected by what happened.

“It was important to me to start the Hillsborough Justice Campaign and I’m glad it’s still there to help anyone who went to that football match, and the survivors who are still haunted by the memories of that day.”

Brothers Ian and Joe were standing together at the infamous FA Cup semi-final clash against Nottingham Forest, but as the crowds tightened, Joe could only watch his younger sibling slip away.

As Joe somehow escaped on to the pitch, Ian was just two rows back in the *sickening crush in the central pen, and managed to plead to his brother: “Help me, I’m dying.”

Joe later gave the kiss-of-life to Ian on the pitch, but his efforts were in vain.

The family admit that from that day Joe became “a shell”.

He would often go missing and would sometimes be found sleeping on his brother’s grave in a Liverpool cemetery. Tragedy struck again when, almost exactly 10 years later, Joe was killed in a freak accident at work aged 32.

He was unloading a van when he was crushed by the full weight of five-tonne marble slabs, heroically pushing a workmate out of the way, almost certainly saving his life.

But while the family have been hit by years of heartache, this week’s news has given them a sense of comfort they feared they might never get. John’s daughter Lorraine, 38, said: “The day before the disclosure, we debated as a family what to do for the best for my dad.

“If it was bad news, we didn’t want to set him back. But we thought ‘it’s absolutely right he should be there’. He’s done brilliantly to get this far.

“We took him to the cathedral at 9am, and later took him home for a sleep and his morphine.

“But he was keen to go to the vigil in the evening where he watched it on a screen. What came out in the report is what he’s said many times before. Wednesday was a sad occasion, but at the same time, it was nice recognition.

“He won’t read the full report, but he knows the truth has come out. I cried yesterday for him and how he’s fought it. But he’s been fighting for 23 years.”

A Hillsborough Independent Panel spokesman said yesterday: “The bishop has said the panel will remain together for the next few months to help families.

“[The panel’s medical expert] Dr Bill Kirkup will be part of that to discuss medical matters with any families who wish to do so. And conversations they have, are of course, confidential.”

[Shaggy]

Re /\

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL1x8j_vmrM"]Hillsborough remembered: John Glover on his sons Ian and Joe - YouTube[/ame]

[Pablo]

Re /\

Hillsborough remembered: John Glover on his sons Ian and Joe - YouTube

Oh God, this is all just so devastating beyond words. I feel like reading and watching all this is starting to make me feel physically ill. I think I'm going to have to stop. I just can't cope with the reality of the suffering these people went through.

I have no idea how the families coped, they are obviously much stronger people than I am.

[Lecter]

Carol Ann Duffy is Poet Laureate – a coveted title awarded to a handful of poetry’s most celebrated and talented names. A graduate of Liverpool University, Carol Ann offered the ECHO this poem to mark the momentous events of Wednesday. We are proud to publish it today.

THE Cathedral bell, tolled, could never tell;

nor the Liver Birds, mute in their stone spell;

or the Mersey, though seagulls wailed, cursed, overhead,

in no language for the slandered dead...

not the raw, red throat of the Kop, keening,

or the cops’ words, censored of meaning;

not the clock, slow handclapping the coroner’s deadline,

or the memo to Thatcher, or the tabloid headline...

but fathers told of their daughters; the names of sons

on the lips of their mothers like prayers; lost ones

honoured for bitter years by orphan, cousin, wife -

not a matter of football, but of life.

Over this great city, light after long dark;

truth, the sweet silver song of the lark.



Read More http://www.liverpool.../#ixzz26RGhaCLW

[McDermotX]

This Bettison fella.........another 'Knight' of your realm, along with that Patnick.

Must say, must be awfully handy to get one of them 'Sir' titles if you're part of the 'establishment'.

Ridiculous.

[Vermilion]

When i look at the torment the families have had to face, sheer horror and despair for many, then i look at people like Bettison pleading his innocence, ****in hell it makes your blood boil!

[meffin]

Carol Ann Duffy is Poet Laureate – a coveted title awarded to a handful of poetry’s most celebrated and talented names. A graduate of Liverpool University, Carol Ann offered the ECHO this poem to mark the momentous events of Wednesday. We are proud to publish it today.

THE Cathedral bell, tolled, could never tell;

nor the Liver Birds, mute in their stone spell;

or the Mersey, though seagulls wailed, cursed, overhead,

in no language for the slandered dead...

not the raw, red throat of the Kop, keening,

or the cops’ words, censored of meaning;

not the clock, slow handclapping the coroner’s deadline,

or the memo to Thatcher, or the tabloid headline...

but fathers told of their daughters; the names of sons

on the lips of their mothers like prayers; lost ones

honoured for bitter years by orphan, cousin, wife -

not a matter of football, but of life.

Over this great city, light after long dark;

truth, the sweet silver song of the lark.



Read More http://www.liverpool.../#ixzz26RGhaCLW

Brilliant, gave me goosebumps