Bradford Fire: 25 Years On: Pride in the way the people of Bradford pulled together after disaster

Nick Westby

IT was the reaction to the disaster, the worldwide outpouring of sympathy, that Gerry Sutcliffe remembers most.

Not the despair, the sheer horror, or the sight of those fierce flames, but the positive response from a grieving community that tugs on the heart strings of the Bradford MP.

Sutcliffe was not at Valley Parade on Saturday May 11, 1985 – a date that will live in infamy for the people of Bradford.

A City fan, he had followed his club for much of their title-winning season but could not attend on a day that was supposed to be all about celebration, but ended in tragedy.

The then-Bradford Council member went to the ground when he heard the news of the unfolding nightmare.

But out of the anguish of the tragedy, Sutcliffe took a solemn pride in the response of the people who helped, who remembered, and who continue to reflect today.

"It was just devastating when you got to the ground," Sutcliffe recalls. "But the biggest memory for me, however, was in the cathedral at the memorial service. It was full of people from all different walks of life and backgrounds.

"It's amazing how a tragedy like that brings people together.

"It was just a massive outpouring of grief from the whole city, and the rest of the world responded to our disaster.

"People from inside and outside of the United Kingdom sent their support and grieved with us."

Sympathy flooded in from Queen Elizabeth II, the prime minister Margaret Thatcher, and even from the Vatican, from Pope John Paul II.

The service in Bradford Cathedral was the first of many such communal outpourings of grief that have evolved into memorials down the years.

Two such beacons of remembrance stand today outside Valley Parade and tomorrow at 11am the city will fall silent for the 25th time in remembrance of the 56 people who lost their lives, and the countless others who were affected by a fire that devastated what should have been an innocent day at a football match.

It is why, Sutcliffe believes, we should never forget the events of 25 years ago.

"The people who were involved on the day and who remember that day and the subsequent days will ensure it will never be forgotten," he says. "Not only for the people who died, for their friends and families who mourn their loss, but also for the people who were moved by what went on that day.

"It brought home the fact that people should not have to run the risk of being killed or injured at a football match.

"There has been a variety of memorials up and down the years and I'm pleased the memory has been kept alive."

The legacy of that fateful day, and of the disasters of the 1980s – Heysel and Hillsborough – was that sports fans throughout the United Kingdom can now watch their beloved teams in a safe environment.

The Popplewell Inquiry into the Bradford fire, which prohibited the construction of new wooden grandstands at all UK sports grounds, led the way.

Sutcliffe adds: "We have to remember the tragedy, and the ones around it, because of the lives lost and what they meant for football going forward.

"In the wake of Bradford, Hillsborough and Heysel came new stadiums where spectator comfort and safety were paramount and at the heart of the designs.

"It was one of a number of disasters that paved the way for these new stadia and I'm pleased to say the United Kingdom learned its lessons.

"The legacy of the Bradford fire is the investment in safer grounds and the fact that you can now watch a football match in a safe environment."

The Popplewell report in brief

The Inquiry decided that sports grounds dealt with by the Act of 1975 was too limited and that all sports must be included.

The Inquiry asked that a model Safety Certificate be drafted up to overcome problems found in the differing levels of detail put into certificates.

The three main potential hazards at a sports ground were fire risk, structural failure and crowd control.

Due to anxiety that one authority should inspect and certify sports grounds it was recommended that stands with accommodation for 500 or more spectators should come under the Fire Precautions Act.