11th May 1985

On this day in 1985 56 Bradford City fans who went to a football match and never came home. May they rest in peace.

11th May 1985

On Saturdays they came and went
From Cullingworth and Heckmondwike.
After defeat or victory
A pint or two at the Corn Dolly
Would set the world to rights.

On Saturdays they flooded in
To Midland Road or to the Kop
And were united for two hours
In unremitting Yorkshire showers
Whether they won or lost.

That Saturday they went with dads
And brothers, sisters, partners, friends.
Young parents took their little lads,
Proudly claret and amber clad,
To applaud the season’s end

That Saturday supporters cheered
As onto the pitch their heroes came,
And even when they saw the smoke
They thought that it was one big joke...
Until they saw the flames.

That Saturday supporters screamed
As fire encroached at breakneck speed.
They ran to find their exits blocked -
The gates were chained and the doors were locked
And they died there in their seats.

That Saturday they came and went
Via houses that they didn’t know
Queuing to use the phone to say
“It’s alright, Love. I got away.
I will be coming home.”

That Saturday at the BRI
The lucky ones patiently queued
With blistered hands fixed to their hair –
The falling asphalt stuck them there
Acting like superglue

That Saturday we sat at home
Listening to John Helm’s commentary.
And in his voice the fear grew
And in that moment, then, we knew
This was a tragedy

On Monday kids returned to school
And sat down next to empty chairs
Remembering Friday’s kickabout –
The last of its kind – as they filed out
To the special assembly and prayers

A silence falls throughout the crowd
The final Saturday each year,
As we sit secure in the Carlsberg Stand
Remembering those fallen fans
And wipe away our tears.

(From "Love and Death and That", 2012)