70th Anniversary of Burnden Park Tragedy

[marlowe]

Something I wasn't aware of. In circumstances which foreshadowed the Hillsborough Disaster 43 years later. On March 9th 1946 in a match between Bolton Wanderers v Stoke City 33 people lost their lives when overcrowding led to barriers collapsing and people being crushed to death. What I found most shocking was the fact that they didn't abandon the match but resumed it with the dead bodies laid out behind the goals. I wonder if, so shortly after World War 2 and having suffered German air raids people had become more stoic and immune to tragedy and death.

 

[GT49er]

Something I wasn't aware of. In circumstances which foreshadowed the Hillsborough Disaster 43 years later. On March 9th 1946 in a match between Bolton Wanderers v Stoke City 33 people lost their lives when overcrowding led to barriers collapsing and people being crushed to death. What I found most shocking was the fact that they didn't abandon the match but resumed it with the dead bodies laid out behind the goals. I wonder if, so shortly after World War 2 and having suffered German air raids people had become more stoic and immune to tragedy and death.

That was the way it was back then. Remember, in the war if you're husband, son or father got killed, all you got was a telegram saying, basically, 'sorry about that'. No family support workers or any other support; if you were lucky, a neighbour might have seen the telegram boy and would come round and make you a cup of tea.


And after the war, in sport and other ways, things carried on like that. Formula 1, for instance, deaths were the norm. Take the 1955 Le Mans 24 hours, for example - dozens of spectators beheaded, but it carried on -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcDwxo30gro


Or take the 1953 Farnborough Air Show - horrendous crash, far more fatalities than Shoreham; someone got in a new jet plane straight afterwards and broke the sound barrier, as if to show, 'Deaths? Nah, tough, we can take it!' -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHj0FOkcE94


Different world, eh?

 

[BeHereNow]

I had no idea that that anniversary was on my birthday.

 

[marlowe]

That was the way it was back then. Remember, in the war if you're husband, son or father got killed, all you got was a telegram saying, basically, 'sorry about that'. No family support workers or any other support; if you were lucky, a neighbour might have seen the telegram boy and would come round and make you a cup of tea.


And after the war, in sport and other ways, things carried on like that. Formula 1, for instance, deaths were the norm. Take the 1955 Le Mans 24 hours, for example - dozens of spectators beheaded, but it carried on -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcDwxo30gro


Or take the 1953 Farnborough Air Show - horrendous crash, far more fatalities than Shoreham; someone got in a new jet plane straight afterwards and broke the sound barrier, as if to show, 'Deaths? Nah, tough, we can take it!' -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHj0FOkcE94


Different world, eh?

It was interesting watching that 1955 Le Mans Race Report and how the crash (at 3.05 min) was breezily reported as if it was a minor intrusion into the important matter of the race in hand, even though the commentator manages to acknowledge it as "the worst disaster in motor racing history" it had little more than 30 seconds devoted to the event. By 4.40 mins, just a minute later the matter is completely forgotten about and the commentator is making a light hearted quip about Mr Brooks recalling the delights of seaside holidays as a child while putting his back into building sandcastles. Definitely a different world. Can you imagine Shoreham being reported like that.

 

[GT49er]

Definitely a different world. Can you imagine Shoreham being reported like that

By those standards, Shoreham would have just about rated a 'Whoops'.

 

[Gwylan]

It was interesting watching that 1955 Le Mans Race Report and how the crash (at 3.05 min) was breezily reported as if it was a minor intrusion into the important matter of the race in hand, even though the commentator manages to acknowledge it as "the worst disaster in motor racing history" it had little more than 30 seconds devoted to the event. By 4.40 mins, just a minute later the matter is completely forgotten about and the commentator is making a light hearted quip about Mr Brooks recalling the delights of seaside holidays as a child while putting his back into building sandcastles. Definitely a different world. Can you imagine Shoreham being reported like that.

I knew about the Burnden Park disaster but, not being a motorsports fan, had never heard of the Le Mans one. That was incredible to see. It staggers me that they don't know for sure how many people died, can you imagine that now?

And that of the teams involved in the crash, Mercedes withdrew and Jaguar didn't (and won the race). That must have been a bitter victory.

It really was a different world then .... O tempora, o mores

 

[wolfie]

The disaster at Bolton is covered in Stanley Matthews autobiography (The Way it Was) - an excellent insight into football pre-1960s. Matthews was playing in the match. In fact many of the massive crowd had come to see him in action.

 

[marlowe]

The disaster at Bolton is covered in Stanley Matthews autobiography (The Way it Was) - an excellent insight into football pre-1960s. Matthews was playing in the match. In fact many of the massive crowd had come to see him in action.

Season 1946-47 was the first season of league football for seven years after it had been suspended due to WW2 so nobody had seen Matthews play in a league match in all that time which probably added to the attraction. It's amazing he became such a legend for his footballing ability when you think that for what would have been the peak years of his career, from the age of 24 to 30 he didn't play any league football because of the war. It might have been the motivating factor for him continuing to play until he was 50, to make up for those lost years.

 

[Nottseagull]

I was just about to start a ' '70 years ago today' thread when I spotted this one languishing on page 2 on the anniversary of this, the first major football disaster. It's featured in this programme, 19:45 in.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b072xkb0/inside-out-north-west-07032016

http://www.bing.com/search?q=burnden%20Park%20disaster&pc=cosp&ptag=AB0A660E6B8&form=CONMHP&conlogo=CT3210127