By John Dewhirst

With each passing year the number of surviving supporters who attended that fateful game at Valley Parade inevitably declines. Those intimately familiar with the old ground having been regular supporters are likely to be well into their late fifties by now and I suspect the number still attending games is unlikely to be more than a thousand, and certainly less than five percent of those at the Fleetwood game.

As with wars, the memory of historic events is inherited by younger generations who get the prerogative to choose how the disaster should be remembered. Older generations have to accept change although they may be uncomfortable to do so. However, it doesn’t mean the oldies shouldn’t speak out about it.

A fundamental question is how will be disaster be remembered in future? As the late Paul Firth used to ask – how can people remember something of which they had no direct exposure and which happened before they were born?

On previous occasions I have written about the focus on the 56 fatalities to the exclusion of recognising that countless others were impacted by the disaster. Back in 1985 – and certainly for the twenty odd years following – equal consideration was given to the plight of the survivors in the collective memory of the disaster. Having seen first-hand forty years ago many of the burns injuries as well as experienced the fear, this is a big part of what I remember about the disaster. It was not just about the 56 victims but the wider community that was impacted.

You can understand the difficulty for younger fans to comprehend exactly what happened at Valley Parade in 1985. Wooden grandstands for example have long since disappeared from English stadia and Valley Parade is completely unrecognisable to what they could see in surviving photographs from pre-1985. The old world is as alien and antiquated to them just as 1945 was to myself forty years ago and is now. So what can the younger generations remember other than the annual tradition of a minute’s silence before the last home game of the season?

I’d like to think that the relevance of the disaster for succeeding generations will be more than as a source of identity or a branding for hoodies. I take pride in the rebuilding of the club through the efforts of supporters after 1985, the collective support given to survivors of the Valley Parade fire and the inspiring example of our emergency services – themes that we can’t allow to be forgotten.

There were so many positives that came out of the disaster, not least the University Burns Unit. Surely the most fitting way of commemorating the disaster is to recognise the inspiration that can be derived from the post-1985 recovery in Bradford.

Yet how do kids know what it is that they should remember if there is little or no mention of the disaster in local schools and no celebration anywhere of the post-1985 positives? Frankly it should be commemorated and headlined within the Bradford 2025 programme of cultural events being one of the best testaments of Bradford culture and community in the modern era.

The vast majority of us were equally upset by the sight of people letting off flares on Saturday. Whether we like it or not the pyrotechnic culture is already well-established in Bradford and there was no shortage of fans queuing to buy fireworks at a certain shop on Darley Street. The City Park event on Tuesday confirmed that flares and fireworks are going to be with us for the foreseeable future and are becoming de rigueur.

There will always be a handful who want to let off flares at a match although it should be remembered that it was not unknown – even if uncommon – for bangers to heard at matches in the run-up to 5th November each year prior to 1985. Even in 1960 it was considered a big problem at Valley Parade that merited debates about supporter behaviour. And in 1985 there were newspaper claims – later dismissed – that a flare had been the cause of the fire.

I don’t know what can be done about the issue now unless we get intrusive airport style security searches at the turnstiles, and it can’t solely be the responsibility of the BCAFC stewards to solve the problem. As evidenced on Saturday with the pitch invasions, stewards are not the police and do not have the powers of the police. Many are agency workers so their effectiveness for serious and dangerous issues is limited.

Unfortunately, it seems that there is more chance of the problem escalating than disappearing – whilst there has been temporary respite from flares at Valley Parade, we still get them at away grounds. Sadly if our fans can’t refrain from lighting flares at games it serves only to encourage visiting supporters when they come to Bradford and, for what it’s worth, we lose the moral high ground. Just when we are celebrating bumper crowds the phenomenon of flares is the kind of development that could deter families with young children from attending matches in the future.

My fear is that before too long there will be a serious accident arising from a flare being thrown into a football crowd – you don’t need much imagination to work out what would happen if a flare landed in your lap at a game. Sadly, the phenomenon may only recede when a headline injury eventually happens.

The irony of course is the relevance of the Valley Parade disaster and maybe this calls for some fresh thinking about how to commemorate the disaster so that younger generations can find it relevant and inspiring as well as the basis to understand the risks and the concerns about burns. The more people who understand, the less likely it will be that the flares become widespread or considered acceptable behaviour.

The only suggestion I can offer is that those identified with the flares – and it shouldn’t be difficult given the photo / video footage of the crowd and the CCTV on Saturday – should be required to watch a film or hear from firefighters about injuries from fire. Maybe peer pressure is the best way to deal with the problem, so that it is no longer considered cool to bring flares to matches. Either way, the whole issue of pyrotechnics is the complete antithesis of what I remember about 11 May, 1985 having actually been at Valley Parade on that day.

The disaster also taught us to appreciate the positive aspects of football – the camaraderie and unity of purpose as well as about enjoying the good times. This last weekend has brought a return of the feelgood factor to Bradford and joyous celebrations. Let’s have more fun although preferably ‘No pyro, still party’.

*I have assisted ITV with a multi-part documentary about the fire disaster, principally providing background historic detail about the club and Valley Parade. John Helm / YTV were present on the day of the disaster and the company has been responsible about control of the original film footage during the last 40 years, so I endorse the production wholeheartedly. ‘Never Forget: The Bradford City Stadium Fire’ is being broadcast in five episodes starting Monday 12 May on ITVX.

Categories: Opinion

Tags: BCAFC