By Simon Wright – Follow
me on Twitter @Siwri88
Another
football weekend approaches (12-13 April) and it includes crunch matches at
both the top and bottom of the Barclays Premier League and the two FA Cup
semi-finals at Wembley Stadium. However, this is not a normal football weekend.
Tuesday, 15
April marks the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. It
was a day when 96 Liverpool supporters went to see a football match and never
came home. It still is Britain’s worst sporting disaster and no-one has still
been found fully accountable for the nightmare that befall the Reds fans on the
terraces of Sheffield Wednesday’s ground that fateful day.
For the
families of the 96, plus those who survived but remain scarred by the events of
that sunny, Saturday afternoon in 1989, the pain will never ease. They are
currently in Warrington as new, fresh inquests opened a fortnight ago into the
disaster. The flawed verdicts of accidental death to all the victims was
quashed two years ago and the hope is that the families will finally get the
justice they deserve after 25 years of endless campaigning and crushing
setbacks.
As a mark of
respect this weekend, all matches will kick-off seven minutes later than scheduled,
before a minute’s silence at every ground across the country to mark the
anniversary. This tribute by the FA is a nice touch as the FA Cup semi-final
between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest was stopped at 3.06pm on that horrible
day in April 1989. On Sunday, Liverpool face Manchester City in what is sure
to be a poignant day at Anfield before the annual Hillsborough Memorial Service
at the famous ground two days later. The game between the Merseysiders and the
Citizens could be the one that decides the destination of this season’s Premier
League title race. However this weekend, football games take a distant
second place behind remembrance and paying our respects. As a Liverpool fan, I
always have my thoughts away from the field at this time of year.
I pay my
respects now with a poem on the 25th anniversary. It is called ‘A
Candle for the 96’
Saturday is
here and so is the sun
This day
could turn out to be a lot of fun
Hoping that
Liverpool would have won
However, the
lives of 96 by day’s end were done
For John,
Colin, James, Kester and Gerald
A candle is
burning bright
For Simon,
Barry, David, Tony and Paul
A candle is burning
bright
A candle for
the 96, the never to be forgotten 96
On that
bright day, many families said to their loved ones goodbye
Little did
they know that their souls would depart into the sky
The big
question on many, both then and now is why
Other higher
forces decided to start telling lies
For Andrew,
Carl, Henry, Peter and Raymond
A candle is
burning bright
For Gary,
Joseph, Stephen, Tracey and Christopher
A candle is
burning bright
A candle for
the 96, the never to be forgotten 96
In some
instances, people might have forgot
The families
of the 96 remain distraught
However, they
have continued the justice campaign and fought
To ensure
those responsible for this disaster are caught
For Vincent,
Thomas, Jon-Paul, Barry and Ian
A candle is
burning bright
For Derrick,
Roy, Phillip, Eric and Nicholas
A candle is
burning bright
A candle for
the 96, the never to be forgotten 96
Two years
ago, the families finally got some hope
Finally, the
truth emerged from a steep slope
It is amazing
how they have coped
Ensuring
there is little chance of letting go of the rope
For Sarah,
Victoria, Gordon, Arthur and Alan
A candle is
burning bright
For Christine,
Richard, Anthony, Michael and Brian
A candle is
burning bright
A candle for
the 96, the never to be forgotten 96
The community
of Merseyside have formed a strong committee
Liverpool
should be proud of what it has as a city
Thanks
Everton for your gritty and loving support
You are our
friendly neighbours, not the noisy local rivals
For Francis, Marion,
Joseph, Keith and Lee
A candle is
burning bright
For Jonathan,
William, Graham, Steven and Henry
A candle is
burning bright
A candle for
the 96, the never to be forgotten 96
Hillsborough
left many with plenty of difficult emotions to feel
What happened
was a truly terrible ordeal
Then the
truth was finally revealed
There is
vindication for our 96, justice is the final deal
For Inger, Paula,
Adam and Philip
A candle is
burning bright, burning bright
For Patrik, Stuart,
Martin and Kevin
A candle is
burning bright, burning bright
A candle for
the 96, the never to be forgotten 96
What happened
25 years ago wasn’t fair
It drove
football and those affected to deep despair
The publication
printed in the aftermath was a scandal
For our 96, we
should always light a candle
A quarter of
a century on from Hillsborough and we have stayed strong
Whether it
has been through poem, campaign or song
What happened
was so wrong
It is time to
remember those we lost and light a candle for the 96
|
HILLSBOROUGH
MEMORIAL – 25 YEARS ON
|
||
|
John Alfred
ANDERSON (62)
|
Derrick
George GODWIN (24)
|
Joseph
Daniel McCARTHY (21)
|
|
Colin
Mark ASHCROFT (19)
|
Roy
Harry HAMILTON (34)
|
Peter
McDONNELL (21)
|
|
James
Gary ASPINALL (18)
|
Philip
HAMMOND (14)
|
Alan
McGLONE (28)
|
|
Kester
Roger Marcus BALL (16)
|
Eric
HANKIN (33)
|
Keith
McGRATH (17)
|
|
Gerald
Bernard Patrick BARON (67)
|
Gary
HARRISON (27)
|
Paul
Brian MURRAY (14)
|
|
Simon
BELL (17)
|
Peter
Andrew HARRISON (15)
|
Lee
NICOL (14)
|
|
Barry
Sidney BENNETT (26)
|
Stephen
Francis HARRISON (31)
|
Stephen
Francis O’NEIL (17)
|
|
David
John BENSON (22)
|
David
HAWLEY (39)
|
Jonathan
OWENS (18)
|
|
David
William BIRTILE (22)
|
James
Robert HENNESSY (29)
|
William
Roy PEMBERTON (23)
|
|
Tony
BLAND (22)
|
Paul
Anthony HEWITSON (26)
|
Carl
William RIMMER (21)
|
|
Paul
David BRADY (21)
|
Carl
Darren HEWITT (17)
|
David
George RIMMER (38)
|
|
Andrew
Mark BROOKES (26)
|
Nicholas
Michael HEWITT (16)
|
Graham
John ROBERTS (24)
|
|
Carl
BROWN (18)
|
Sarah
Louise HICKS (19)
|
Steven
Joseph ROBINSON (17)
|
|
David
Steven BROWN (25)
|
Victoria
Jane HICKS (15)
|
Henry
Charles ROGERS (17)
|
|
Henry
Thomas BURKE (47)
|
Gordon
Rodney HORN (20)
|
Colin
Andrew Hugh William SEFTON (23)
|
|
Peter
Andrew BURKETT (24)
|
Arthur
HORROCKS (41)
|
Inger
SHAH (38)
|
|
Paul
William CARLILE (19)
|
Thomas
Anthony HOWARD (14)
|
Paula
Ann SMITH (26)
|
|
Raymond
Thomas CHAPMAN (50)
|
Thomas
HOWARD (39)
|
Adam
Edward SPEARRITT (14)
|
|
Gary
Christopher CHURCH (19)
|
Eric
George HUGHES (42)
|
Philip
John STEELE (15)
|
|
Joseph
CLARK (29)
|
Alan
JOHNSTON (29)
|
David
Leonard THOMAS (23)
|
|
Paul
CLARK (18)
|
Christine
Anne JONES (27)
|
Patrik
John THOMPSON (35)
|
|
Gary
COLLINS (22)
|
Gary
Philip JONES (18)
|
Peter
Reuben THOMPSON (30)
|
|
Stephen
Peter COPOC (20)
|
Richard
JONES (25)
|
Stuart
Paul William THOMPSON (17)
|
|
Tracey
Elizabeth COX (23)
|
Nicholas
Peter JOYNES (27)
|
Peter
Francis TOOTLE (21)
|
|
James
Philip DELANEY (19)
|
Anthony
Peter KELLY (29)
|
Christopher
James TRAYNOR (26)
|
|
Christopher
Barry DEVONSIDE (18)
|
Michael
David KELLY (38)
|
Martin
Kevin TRAYNOR (16)
|
|
Christopher
EDWARDS (29)
|
Carl
David LEWIS (18)
|
Kevin
TYRRELL (15)
|
|
Vincent
Michael FITZSIMMONS (34)
|
David
William MATHER (19)
|
Colin
WAFER (19)
|
|
Thomas
Steven FOX (21)
|
Brian
Christopher MATHEWS (38)
|
Ian
David WHELAN (19)
|
|
Jon-Paul
GILHOOLEY (10)
|
Francis
Joseph McALLISTER (27)
|
Martin
Kenneth WILD (22)
|
|
Barry
GLOVER (27)
|
John
McBRIEN (18)
|
Kevin
Daniel WILLIAMS (15)
|
|
Ian
Thomas GLOVER (20)
|
Marion
Hazel McCABE (21)
|
Graham
John WRIGHT (17)
|
These are the
names of the 96 who will never be forgotten. You’ll Never Walk Alone!
 |
| The memorial to the 96 outside the gates at Anfield |
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