UNFORGOTTEN : BRADFORD CITY FIRE

Where is the 5 part ITV documentary? I looked on ITVX but couldn't see anything (maybe it's under a different name) and on Youtube there is a piece which is titled Episode 2 - Fire, but it doesn't point to where episode 1 was or gives and indication there are episodes, 3, 4 & 5?

 

A little 4 legged wooden buffet by any chance Simon? He leant on one of the “ pipe” barriers ?
Vague memory ???

 

I found it on ITV.COM

 

There's been a lot of insensitivity from an earlier poster. I hope he's gone now. Maybe he needs educating a bit more about the fire. Some details seem to be getting forgotten so that people are being a bit more blase about it and less sensitive to victims and survivors..

We tragically lost 56 souls to the fire, but there were also more than that died ahead of their time, victims of PTSD, family break-up, job loss, and drug and alcohol addiction, as mental health issues took their toll. For me, it was not just 56, and that's why I do not like the number's "badge" status. It often seems to be overlooked that 100s were injured and 1000s were traumatised that day and many are still with us. Most prefer the stand in the wings rather than the limelight. I don't think the documentary conveyed the large numbers deeply affected very well. From some readers' comments on Width of a Post, the survivors feel a bit forgotten but also resigned to it . Most things get forgotten in time but maybe we should at least try to remember that, although the 56 losses were terrible, those too young or not there probably do not appreciate there was still more pain to it than that.

https://widthofapost.com/2025/05/10/how-should-we-remember-the-unimaginable-40-years-on-from-the-valley-parade-fire-disaster/

Showing a sample of the pains from a few brave interviewees probably did help some not there that day to understand. They could have approached thousands of survivors if they could find them, all with varying degrees of permanent upset. Maybe they did approach a lot. I imagine a good number of potential interviewees would have turned them down. Some would want to remember on video/TV. Some would not. I'm not judging. We all struggle with grief differently. There's a balance to be struck. I thought the documentary was reasonable. They showed some clips that shocked some posters here but it was still far short of the shock of the full video or being there on the day. There was lots of footage they chose not to show, and quite rightly.


The 56 dead are remembered by fans old and new but I sometimes think later deaths, the 250+ injured and 1000s emotionally scarred get overlooked a bit by media, the newer generations of fans and even some that work at the club. I don't blame them. Most are simply too young to understand and many survivors still around find their stories too painful to tell. I think that was always going to happen. I only told my sons of some my experiences after we watched this documentary together. They were shocked. I did not tell them everything. It would be too much. I want them to be happy. I want other younger City fans to be happy. I want survivors to be happy. I want friends and relatives of deceased to be happy. But sometimes these groups desire slightly conflicting things.

There has always been a subtle, little-discussed tension between the families and friends of the 56 that want to remember the fire and the survivors that want to forget - and that is probably a simplification. It's a complexity of personal situations and experiences. Different memory triggers upset different people. Some upset more people than others. That's why we remember publicly with grace and dignity the way we do at the end of the season but try keep fire references subdued the rest of the year. Survivors open themselves up to the pain briefly every May in memory of the dead and their loved ones but try to bottle that pain up for the rest of the year. Deceased's loved ones want them remembering all the time but don't want survivors regularly upsetting. Our services and memorial try balance this.

It is still a painfully difficult topic to handle for survivors to varying degrees, depending on individual circumstances and what happened to each person on the day and in the aftermath. Survivors that suffered were not just fans but players and employees of the club, members of the emergency services, some of the local population, and those involved in investigations and clearing up afterwards.

On top of those somewhat different trials and tribulations, there was a shared common horror watching the tragedy details unfold on TV live, and over hours, days and even weeks afterwards. It became apparent there was going to be a huge toll of dead and injured and it was upsetting as it increased day by day with personal stories attached. In time we realised it was so horrific and upsetting for so many, with some conflicts in who was upset by what, that we settled on simpler and more dignified remembrance. This means younger folk in time became less aware of the horrors - only of the event. Many current fans, and others connected to the club, still carry their horror quietly with them, though. After 40 years, their suffering is never going to go away.

Some people are suggesting the BBC documentary is too graphic. But how do you convey how bad it was and how much it affected people that still attend games? If the young were forgetting the horror and the lessons learned, how much do you show? Do we want to traumatise a new generation so that they understand better or do we let the older generation suffer increasing insensitivity and risk-taking until they stop coming?

The BBC tried to get a balance. It was ok. I'd have been tempted to show more but only because some of the things going on a Valley Parade now are displaying excessive risk-taking again. The young do not have enough experience to see it. Older folk warn them but they ignore. Such is life. Letting flares off is pretty obvious. Fans cramming into the corner as players celebrated on the roof is less so. It reminded me of the 1977 promotion celebration when the wall collapsed and injured several fans. Yet we did it again - lesson forgotten. For me, some of the lessons of 1985 seem to be starting to get forgotten.

It took me 10 years to build up the mental courage to return to watch football at VP. It felt better than I expected to go back, after years of being uncomfortable in crowds and seeking out likely emergency exits everywhere I went. But there are increasingly frequent occasions when I want to leave VP again now, usually due to the bahaviour of other younger fans that seem less aware of the horrific fire details. I'm hoping the BBC documentary is graphic enough to have an effect on them. If not, maybe those who let off flares and smoke bombs should be made to watch the whole, original, much more shocking 4 minute footage, so that they understand why there are still possibly a couple of thousand fans who attend City regulary who could be very upset by the smell of smoke in Valley Parade.

Why do we not hear about the club taking more action against these supporters who are breaking the law and causing significant distress to some other fans? Maybe those responsible at the club don't understand and should be made to watch the whole footage. I believe they still use it in fire safety training to shock relevant parties into taking fire safety very seriously indeed, particularly emphasising how quickly a fire can spread and inflict great death and destruction, so that quick recognition, implementation of fire protocols and efficient evacuation are planned and enacted

Defenders say smoke bombs are not dangerous. That's not true. Any smoke can be dangerous if you cannot escape it, particularly those with certain health issues. A few people at football matches have already been hospitalised by smoke bombs and several injured by flares. However, for some older fans at VP, they are a trigger point for horrific memories. There is also a wider issue, though. One day, a real fire will break out somewhere, and nobody will react. They'll just think it's another smoke bomb they can see or smell. If these things are not stamped out, a fire will one day go unrecognised, no alarm will be raised, and another major tragedy will ensue. The laws are there for a reason, but people forget why over time. If the BBC documentary had to shock people a bit to help them remember and deal with the pyro pushers, then shocking some people will be worth it. Allowing another disaster would be much worse.

I know this is a sensitive topic and can drag up bad memories for older surviviors. I apologise if anything I have said does that. I'd like to think I am speaking for those survivors who find the pyros in Valley Parade upsetting but can't bring themselves to get involved in discussions. The Width of a Post comments show survivors do not like pyros in the ground. Football clubs seem to not be actively enforcing laws on pyros like they did not actively enforce ground safety laws that led to disasters in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Rangers had two similar disasters, with similar casualty profiles to our fire, within 10 years. Laws and regulations were there. Recommendations were made. Enforcement was a problem, but why? Do those tasked with enforcing laws and regulations to prevent such disasters understand how horrific they were if reporting of them gets less horrific over time until they are just an event, with the horror suppressed? How do we maintain standards?

Everyone old enough needs to remember the lessons learned and those too young need to watch the BBC documentary and know the unedited footage was much more shocking and that being there was traumatising. They might then be less likely to ignore the lessons we learned to avert similar disasters. Improved standards were a very important consolation that came from our disaster. They are a legacy of our dead and injured and emotionally scarred. Let's remember all the victims and remember the lessons learned.

 

Link to episode one here: https://www.itv.com/watch/news/never-forget-episode-one-city/5wnq1w5

 

ITV News Calendar : Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire

All the episodes at the bottom of the page

 

Thank you, I have just come here to post that myself after finding it. There is also links on the same page to the other 4 episodes. I watched episode 2 originally on youtube as thats where they posted it. So I'll have a look at the other 4 episodes.

 

Thank you for posting this @Aleman
I was at the game. I was stood in the Kop and so never felt personally in any danger. But watching it all unfold was obviously horrific. I feel grateful that I have not been left traumatised by the events of that day, but the images and memories will never leave me. I know that many long time supporters saw and experienced, close up and personally, far more disturbing things than I witnessed from a distance and have much tougher things to live with as a consequence.

I was a Social Worker at the time, working in the Eccleshill/Idle Area Office and I visited a couple of elderly people, the week after the fire, whose husbands hadn’t come home. So I share your disapproval of the way ‘The ‘56’ has become objectified. As you say, this number ignores the many more who were injured, physically and/or mentally and the untold number of bereaved relatives and friends of the deceased.

I do think that many of our younger supporters fail to appreciate the full horror of what people experienced that day. I know that some on here don’t think that pyros are a big deal but, for me, they are completely beyond the pale, especially at VP. Regardless of the fire/injury risk (which is obviously very important) I see them as a mark of gross disrespect to those who perished or lost loved ones and to those current supporters who were there that day and have no wish to ever again see any form of smoke billowing inside Valley Parade.

I’ve been tied up with family issues since Saturday so I haven’t watched the documentary yet; but I do intend to, however tough a watch it is. I just hope that some of the young pyromaniacs get to see it and finally appreciate why their behaviour is unacceptable to so many of us who were there 40 years ago.

 

A profound post @Aleman
You speak for many of us in attendance that fateful day
Never spoke about it to anyone to this day and can't see that changing
The documentary touched on the horror of the day but thankfully edited scenes we all saw that never should be aired
I did feel for the Policeman on duty in the block at the seat of the fire that they interviewed, 40 years later and he still looked haunted by it all not helped by when being interviewed at the enquiry was told that if he had ushered people to the front and not the back lives could have been saved whoever said that to him needs to take a long hard look at themselves
Personally I took the opinion to attend the next possible game I could Brunton Park 1st game of the season If I recall not a good experience but it helped beat the fears
Oddly enough like yourself to this day am never happy in unfamiliar surroundings until I have found the emergency exits thought it was just me !!!

 

I didn’t think I would watch it, but I did. It was well done and better than most documentaries about the fire.

@Aleman raises the pyros and the terrible effect it has on the survivors. The current management of the club need to have another look at this. They may well be “safe” but that will not help those that are still traumatised to this day. If we are the only club that makes a stand then so be it.



All kinds of emotions come up. When you have lost someone or you struggle with mental health issues, or PTSD they just don’t go away in any prescribed time that we understand. For me grief is cyclical it goes round in circles; the circles take longer as time goes by, but it is my experience they never go away altogether. However, you learn to live with your loss, and that is my hope for my fellow supporters. Everyone is different and there is no roadmap on what happens and what to do or feel.

I am moved by the many contributions supporters on this site have made who suffered and are still suffering loss and grief. Your bravery and courage is appreciated.

 

Brilliant post thank you for articulating the thoughts of many of us who where there that day

 

Thanks Rod

 

Could well have been Kevin, and he definitely leant on the barriers. Thanks for sharing, they're all shady memories aren't they.
I remember getting him a Cornish Pasty from the pie shop (was it a Malcolm who ran it?)

 

Sorry can’t recall the owner of the little refreshment bar at the back . I remember them selling pints of cider though ! Hic!

We lost our three houses away neighbour in the disaster , little old chap, he’d be in his 70’s then , but neither the wife nor I can recall his name at the moment . I don’t think it was him with the buffet though .
I believe we moved over to the paddock a few years earlier than 85 , but I certainly recall the chap with the buffet in the Bfd End in my teenage/ early to mid 20’s .

 

If you go on ITV X on your television using your remote go down to categories,then scroll across to News then scroll down to Calendar and first 4 episodes are there. I would think episode 5 is on tomorrow.

 

On the ITV X documentary there’s lots of footage never seen before of the club being presented with the trophy, everyone so happy, a lap of honour by the players. Then tragedy just an hour away,it really brings tears to my eyes knowing how rapidly some things can change.

 

I was more impressed with the ITV News series Never Forget: The Bradford Fire which includes lots of footage from ITV who were supposed to be doing a one hour program of the celebrations.

 

I finally got round to watching this last night. I wasn't at the game as I was away in Kent with the Army at the time. Had I been in Bradford I would have been there but in the Bradford End.
Having said that , I was surprised to find how emotional I felt whilst watching, definitely had tears in my eyes and was finding it difficult to talk to our lass as words just wouldn't form for me.
I thought it was a well put together programme, it's the first I've watched on the subject and don't know if I could watch any more about tbh.