An overlooked aspect of the Hillsborough disaster

[Mutchy]

Facing disaster - the Forest fans at Hillsborough

Ninety-seven Liverpool fans died as a result of April 1989's Hillsborough disaster. Nottingham Forest fans have been the silent witnesses of the horror that day.

www.bbc.co.uk

Just to say this is not a place for the usual 'anti scouse' rhetoric, and anyone wishing to indulge themselves (yet again) will simply be removed from the thread.

 

[WickedWolfie]

Thought provoking, TY.

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

I remember years ago reading similar thoughts on the Bradford fire. Horrendous for the people of Bradford of course, but at least there was support provided afterwards, whereas Lincoln were a largely forgotten part of the day.

 

[Black Country Wanderer]

Remember it like it was yesterday
Only watching on TV at the time but no one knew what was going on
Everyone presumed it was trouble in the crowd,or a pitch invasion and it took a good 5 minutes or more before we started to realise something had gone tragically wrong
Many mistakes were made by numerous people resulting in so many losing their lives
Ill never forget it and i wasnt there,so its no surprise so many are still reliving that day,lets hope nothing like it will ever happen again

 

[Pengwern]

My mate was the first ambulance man / woman on the Hillsborough pitch and played God on his own for several minutes. He’s suffered ever since. Why is it the police there on the day who were compensated but no-one else?

 

[brianm]

So much of the coverage of the event feels like it's about how dehumanized Liverpool supporters felt on the day. It's good to read some of the opposite.

As Fred Rogers said, look for the helpers.

For all that, the number of "yeah, this person is obviously traumatized, and has dealt with it by burying it" is pretty eye-opening.

 

[Ebbo]

We were at the Aldershot away game, and news started trickling through. It was a cramped away terrace there and you all have to leave through a narrow exit down behind the 'main stand'...

Then of course Torquay at home was the first game played after Hillsborough, where gates were left open in the fencing at the font of the South Bank as a safety measure.

 

[Macman]

We were at the Aldershot away game, and news started trickling through. It was a cramped away terrace there and you all have to leave through a narrow exit down behind the 'main stand'...

Then of course Torquay at home was the first game played after Hillsborough, where gates were left open in the fencing at the font of the South Bank as a safety measure.

I was there too at Aldershot that day. And I too remember walking out down that narrow exit hearing the news from Hillsborough.

 

[WickedWolfie]

I was there too at Aldershot that day. And I too remember walking out down that narrow exit hearing the news from Hillsborough.

Me too.

 

[Southdownswolf]

I think any of us that were at Hillsborough a few years earlier when it nearly happened to the Spurs fans; can appreciate what the Forest fans must have gone through.
To this day it still gives me the chills to think it was nearly that day the tragedy unfolded.

 

[Norman Bell]

I think any of us that were at Hillsborough a few years earlier when it nearly happened to the Spurs fans; can appreciate what the Forest fans must have gone through.
To this day it still gives me the chills to think it was nearly that day the tragedy unfolded.

What you and others have said about the 1981 Semi Final at Hillsbrough, is that it should have served as a warning as to what could and of course 8 years later did happen. Looks like the classic case of negligence . I can imagine what was said after the 81 Semi " Well we dodged a bullet there, don't worry it was a one off and we don't need to spend anything on the ground "

 

[Darvo]

I was there too at Aldershot that day. And I too remember walking out down that narrow exit hearing the news from Hillsborough.

Me too … couldn’t quite believe what we were hearing.

 

[Frank Lincoln]

It must have been very difficult for the Nottingham Forest fans, who could only look on from the other end. I know that some Forest fans thought there was trouble until it became clear that a major disaster was unfolding.

 

[Pagey]

We were at the Aldershot away game, and news started trickling through. It was a cramped away terrace there and you all have to leave through a narrow exit down behind the 'main stand'...

Then of course Torquay at home was the first game played after Hillsborough, where gates were left open in the fencing at the font of the South Bank as a safety measure.

Was my first away game as a 15 year old, was 2 years before I was allowed to go away with mates again. Will never forget the silence on the coach, on the return journey after hearing the news.

 

[Incognito]

A terrible tragedy that could and should have been avoided. Made worse by the police denying any responsibility for what happened and the media being so disrespectful to the fallen and to Liverpool in general. People may have commented that Spurs fans also experienced crushing in that same terrace, when they played us in '81. So the authorities must have known that terrace needed to be managed carefully.

 

[Starsky]

We were at the Aldershot away game, and news started trickling through. It was a cramped away terrace there and you all have to leave through a narrow exit down behind the 'main stand'...

Then of course Torquay at home was the first game played after Hillsborough, where gates were left open in the fencing at the font of the South Bank as a safety measure.

Remember the coach journey back from Aldershot that day. Absolutely horrendous as it became clear what had happened.

 

[Mutchy]

Point of the article though is that there was trauma for the Forest fans that day too. In a different way, but trauma all the same.

 

[Timberwolf]

I remember years ago reading similar thoughts on the Bradford fire. Horrendous for the people of Bradford of course, but at least there was support provided afterwards, whereas Lincoln were a largely forgotten part of the day.

Me and my older brother had tickets for that game at Bradford. I got up late and we missed the train. My brother was mad as **** so he tried getting a lift but his mate couldn’t take us both. Eventually we gave up and went on the **** round Lincoln. If you can ever imagine angels are on your shoulder, that was one of those times.

 

[Dingle Chris]

Facing disaster - the Forest fans at Hillsborough

Ninety-seven Liverpool fans died as a result of April 1989's Hillsborough disaster. Nottingham Forest fans have been the silent witnesses of the horror that day.

www.bbc.co.uk

Just to say this is not a place for the usual 'anti scouse' rhetoric, and anyone wishing to indulge themselves (yet again) will simply be removed from the thread.

Looking forward to your thread on the Heysel disaster.

 

[Dingle Chris]

Facing disaster - the Forest fans at Hillsborough

Ninety-seven Liverpool fans died as a result of April 1989's Hillsborough disaster. Nottingham Forest fans have been the silent witnesses of the horror that day.

www.bbc.co.uk

Just to say this is not a place for the usual 'anti scouse' rhetoric, and anyone wishing to indulge themselves (yet again) will simply be removed from the thread.

If you you don’t agree with me you’ll be removed. Great moderation.

 

[WickedWolfie]

Me too … couldn’t quite believe what we were hearing.

Indeed. At first everyone thought that it was crowd trouble then the horrifying reality slowly dawned.

 

[bod101]

If you you don’t agree with me you’ll be removed. Great moderation.

Yes, deal with it.

 

[Wandsworth Wolf]

We were at the Aldershot away game, and news started trickling through. It was a cramped away terrace there and you all have to leave through a narrow exit down behind the 'main stand'...

Then of course Torquay at home was the first game played after Hillsborough, where gates were left open in the fencing at the font of the South Bank as a safety measure.

I always remember the Aldershot match happening that day. My elder brother took my younger brother (who was then 5), to his very first Wolves game.

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

Looking forward to your thread on the Heysel disaster.

Did you even bother to read the article, or is that just the usual Hillsborough - Heysel reflex?

 

[Wonder Boyo]

It's such a shame. It's always been impossible to have a thread reflecting on Hillsborough without knee jerk, stereotyping, plain nasty comments. Absolutely no thought or respect for the people of all ages who died at a football match. It's this type of tribal behaviour in football fans that I really struggle with. The threads are always hijacked by people who have to say their, more often than not, uninformed views, misconstruing the facts that have been painstakingly uncovered.

The article Mutchy posted was a very thoughtful piece, a different angle, about the impact the day and events had on Forest fans and the thoughtful actions of fans of opposing sides to each other. Also how they struggle attending games against each other as they dread Hillsborough chants and the pain and embarrassment it causes.

 

[Mutchy]

Looking forward to your thread on the Heysel disaster.

If you you don’t agree with me you’ll be removed. Great moderation.

Spectacularly missing the whole point. Congratulations.

 

[Timberwolf]

Yes, deal with it.

 

[Wolf in Kenilworth]

For some bizarre reason on the day my Dad took me and my brother to watch Walsall. It was vs either Rochdale or Hull and I remember hearing about it while I was there.

The only tome I ever went to Fellows Park and I’ll remember it forever.

One of the moments where you always remember where you were.

 

[OLDGOLD]

Point of the article though is that there was trauma for the Forest fans that day too. In a different way, but trauma all the same.

Where **** happens there is always trauma. Hillsborough, wartime, 9/11, hospitals during covid. Lots gets forgotten

 

[Ian]

Point of the article though is that there was trauma for the Forest fans that day too. In a different way, but trauma all the same.

No disrespect intended but I would have thought that was obvious?.....I imagine anyone in attendance that day would have been troubled by the events unfolding around them.

 

[Bill S Preston Esq.]

I was there too at Aldershot that day. And I too remember walking out down that narrow exit hearing the news from Hillsborough.

It was my first ever game. I can remember walking under the side stand to get to the away end.

My memory of after the game is walking out of the stadium on to a hillside and walking down a winding dirt path. Maybe I've made that up.

I can remember hearing Wolves fans talking about how "the scousers are at it again", not really understanding what "it" was.

We listened to the radio on the way home to Basingstoke and put the TV on when we got home. I don't know if what I was watching was live or recorded but has always stayed with me.

Not until years after did I really appreciate what I was seeing (I was nine years old that day).

 

[Mutchy]

Where **** happens there is always trauma. Hillsborough, wartime, 9/11, hospitals during covid. Lots gets forgotten

No disrespect intended but I would have thought that was obvious?.....I imagine anyone in attendance that day would have been troubled by the events unfolding around them.

It hasn't been obvious though has it? What has been heard about the experience of the Forest fans that day? How was it handled for them?
There would have been families there with small kids. How were the fans managed when it became obvious what was happening? Were they moved from the ground? Or did they have to stay to witness it all?
Did the club give them any support afterwards?
It was such a huge disaster in football, and its made me realise that I don't know anything about that side of events.

 

[Frank Lincoln]

For some reason that I can’t recall, me and my three travelling fans didn’t go to Aldershot. I think it was one out of only three we missed all season. Sat at home with the radio on waiting for Radio WM to update the scores, the news that there were problems at Hillsborough started filtering through. The first scenes I saw on the television cast my mind back to the semi final a few years earlier when Wolves played Tottenham. From our end we could see how crushed everyone looked in the opposite end and it was only down to good fortune that there was not a disaster that day. Those images are ones I will never forget, so it must have been exceptionally stressful for Nottingham Forest fans watching that terrible scenario unfold.

I have said before that no one should go out to watch a game of football and not return home. As with the Bradford City fire, lessons were learnt, but how much counselling and support did fans of Nottingham Forest and Lincoln City get?

 

[Hsvwolf]

The Leppings lane stand should have been pulled down and replaced .......never understand why it has been allowed to remain almost exactly as it was that day .....like a monument and reminder to all who attended , including the police .& other emergency services .....Presume this is acceptable

 

[topcat99]

Was there any sort of enquiry after the (non fatal) crush that happened in that stand in the 1981 semi final?

I understand that the 1981 incident happened when there were 3 pens. By 1989 there were 5.

 

[North West Wanderer]

One of my closest mates was there and survived. His mates didn't.

I dealt with a few people who lost loved ones at Hillsborough in a former job. Harrowing doesn't even begin to describe that day

 

[Dr Wolfenstein]

For some bizarre reason on the day my Dad took me and my brother to watch Walsall. It was vs either Rochdale or Hull and I remember hearing about it while I was there.

The only tome I ever went to Fellows Park and I’ll remember it forever.

One of the moments where you always remember where you were.

On checking it was Hull, a 1-1 draw (goal by Stuart Rimmer-a legend in Chester), in one of Walsall's brief stays in the second tier.

 

[BORN A WOLF]

Was there in 81 v Spurs. As the Spurs fans cane round towards the open end where us Wolves stood, we mostly chanted and stuck up two fingers. We didn't realy know what had happened, guess its a bit like forest fans experienced at first.
I fellt sorry, a few years earlier as a 14yo i got crushed agains a barrier at the back of the boothen end at Soke, it scared the crap out of me.
I was lucky to be able to keep going on watching my team.
With respect I don't want to go over old groud.
Hillsborough, vally parade have been rightly debated enough over the years.

Just realy nice to read about some one reaching out to the other side well done that lady, It's a beautiful thing.

 

[Andywolf74]

A really thought provoking article, in that it’s so easy to forget that Notts Forest suffered too that day. Certainly in that era it would have been nigh on impossible for any Forest fans subsequently suffering from ptsd to be able to get support, due to the predictable “you weren’t one of the tragic 95 people who lost their lives, pull yourself together” attitude and lack of knowledge of mental health at that time.
Have always felt that the inability to accurately quantify if there were any ticketless fans who had already gained entry to the ground or whether there were ticketless fans hoping to gain entry from outside the ground is a great unknown and hampered measures to make sure this tragedy never happened again in the future.
Fortunately (Euro 2020 final aside) a number of factors (technology, improved stadium security) has made attending high profile football matches a far safer experience but certainly at that time the likes of the Manchester Utd inter city jibbers who’s motto was “to pay is to fail” meant that the chances of football grounds being overwhelmed with ticketless fans was a huge risk to crowd safety.

 

[Spitfire]

For some reason that I can’t recall, me and my three travelling fans didn’t go to Aldershot. I think it was one out of only three we missed all season. Sat at home with the radio on waiting for Radio WM to update the scores, the news that there were problems at Hillsborough started filtering through. The first scenes I saw on the television cast my mind back to the semi final a few years earlier when Wolves played Tottenham. From our end we could see how crushed everyone looked in the opposite end and it was only down to good fortune that there was not a disaster that day. Those images are ones I will never forget, so it must have been exceptionally stressful for Nottingham Forest fans watching that terrible scenario unfold.

I have said before that no one should go out to watch a game of football and not return home. As with the Bradford City fire, lessons were learnt, but how much counselling and support did fans of Nottingham Forest and Lincoln City get?

We’ve probably all been in crushes in or outside grounds where it has frightened the hell out of us not being able to move. What happened that day could have happened to any of us. More by luck than judgement that it didn’t.