Burnden Park disaster

Last updated

Burnden Park disaster
Burnden disaster.jpg
Women and children being passed over the heads of others at the Railway End during the crush
Date9 March 1946;78 years ago (1946-03-09)
Location Bolton, Lancashire, England
CauseOvercrowding of banking terraces causing a stampede
Deaths33 [1]
Non-fatal injuriesca. 400 [1]

The Burnden Park disaster was a crowd crush that occurred on 9 March 1946 at Burnden Park football stadium, then the home of Bolton Wanderers. The crush resulted in the deaths of 33 people and injuries to hundreds of Bolton fans. [1] It was the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history until the Ibrox Park disaster in 1971.

Contents

The match, an FA Cup Sixth Round second-leg tie between Bolton and Stoke City, was allowed to continue, with the game ending goalless. The disaster brought about the Moelwyn Hughes report, which recommended more rigorous control of crowd sizes.

Disaster

It was estimated that the crowd was in excess of 85,000 people. [2] Entrance to the Bolton end of the ground, which had no roof, was from the Manchester Road end only. The disaster happened at the Railway End of the ground where, in common with many other post-war grounds, facilities were rudimentary. The bank was crude: just dirt with some flagstones for steps. [3] [ full citation needed ] Although there was room towards the Burnden side of the ground, part of the stand had been requisitioned by the Ministry of Supply following the War and had not yet been returned to normal use. In addition, the turnstiles at the east end of the Railway Embankment, which adjoined the Burnden Stand, had been closed since 1940.[ citation needed ]

At the time, fans paid at the turnstiles rather than buying tickets beforehand. The Railway End became over capacity and closely packed so, at 2:40 pm, it was decided to close the turnstiles. [4] However, that did not stop more people entering the ground, with spectators climbing in from the railway, clambering over the closed turnstiles and, when a locked gate was opened, entering through it. [5] Such was the pressure from the Railway End, that many fans were pushed inexorably along the side of the pitch, around the far end and, eventually, right out of the ground, ending up in the car park.[ citation needed ]

Shortly after the game started, the crowd began spilling onto the pitch, so the game was temporarily stopped to clear the pitch. However, two barriers then collapsed and the crowd behind them fell forward, crushing those underneath. [4] The game was restarted but was quickly halted again when a Bolton Borough Police officer came onto the pitch to speak to the referee, George Dutton, to inform him there had been a fatality. The referee called together the two captains, Bolton's Harry Hubbick and Stoke's Neil Franklin, to inform them of the problem, and the players left the pitch.[ citation needed ]

The dead and injured were taken from the Railway End terrace, with those who had died laid along the touchline and covered in coats. A little under half an hour after the players had left the pitch, the game was restarted, with a new sawdust-lined touchline separating the players from the corpses. At the end of the first-half, the players immediately changed ends and started the second half. Stanley Matthews was on the Stoke team, and said later that he was sickened that the game was allowed to continue. [6]

Aftermath

Moelwyn Hughes's official report recommended more rigorous control of crowd sizes. [7] A conference on the licensing and regulation of sports grounds where it was recommended that, as a voluntary code, local authorities should inspect grounds with a capacity of 10,000 spectators and agreed safety limits should be in place for grounds of more than 25,000 capacity. Turnstiles should mechanically record spectator numbers and grounds should have internal telephone systems. [8]

On 24 August 1946 England and Scotland drew 2–2 in an additional fixture in aid of the Disaster Fund. [9] [10] All tickets to the match at Maine Road, Manchester were sold raising £12,000. [lower-alpha 1] [12] [ full citation needed ] [13] [ full citation needed ] The Burnden Park disaster was the greatest tragedy in British football history until the Ibrox Park disaster at Rangers' home ground in 1971.[ citation needed ]

In 1992 a memorial plaque was unveiled at the stadium. In 2000, following the move by Bolton Wanderers to a new ground, the plaque was relocated to the wall of the supermarket which now occupies the site of the tragedy. [14]

Notes

  1. ↑ about £630,000 today. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolton Wanderers F.C.</span> Association football club in Bolton, England

Bolton Wanderers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibrox Stadium</span> Football stadium in Glasgow

Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of 50,987. The stadium was designed by renowned football stadium architect Archibald Leitch, with renovations to the stadium between 1978 and 1981, as well as 1990 and 1991, being designed by The Miller Partnership and Gareth Hutchison respectively.

The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, at the time of the report, 95 Liverpool fans had died. An interim report was published in August 1989, and the final report was published in January 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradford City stadium fire</span> 1985 disaster in Valley Parade Stadium, Bradford, England

The Bradford City stadium fire occurred during a Football League Third Division match on Saturday, 11 May 1985 at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, killing 56 spectators and injuring at least 265. The stadium was known for its antiquated design and facilities, which included the wooden roof of the main stand. Previous warnings had also been given about a major build-up of litter in the cavity below the seats in the stand. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnden Park</span> Former football stadium in Bolton. UK

Burnden Park was the home of English football club Bolton Wanderers, who played home games there between 1895 and 1997. As well as hosting the 1901 FA Cup final replay, in 1946 it was the scene of one of the worst disasters in English football. The stadium was depicted in a 1953 painting by L. S. Lowry, Going to the Match.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gresty Road</span> Football stadium in North West England

Gresty Road or the Alexandra Stadium, currently known as the Mornflake Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Crewe, Cheshire, England. The home ground of Crewe Alexandra, it has an all-seated capacity of 10,153.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moelwyn Hughes</span> British politician (1897–1955)

Goronwy "Ronw" Moelwyn Hughes, KC, known as Moelwyn Hughes was a Welsh lawyer and a Liberal and Labour politician who was elected to two short terms as a Member of Parliament (MP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1901–02 British Home Championship</span> International football competition

The 1901–02 British Home Championship was an international football tournament between the British Home Nations which was meant to herald the arrival of the full professional game of football as both England and Scotland fielded fully professional teams for the first time. The championship was however dominated and overshadowed by a disaster during the final deciding match between England and Scotland at Ibrox Park, which claimed 25 lives. Six minutes into the game, a section of the wooden West Tribune Stand suddenly collapsed due to heavy rainfall the night before. Over 500 people were injured as the stadium was packed to its 68,000 capacity for the match. Although play was stopped in the immediate aftermath of the disaster as players, police and stewards rushed to aid the injured, it was later continued. The continued match finished 1–1 despite the players' reluctance and repeated pauses to allow police and injured spectators to cross the pitch. After the match the Scottish and English Football Associations decided to void the result, and the match was replayed at Villa Park. All proceeds from the replay were contributed to the Disaster Fund set up to aid victims of the accident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrace (stadium)</span> Traditional standing area of a sports stadium

A terrace or terracing in sporting terms refers to the standing area of a sports stadium, particularly in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It is a series of concrete steps, with intermittent safety barriers installed at specific locations to prevent an excessive movement of people down its slope.

Linthorpe Road was a cricket and football ground in Middlesbrough in England. It was the home ground of Middlesbrough Cricket Club and Middlesbrough F.C.

Thomas Lawrence Hamlett was an English footballer who played at right-back for Congleton Town, Bolton Wanderers, and Port Vale. He scored nine goals in 181 league appearances in the six seasons of the Football League immediately following World War II. He later spent 25 years on the coaching staff at Port Vale, from July 1958 to March 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1923 FA Cup final</span> Football match

The 1923 FA Cup final was an association football match between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United on 28 April 1923 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, it was the first football match to be played at Wembley Stadium. King George V was in attendance to present the trophy to the winning team.

The 1945–46 season was Stoke City's eleventh and final season in the non-competitive War League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1971 Ibrox disaster</span> Crowd crush at a Glasgow football game

The 1971 Ibrox disaster, also known as the Second Ibrox Disaster, was a crush among the crowd at an Old Firm football game, which led to 66 deaths and more than 200 injuries. It happened on 2 January 1971 in an exit stairway at Ibrox Park in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the worst football disaster until the Bradford City stadium fire in Bradford, England, in 1985. This was followed by 97 deaths in the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, England, in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1902 Ibrox disaster</span> Stadium structural failure in Glasgow, Scotland

The 1902 Ibrox disaster was the collapse of a stand at Ibrox Park in Govan, Scotland. The incident led to the deaths of 25 supporters and injuries to 500 more during an international association football match between Scotland and England on 5 April 1902 as part of the 1901–02 British Home Championship.

Barley Bank was a cricket and football ground in Darwen in England. It was the home ground of Darwen F.C. during their time in the Football League.

The Town Ground was a football ground in Nottingham in England. It was the home ground of Nottingham Forest, and the first ground to host a football match using crossbars and goal nets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pike's Lane</span>

Pike's Lane was a football ground in Bolton, England. It was the home ground of Bolton Wanderers between 1880 and 1895, and the venue of the first goal scored in league football anywhere in the world.

Wellington Road was a football ground in the Perry Barr area of Birmingham, England. It was the home ground of Aston Villa from 1876 until 1897.

Ibrox Park was a football ground in Ibrox, Scotland. It was the home ground of Rangers from 1887 until they moved to the adjacent second Ibrox in 1899. The ground staged the Scottish Cup Final four times and also three Scotland international matches.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "BBC News – Burnden Park football disaster remembered 65 years on". BBC News. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  2. ↑ Burnden Park disaster [ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ Johnes 2005 , p. 15
  4. 1 2 Jones, Iain. "Throwback Thursdays: The Burnden Park Disaster". www.footyfair.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Burnden Park: 'Forgotten' football disaster recalled". BBC News. 7 March 2016.
  6. ↑ Matthews, Stanley; Scott, Les (2000), The Way It Was, Headline, p. 222, ISBN   0-7472-6427-9
  7. ↑ Baker, Norman (1998). "Have They Forgotten Bolton?" (PDF). The Sports Historian. 18 (1). The British Society of Sports History: 120–151. doi:10.1080/17460269809444773. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  8. ↑ Brown 1999 , p. 174.
  9. ↑ Sat 24 Aug 1946 England 2 Scotland 2, London Hearts Supporters Club
  10. ↑ Scotland Unofficial Matches 1946-1959, Douglas Gorman and Gabriele Tossani, RSSSF, 4 November 2021
  11. ↑ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  12. ↑ The Times 21 August 1946 Sports in Brief
  13. ↑ The Times, 26 August 1946, Association Football
  14. ↑ "Burnden Park football disaster remembered 65 years on". BBC News. 9 March 2011.

Sources

53°34′08″N2°24′58″W / 53.56889°N 2.41611°W / 53.56889; -2.41611

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.