{"id":16,"date":"2023-11-30T10:04:32","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T10:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/anna-hynes\/?p=16"},"modified":"2023-12-15T13:20:51","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T13:20:51","slug":"hillsborough-heroes-and-help-for-honesty-the-hillsborough-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/anna-hynes\/2023\/11\/30\/hillsborough-heroes-and-help-for-honesty-the-hillsborough-disaster\/","title":{"rendered":"Hillsborough Heroes and Help for Honesty: The Hillsborough Disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Hillsborough Disaster on April 15 1989, was a fatal human crush of Liverpool football fans, with\u00a097 deaths and hundreds of injuries<\/a> at the hands of police mistakes. Over 30 years later, Liverpool fans are still blamed and taunted. This month, on 5 November, Luton fans chanted \u2018always the victims\u2019 directly at Liverpool fans, which is unacceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this news feature today, I\u2019ll share the history of the disaster and speak to the Chairman of the\u00a0Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance<\/a>, Peter Scarfe. Additionally, I\u2019ll be sharing the story of Anthony (Tony) Hynes, a Hillsborough survivor, in hopes of stopping tragedy chanting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tony Hynes, Hillsborough Survivor. Copyright:\u00a0Richard Townshend Photography.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am originally from Liverpool. Lifelong Liverpool fan… I was in Pen 3 as a 17-year-old lad.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, with Liverpool supporters allocated\u00a0the stadium’s west end<\/a>, all having to use one entrance on Leppings Lane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d never seen a crowd like it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to heavy traffic and a\u00a0limited number of turnstiles<\/a>, crowding formed. To ease congestion, Police Superintendent David Duckenfield opened an exit gate to allow fans to get in, heading straight into packed pens 3 and 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tony entered through this into pen 3, hoping to get into pen 2, the same spot he was in the year before. \u201cYou just couldn\u2019t get into it.. you couldn\u2019t move. You were just squashed, and you were just pushed. And it just got worse.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou weren\u2019t watching the football. You were just trying to somehow make some space for yourself, which it was impossible.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Memorial for the 97 lives lost due to the disaster. Copyright: Kenny1 | Dreamstime.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 3.06 p.m, just 6 minutes after kick-off, the match had been called off.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou were pushed against the bar\u2026 it was go over or go under. So, I climbed, I went over it. Two lads went under it. I got to the other side and one lad I managed to pick him up. I don\u2019t know where the other lad went.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were people, incredibly brave, because they were stood there the other side of the railings, them railings could have collapsed any time, and they would put their hands through to help you get up and climb over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was safe then\u2026 I was na\u00efve, I just thought you could sit on the side of the pitch, and they\u2019d start the game again\u2026 I didn\u2019t realise how severe it was at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The match was announced abandoned, and people headed back to the coaches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite rowdy on the coach after a football match, a lot of laughter and that and it wasn\u2019t. It was just a silence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All seated stadia at Anfield: Lord Justice Taylor\u2019s Report of the Inquiry into the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster recommended that all grounds should be all-seated. Image Credit: Anna Hynes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the way home, Tony\u2019s coach stopped at a service station. \u201cThat stage you knew people had died, the numbers were just going up and up.\u201d Tony queued for a phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust needed to get a message to my mum\u2026 I couldn\u2019t speak\u2026 said \u2018I\u2019m here, I\u2019m okay\u2019 and that was it, put the phone down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following days saw Duckenfield falsely claim to the media that\u00a0the gate was \u2018forced<\/a>\u2019 by Liverpool fans. On April 19, \u2018The Sun\u2019 newspaper produced a front page headlined \u2018The Truth\u2019. As\u00a0The Independent notes<\/a>, \u2018the toxicity of the allegations has not faded with the years\u2019. These allegations included that Liverpool fans stole from the dead, urinated on them, and beat up police helping the victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I wanted to read the newspapers\u2026 there soon became the rumours that the police were blaming Liverpool fans. That was just lies because you knew it wasn\u2019t like that. There was no trouble, no one was drunk\u2026 to say that drunken fans stormed the gates\u2026 that\u2019s not how you went to football matches in them days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 1990,\u00a0Lord Justice Taylor<\/a>\u00a0ruled\u00a0the failure to close the tunnel was a \u2018blunder of the first magnitude\u2019 and Duckenfield \u2018failed to take effective control\u2019. Despite Duckenfield admitting in March 2015 that not closing the tunnel before opening the gate \u2018was the direct cause of the deaths of 96 people\u2019,\u00a0he\u2019s legally innocent.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tony added, \u201cJustice will never be done by, the police got away with it\u2026 the loss of video tapes, the amendments to statements, the blatant lies,\u2026 there were so many mistakes made by many many people, and to blame it on the Liverpool fans, it\u2019s never gone away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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