May 11th 1985  Valley Parade.  Death does not get to have the last word

It’s 40 years since the Bradford City Fire Disaster.  On May 11^th, 1985 crowds packed into Valley Parade football stadium preparing to celebrate Bradford City winning the third division title and promotion to Division 2 (equivalent to today’s Championship).   However, joy quickly turned to tears, triumph to tragedy as a fire ripped through the main stand, an old wooden structure that was earmarked for replacement. Fifty-six supporters lost their lives.  Many more were severely injured and others suffered the emotional scars both of witnessing the horrific events unfold and through suffering loss.

I hadn’t started going to watch the team at that point but I was just starting to get into football and Bradford City.  I remember us switching on the TV as the game should have been ending to see the results (this was long before 24/7 live streaming straight to our phones).  I remember the shock as the announcer said “we’re going over for more news of that fire at Bradord.”  Then the deepening horror as we saw the scenes on our TV and grasped the enormity of what had happened.  I remember arriving at school on Monday and things becoming much more personal still as we were told that one of our class mates, Adrian Wright had been in the stand and had not got out.  I remember going with friends to lay flowers at the back of the ruined remnants of the stand. 

If you are connected to Bradford and to Bradford City in any way then May 11^th 1985 is etched permanently into your memory.  That date casts a long shadow over us. Each year around about this time, with quiet dignity, the city remembers and pays tribute.    

Death casts a long shadow  but at the same time, the story of Bradford City post May 11^th 1985 is not just about death and disaster.  Indeed, it can be a little irking at times when people immediately talk about the fire when they talk about Bradford City or when they visit the ground. Perhaps that too reflects a sense of Yorkshire privacy.  This is our grief.

But also the story is about hope.  It’s about the hope of those many burns victims who through swift, pioneering surgery and dedicated rehabilitation recovered and went on to keep living their normal lives.  It’s about fans who went back and indeed a new, rebuilt stadium emerging from the ashes.  It’s about a football club that survived, continuing to have its ups and downs.  Yes, its been through receiverships, yes the team have hit the basement league again, twice but along the way there have been visits to Wembley, a two years in the Premiership and even a cup final.    The story is one of mini death and resurrection.

This year, Easter was late and so quite close to the anniversary.  Those two events together provide a poignant remember of that sense of death and resurrection.  Death does not get to have the last word.

That death should not have the last word is the verdict we all want to hear.  There is of course no guarantee of this in human terms.  However, as a Christian, because I have Easter I can state that with greater certainty.  It is my faith in the resurrection that helps me personally to face the horrors of such a tragedy just as it has enabled me to face other griefs and losses in my life.  It is because Jesus defeated the Grave that I can say “Death does not have the last word.”!

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Please note, I have opened up comments for anyone who wishes to leave their reflections or tributes today, not for debate.