Ex-bantams skipper Jackson on horrific scenes at Valley Parade in 1985: No one should ever forget
PETER JACKSON believes the ‘Bradford Fire Disaster’ has become one of the forgotten tragedies of British sport.
Today marks the 35th anniversary of that fateful day on May 11, 1985, when a blaze ripped through the main stand at Valley Parade claiming the lives of 56 people, including women and children.
The disaster led to a Government inquiry and rigid new safety standards in UK stadiums, including banning wooden grandstands.
It was also a catalyst for the substantial redevelopment and modernisation of many British football grounds over the next three decades. Jackson, along with supporters, dignitaries and club staff and players both past and present, will have to watch a memorial service online today due to the current social distancing measures in place because of Covid-19. And the captain of the Bantams at the time of the fire reckons people outside of the city have been quick to forget what happened and how the consequences of it changed the footballing landscape. He said: “If something good came out of something so horrific then it’s how the fire changed the stadia situation.
“I think this gets lost a little bit as the years go by. Especially in other parts of the country. We were just a little club from Bradford in the Third Division.
“But it had such a profound effect on so many lives. No one should ever forget where they were that day. I know the people from Bradford certainly don’t.”
Jackson insists today’s service will be more poignant than ever due to the recent death of Trevory Cherry.
Cherry, who died at the age of 72 last month, was player manager of Bradford and had led them to the old Third Division title ahead of the final-day clash with Lincoln.
Jackson had been planning to lift the trophy aloft before heading to Magaluf with his team-mates the following day to celebrate promotion.
Instead, he found himself visiting burns victims at Pinderfields Hospital, in Wakefield, as well as attending countless funerals in the weeks to come – including two a day sometimes – for those who had perished.
Jackson (above) will once again pay his respects to the victims of a tragedy that will forever haunt him, but will also pause to remember his good friend Cherry. He said: “Trevor was an up and coming young manager at the time. I went on to be a manager, so I appreciate now how difficult it must have been for him to deal with back then. Imagine having to handle all that?
“I played alongside him, but he left himself out of the team for that last game. He didn’t want to take the glory. He wanted another young player to enjoy the occasion. It sort of summed him really.
“His death was so sad and it will make this anniversary even more poignant than usual.”
Jackson’s wife Alison and young daughter Charlotte were at the stadium on the day of the fire, and he added: “Charlotte was almost two back then, but three years later she started school and still hadn’t talked about it.
“She had to draw a picture of her daddy at work and she came with one of me playing football, with a fire in the background.
“It’s something that none of us will ever forget.”
It gets a little bit lost now but it had such a profound effect on so many lives