The 23rd Hillsborough Memorial Service will take place at Anfield on Sunday 15th April 2012.
In the interests of safety, we ask all those wishing to attend the Memorial Service to please obtain a ticket in advance. The service will commence at 2.45pm prompt; however access to the stadium will be available from 1pm. Tickets can be obtained free of charge by phoning the Ticket Office on 0843 170 5555 (overseas 0044 151 907 9399), by postal application to Liverpool Football Club Ticket Office, PO Box 204, Liverpool, L69 3JF or by visiting the LFC Store at Liverpool One or the Ticket Office at Anfield. Should you require disabled access then please advise accordingly when making your application. Please note there will be a restriction of four tickets per application, but the club will be sensitive in exceptional cases to requests for larger numbers. Liverpool Football Club welcomes all attendees; however please note no prams or pushchairs will under any circumstances be allowed into the stadium.
The club asks you to please keep this in mind if you are bringing young children to the service and further requests that everyone arrives early as the service will start promptly at 2.45pm.
Comedian and Actor Russell Brand has recently made a significant donation to the Hillsborough Family Support Group. During a phone call from Memphis to Chairwoman Margaret Aspinall, Russell said he was “inspired and moved” after watching Margaret’s speech at the Hillsborough 2010 anniversary.
Everyone at the HFSG, families and supporters would like to express their gratitude for Russell’s support in the continued fight for ”Justice for the 96”.
Thank you Russell.
David Adams completed a mammoth 120 mile charity run from his barracks in North Yorkshire to the Hillsborough Memorial at Anfield on Friday 13th August.
David will be penning his amazing exploit and we will post them here.
We have been working with Alan Blayney of Lyver Design for the past few months and hope you will all like the design. The Liver Bird is positioned purposely facing the word “Justice” to show that it is supporting the HFSG in our continued fight on behalf of the families for justice.
There are 96 stars on the scarf, this was at the suggestion of Alan’s wife, and an idea loved by us both.
We think it would be a lovely gesture for all our supporters to hold up their scarves, in support of the 96 at all matches and also at our memorial service next year.
Margaret Aspinall and Sue Roberts
Chair and Secretary, HFSG.
Left to right:
Pat Jones
Margaret Aspinall
Rafa Benitez
Jenni Hicks
Sue Roberts
Doreen Jones
Rafa Benitez today donated £96,000 to the Hillsborough Family Support Group as he gets set to leave Merseyside.
The former Liverpool FC boss, who was today confirmed as the new manager at Inter Milan, handed over the cheque to Margaret Aspinall, chairwoman of the HFSG, as the rest of the committee watched on this afternoon.
In a low key visit to the group's office, Benitez wished the group well and told them he hoped they would get the justice and the truth they are campaigning for.
Mrs Aspinall said: "It was just nice to know that he wanted to see us before he went." .
Margaret Aspinall, the chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, stands next to candles lit for the 96 Liverpool supporters who lost their lives at Hillsborough. Photograph: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Watch Margaret's memorial service speech >>>
It is a unique day on Merseyside when a boy dressed in a full Everton kit can run through a car park at Anfield without causing a stir and scarves from a multitude of other clubs, including West Ham, Watford, Aston Villa and even the protesting green and gold of Manchester United can be seen tied to the gates that surround the great stadium. It was a unique day today. On a piercingly bright afternoon, Liverpool again remembered the darkest moment in their history.
For the 21st year in succession, 15 April was the day football did not matter to the most trophy-laden club in Britain. For their rivals, this was a time to halt the war. The 96 people who died during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough were the sole focus. The tragedy is the scar which will forever deface Liverpool, the terror that will never leave those that survived it or the families of those that did not. Anyone who doubts that should have listened to the address given at today's memorial service by Margaret Aspinall, the chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group whose son, James Gary Aspinall, perished in Sheffield exactly 21 years ago.
Unscripted, her message crackled with pain and sorrow, not just for herself but for everyone involved in the struggle for closure.
Her demand, as that of those who filled the Kop, was clear and obvious: Justice.
"We know why we're here," Aspinall said to the congregation. "In 1989, 96 loved ones died, they didn't come home from a football match. Ever since,
a blanket has been put over Hillsborough and now, 21 years on, it is time that blanket was removed."
The accusation of cover-up is one that has dogged Hillsborough from August 1989, when the Taylor Report concluded that South Yorkshire police were at fault
for the crush that took place at the Leppings Lane end of the ground, and only heightened after an inquiry a year later returned a majority verdict of accidental death.
That nobody has been held accountable for the disaster remains at the heart of the justice campaign.
In that regard, today's memorial service was characterised by hope. In less than a week – and as a result of the strength of feeling shown at last year's service when Andy Burnham, the then secretary of state for culture, media and sport, was shouted down by the Anfield crowd with calls of "Justice for the 96" – the recently created Hillsborough Independent Panel will reconvene to discuss the terms of reference for a fresh investigation.
Chaired by James Jones, the Anglican bishop of Liverpool, the nine-person body, which includes legal, medical and archive specialists, as well as former police officers, has been given unprecedented access to documents relating to Hillsborough, most notably 600 boxes of documents held by South Yorkshire police and other public bodies. In an interview with David Conn, published in the Guardian on Wednesday, Jones made it clear that the panel would do its upmost to "ensure the fullest story is told" about what happened during the opening, horrific stages of Liverpool's match against Nottingham Forest. They were in attendance today and were asked, achingly, by Aspinall to stick to that vow.
"We thank the panel for taking on this mammoth task," she said. "We know it will not be easy, that it will be very difficult, but what you are doing is so important. "All the families deserve apologies and to the panel I say please give us, and the 96, what we deserve. And to whoever is the government after 6 May, I say do not dare stop this process. The families are determined to lift that blanket over Hillsborough and will never stop fighting for the truth, the real truth, so help me God." Her words were followed by even louder chants for "Justice" from the Kop.
Aspinall's powerful address aside, the memorial was a generally sombre, heavily religious event, more so than last year when Burnham (an Evertonian) felt the full rage of this club and city. The crowd was smaller, too. Last year's 30,000 attendance was startling, so remarkable that due to health and safety legislation, the club had to make this year's event fully-ticketed (with all tickets free of charge).
Included in the crowd, alongside the bereaved families, was the Liverpool manager, Rafael Benítez, his entire squad, and former players such as Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush and John Aldridge, who gave one of the readings. The smaller crowd did not, though, take away from the sweeping emotion of the day, felt no more acutely than when he names of the 96 people who died at Hillsborough were read out one by one. That genuinely tear-jerking moment was then followed by a beautiful rendition by the Choir of St Anne Stanley of "You'll Never Walk Alone". Now more than ever, the song feels like a bridge between the club's present and its past, one that will forever connect it to that awful day of 21 years ago.
April 15th 2010, Liverpool Echo
It was confirmed this afternoon that the Memorial Service to mark the 21st Anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster will, for the first time, become an all-ticket event. Tickets will be available to supporters and those wishing to pay their respects free of charge.
The change in arrangements follows the large number of fans who attended last year’s Service. Liverpool Football Club has now been advised that in order to meet Safety Certificate regulations, the annual Memorial Service on Thursday April 15th needs to be ticketed for all supporters.
Liverpool FC has worked closely with the Hillsborough Family Support Group, Liverpool City Council and Merseyside Police to establish a new procedure for the Service.
The entire Kop grandstand will be open for the Service, providing an initial 10,000 seats for those wishing to attend.
Tickets, which are free, will be available from the Club ticket office at Anfield,
by postal and telephone application and from the official Club stores located in Williamson Square and Liverpool One in the city centre.
These will be available from March 22nd.
Last year more than 30,000 people attended the landmark 20th Anniversary Service but numbers for next month’s Service are expected to be more in line with the levels seen in previous years which have always been comfortably accommodated on The Kop.
Hillsborough Family Support Group Chair Margaret Aspinall said: “Safety is our absolute priority at the Memorial Service and we fully support the new arrangements. We have worked closely with the club and the authorities to ensure the smooth running of the event and issuing tickets is the best way forward.”
Liverpool FC Stadium and Operations Manager Ged Poynton added: “We want everyone who wishes to attend the service to
be able to do so, but in the safest possible environment."
“We would ask all our supporters to only apply for tickets if they are certain that they are going to use them.
The maximum is 6 per applicant, although of course we will be sensitive in exceptional cases to individual requests for larger numbers.
All tickets will be issued on an unreserved basis and will not be available on the day of the service.
We will also provide free parking on the Stanley Park Car Park on a first come first served basis".
“The timings and the Service itself will not be affected in any other way and we look forward to welcoming our supporters and friends to Anfield on April 15th.”
THE new Hillsborough panel were today due to examine the vault of secret files on the tragedy for the first time. The committee was set to meet for the second time in Sheffield, where they were being introduced to South Yorkshire police’s Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes.
The panelists, led by the Bishop of Liverpool, were due to be taken to the city vault where almost all of the 2 million previously unseen documents are currently held. It would be the first time the committee, which includes former Liverpool-born journalist Peter Sissons and Katy Jones, who produced the Jimmy McGovern documentary Hillsborough, will see the size of the task in front of them. The panel could also meet the archivists employed by Sheffield council to sift through the huge dossier and present it to the eight-strong group in some sort of relevant order.
Last month, the Hillsborough families met the panel and the Right Reverend James Jones at Liverpool’s Cunard building. Currently, there are seven people on the committee, a number which could rise to eight if a lawyer is added to the group. They were instructed they will be required until 2012, when a report chronicling their findings will be written. The group will convene every month, with the Bishop himself seeing archivists in charge of the 2m documents every week. A system will be devised to release information to the 96 families before it is placed in the public domain.
The panelists are Professor Phil Scraton, author of Hillsborough book The Truth; Ms Jones, a TV producer behind the McGovern drama-documentary on the disaster; Mr Sissons, the Liverpool-born newsreader; Paul Leighton CBE, former Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland; Dr Bill Kirkup CBE, former associate medical director at the Department of Health; Christine Gifford, a member of the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Public Sector Information; and Sarah Tyacke, former chief executive of the National Archives.
Mar 2 2010 by Luke Traynor, Liverpool Echo
SEVEN people appointed to sit on the historic Hillsborough files
panel today spoke of their honour to be selected. Their closely-guarded
identities were exclusively revealed by the Liverpool ECHO ahead
of yesterday’s pubic unveiling at the House of Commons.
The seven people are:-
- Christine Gifford - Public information expert.
- Paul Leighton - Former senior police chief.
- Phil Scraton - Professor of criminology.
- Dr Bill Kirkup - Medical director.
- Sarah Tyacke - Archives expert.
- Peter Sissons - Liverpool-born journalist.
- Katy Jones - Hillsborough TV producer.
Today, Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: "The new panelists are all experts
in their field and will bring a range of vital skills to the work of the
Hillsborough independent panel.
"I am delighted they have accepted the responsibility of assisting Bishop James in releasing papers surrounding the terrible tragedy."
Bishop James said: "Great thought has been given to the set of skills needed to do this important work. I am so pleased that my colleagues have agreed to join
the panel and dedicate themselves to this major task.
"Together they provide excellent skills for the serious work of overseeing the disclosure of the documents."
Hillsborough Family Support Group chair Margaret Aspinall said: "We are happy with the panel as it’s important to have people we have trust and faith in. "We pushed for Phil Scraton and Katy Jones to be part of it."
Sheila Coleman, spokeswoman for the Hillsborough Justice Campaign said she would discuss the selections with the members but added they had not been consulted about the decisions.
Professor Scraton said: "'The establishment of the Hillsborough Archive and the panel is a clear recognition that the families and survivors have had neither the full story nor appropriate acknowledgement of the circumstances in which 96 men, women and children died and hundreds were injured. "It confirms their resilience and courage in pursuing full disclosure of the context, circumstances and aftermath of an avoidable tragedy in the face of hostile opposition and it represents an unprecedented development in setting new standards regarding the wider public interest."
TV producer Katy Jones said: "It is hugely important that the Hillsborough families will at last have access to all of the information surrounding this tragedy. Opening up the archive will, I hope, help to heal the pain of not knowing. "I am deeply honoured that the families were keen for me to be part of the panel overseeing the release of the Hillsborough documents." Broadcaster Peter Sissons said: "The Hillsborough families, and all the people of Liverpool, must have confidence that nothing is still being hidden about this tragedy. "That is our task, and as a Liverpudlian, I am glad that I can play a part in fulfilling it."
Up to two million documents will be sifted through by the panel who are likely to take up to two years to complete the task.
Some observers have spoken of their surprise that a lawyer has not formed part of the seven-strong panel. A meeting is expected to take place next week in Liverpool when the committee will be introduced to families of those Reds football fans who lost their loved ones on the Leppings Lane in 1989.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: "The new panelists are all experts in their field and will bring a range of vital skills to the work of the panel.
Update: It has been announced that a lawyer is to be appointed to the panel - details to be announced shortly
Credit to The Liverpool Echo 26/01/2010
Antony Gormley's One & Other ended on 14 October 2009. He asked
the people of the UK to occupy the empty Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar
Square, a space normally reserved for statues of kings and generals,
in an image of themselves, and a representation of the whole
of humanity. This astonishing living monument took place for
100 days, during which the plinth was occupied by different people
- chosen by ballot - every hour, 24 hours a day. Two courageous
people, Mark Dixon and Emma Burns represented the victims and
families of Hillsborough with moving speeches.
Watch their videos...
COMPLETE disclosure of hidden documents about the Hillsborough tragedy will take place within TWO months after weeks of secret talks resulted in a personal guarantee from the Home Secretary.
A five-man independent “cabinet”, including respected Hillsborough chronicler Phil Scraton will start sifting through the documents in September;
Bereaved families could have the opportunity to view important pages by April, 2010;
The files to be released include those from the three emergency services, the Sheffield city corner, Sheffield council and Sheffield Wednesday FC;
Jenni Hicks, Margaret Aspinall and Pat Joynes, who attended the high-profile meeting in London, today spoke exclusively to the ECHO and explained how they were able to now break their silence after months of observing a Whitehall confidentiality agreement.
And they revealed a series of secret meetings had taken place in recent months in the capital.
The mothers said they were “ecstastic” with the breakthrough and said they had achieved the aims of their campaign of 20 years.
Thanks to Vancouver Reds for a kind donation of £250 GBP from their recent fundraiser. Former players Joey Jones and John Aldridge accepted a cheque from Kirsty of Retro Reds in Liverpool earlier this month.
We have received hundreds of requests regarding The Fields Of Anfield Road CD. Here's a message from Philip Hayes, Project Manager.
"If you can, please buy the Hillsborough Commemorative CD before Sunday when the UK charts are announced, we'd really like it to be as high as possible in this, the week of the 20th Anniversary of the Disaster. Spread the word.
The songs are available from Itunes for only 79p each- see link below.
Buy any of the 4 tracks- they all count towards a chart position.
For more information and advice on how to download please visit the Fields Of Anfield Road
Website
Physical copies of the CD are available at HMV in Liverpool or from HMV Website on line.
All proceeds from the sales go to the Hillsborough Family Support Group.
Love and Best wishes,
Philip Hayes.
Click here to find out more about the recording and to watch the video for FREE now
Click here to visit the official 'Fields of Anfield Road' website
Click here to buy the single from HMV
Click here to buy the single on iTunes
The families of the HFSG would like to thank everyone who attended this years memorial service and for the hundreds of e-mails and messages that have come in over the past few weeks. We have been overwhelmed by the level of support we have received from friends from all over the world including fans of many other football teams. Your words of kindness have been greatly appreciated.
Wednesday 15th April 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the disaster in Sheffield that cost 96 fellow fans their lives. As is the custom, the Hillsborough Family Support Group will be organising a memorial service to mark the occasion and to remember those who died. The service will be inter-denominational and will take place on the Kop at Anfield. It will commence at 2.45pm, include a two minute silence at 3.06pm and conclude at about 3.30pm with the singing of 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. Tickets are not required and Liverpool Football Club extends an open invitation to you to join the families, the Directors, officials and players plus thousands of fellow football fans in our annual act of remembrance. This year is expected to be exceptionally well attended and we would ask that you allow adequate time and plan to be in early. Entrances will be open at 2.00pm, on both sides of the Kop. In the event of the Kop being full for this occasion, extra seating will be provided in the Lower Centenary Stand. A candle will be lit to remember each individual life that was extinguished prematurely and we rely upon the eternal flame of the Hillsborough Memorial to burn some light into the darkest night. For many, Wednesday April 15th will be just a normal working day and there will be others who are unable to attend - despite wishing otherwise but everyone is invited to join us in spirit and spare a thought, say a private prayer or even light a candle in their minds.
Thank you .