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Fifty-Six: The Story of the Bradford Fire
On May 11 1985, fifty-six people died in a devastating fire at Bradford City's old Valley Parade ground. It was truly horrific, a startling story – and wholly avoidable – but it had only the briefest of inquiries, and it seemed its lessons were not learned.
Twelve-year-old Martin Fletcher was at Valley Parade that day, celebrating Bradford's promotion to the second flight, with his dad, brother, uncle and grandfather. Martin was the only one of them to survive the fire – the biggest loss suffered by a single family in any British football disaster.
In later years, Martin devoted himself to extensively investigating how the disaster was caused, its culture of institutional neglect and the government's general indifference towards football fans' safety at the time. This book tells the gripping, extraordinary in-depth story of a boy's unthinkable loss following a spring afternoon at a football match, of how fifty-six people could die at a game, and of the truths he unearthed as an adult. This is the story – thirty years on – of the disaster football has never properly acknowledged.
Twelve-year-old Martin Fletcher was at Valley Parade that day, celebrating Bradford's promotion to the second flight, with his dad, brother, uncle and grandfather. Martin was the only one of them to survive the fire – the biggest loss suffered by a single family in any British football disaster.
In later years, Martin devoted himself to extensively investigating how the disaster was caused, its culture of institutional neglect and the government's general indifference towards football fans' safety at the time. This book tells the gripping, extraordinary in-depth story of a boy's unthinkable loss following a spring afternoon at a football match, of how fifty-six people could die at a game, and of the truths he unearthed as an adult. This is the story – thirty years on – of the disaster football has never properly acknowledged.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 16, 2016
I can't do this book justice. As a book that questions the unsatisfactory way in which the fire was investigated, as a critique of the Popplewell Inquiry, it is quite brilliant. I'm from West Yorkshire, I know the rumours and awareness that justice hadn't been done either to those responsible nor to the victims. It makes you ashamed of the entire period. The book is, in this way, as much a testament to the values of the Thatcher years (no coincidence that so many football catastrophes happened on her watch) as the disclosures over the Hillsborough cover-up. As a personal story it is moving beyond words. The chapters that deal with the fire and the immediate aftermath are quite the saddest things I have ever read. I don't cry easily these days but I shed buckets over these.
Here's to you Martin Fletcher. Your dad, your brother, your uncle and your grandad would be proud of you. You've got a remarkable mother too.
Here's to you Martin Fletcher. Your dad, your brother, your uncle and your grandad would be proud of you. You've got a remarkable mother too.
May 8, 2015
Martin Fletcher's book shows the disregard in which the safety of British football spectators was held until at least the end of the 1980s. He is a survivor of the Bradford fire in which lost four relatives. His research raises serious doubts as to the common explanation that the fire was started by a cigarette.
It is amazing that Oliver Popplewell, who headed the very short enquiry into the fire, has declined to read this book. He should have been desperate to get his hands on it. It's an attitude that speaks volumes: we got it right because we got it right and there is no need to think about it any more.
It is amazing that Oliver Popplewell, who headed the very short enquiry into the fire, has declined to read this book. He should have been desperate to get his hands on it. It's an attitude that speaks volumes: we got it right because we got it right and there is no need to think about it any more.
June 13, 2015
Another tale of the 80's, of a time of institutional neglect and the government's general indifference to the people. A sad read, but compelling in that the author is like a dog with a bone, not letting go. Thoroughly recommended reading, whether you're a football fan or not.
May 29, 2018
This is a moving account of the events on the day of the Bradford fire written by an author who was present at the fire. Martin Fletcher lost his father, brother, uncle and grandfather in the fire.
In this account of the Bradford Fire Martin Fletcher describes his family life in the years before the disaster. He describes a very moving account of his experience on the day of the fire and then goes on to challenge the inquiry and how it affected his life thereafter.
The authors description of his early life will ring true for most people who were introduced to the joy of live football through attending games with their father and other members of their family.
His description of his experience on the day of the fire is heartbreaking. Yet through this it also describes the heroism and compassion shown by those who came to the aid of the injured and dieing.
It is amazing that this event never received anywhere near the depth of scrutiny afforded to the Hillsborough disaster and herein lies the criticism of the inquiry that make up much of the third part of this book.
There is no doubt that the inquiry that took place after the event was inadequate to say the least. The Popplewell inquiry lasted just a week. This was woefully inadequate given the scale of the disaster. In saying that, I found the arguments and theories about the fire being started deliberately less than convincing. The fire tests mentioned and comments about whether people had been smoking near the source of the fire were somewhat contradictory in my opinion. No matter how much circumstantial evidence there may be about the number of fires that had affected the businesses of the Bradford City Chairman Stafford Heginbotham, I find it hard to believe that the fire would be started at a time that the stand was full of people and most of the exit gates locked. I do however believe that there is enough evidence here to open a further official inquiry.
The author also gives insight into how this disaster affected his future life through the affects of post-traumatic stress disorder. It is ironic that he was also present at the Hillsborough disaster as a Nottingham Forest supporter. An event that reawakened the Bradford Fire and added further pain to an already traumatised life.
The manner in which Martin Fletcher overcame such tragedy and went on to have a successful career and retain his love of football is of enormous credit to him. His mother also managed to remain strong and rebuild her life after the enormous tragedy of losing so many family members in the disaster.
One other person that shone through as a wonderful person is Margaret who came to the authors aid on the day of the disaster. I was surprised that she did not appear in the Acknowledgements.
In this account of the Bradford Fire Martin Fletcher describes his family life in the years before the disaster. He describes a very moving account of his experience on the day of the fire and then goes on to challenge the inquiry and how it affected his life thereafter.
The authors description of his early life will ring true for most people who were introduced to the joy of live football through attending games with their father and other members of their family.
His description of his experience on the day of the fire is heartbreaking. Yet through this it also describes the heroism and compassion shown by those who came to the aid of the injured and dieing.
It is amazing that this event never received anywhere near the depth of scrutiny afforded to the Hillsborough disaster and herein lies the criticism of the inquiry that make up much of the third part of this book.
There is no doubt that the inquiry that took place after the event was inadequate to say the least. The Popplewell inquiry lasted just a week. This was woefully inadequate given the scale of the disaster. In saying that, I found the arguments and theories about the fire being started deliberately less than convincing. The fire tests mentioned and comments about whether people had been smoking near the source of the fire were somewhat contradictory in my opinion. No matter how much circumstantial evidence there may be about the number of fires that had affected the businesses of the Bradford City Chairman Stafford Heginbotham, I find it hard to believe that the fire would be started at a time that the stand was full of people and most of the exit gates locked. I do however believe that there is enough evidence here to open a further official inquiry.
The author also gives insight into how this disaster affected his future life through the affects of post-traumatic stress disorder. It is ironic that he was also present at the Hillsborough disaster as a Nottingham Forest supporter. An event that reawakened the Bradford Fire and added further pain to an already traumatised life.
The manner in which Martin Fletcher overcame such tragedy and went on to have a successful career and retain his love of football is of enormous credit to him. His mother also managed to remain strong and rebuild her life after the enormous tragedy of losing so many family members in the disaster.
One other person that shone through as a wonderful person is Margaret who came to the authors aid on the day of the disaster. I was surprised that she did not appear in the Acknowledgements.
July 2, 2020
I like so many others remember this day. Our neighbour came over thinking my dad was a Bradford supporter and at the match. He in fact supports Notts County and club he has tried to get me interested in very like Martin’s dad. I remember watching the fire on the tv horrified that this could happen. This was one of the many disasters in the 80s that I remember so well.
This was a hard read, so much reminded me of my own Dad and his love for his local team. You can not imagine going to see a football match and never coming back. To loose 4 family members and 3 generations is horrifying. I must admit I had to put it down for a few days as it upset me. I am glad I picked it up again as horror turned to anger and frustration at the lack of investigation and allowing it to become the forgotten disaster. The matter of the many ‘arson attacks’ that the owner faced with his businesses was never investigated fully, how previous disaster’s recommendations were not made law and the lack of legislative action after the fire...there was Hillsborough. The inertia of Central Government is appalling.
A must read for any football fan and anyone who is interested in history especially of the 80s. Remember the 56.
This was a hard read, so much reminded me of my own Dad and his love for his local team. You can not imagine going to see a football match and never coming back. To loose 4 family members and 3 generations is horrifying. I must admit I had to put it down for a few days as it upset me. I am glad I picked it up again as horror turned to anger and frustration at the lack of investigation and allowing it to become the forgotten disaster. The matter of the many ‘arson attacks’ that the owner faced with his businesses was never investigated fully, how previous disaster’s recommendations were not made law and the lack of legislative action after the fire...there was Hillsborough. The inertia of Central Government is appalling.
A must read for any football fan and anyone who is interested in history especially of the 80s. Remember the 56.
July 2, 2020
Part One of Martin Fletcher’s Fifty-Six is compelling, as he discusses his family, early life and sporting interests, and then recounts the horrifying sequence of events on the day of the fire. The still photos and moving images of the disaster are hard to forget due to their powerful nature – he brings detail and understanding to much of what viewers of this material have witnessed remotely, but now described with accuracy via the eyes of someone trapped within it, separated from family members in a darkened corridor of smoke and flame. Within this first section he also notes various details relating to the condition of Valley Parade, its general game day happenings and upkeep, and highlights circumstances that are then expanded in Part Two, where he examines the Popplewell Inquiry and Bradford City’s chairman Stafford Heginbotham, and discusses associated tragic events at other sporting grounds.
Part Two’s investigative spotlight on all of the various officials and individuals responsible for the health and safety of patrons at Valley Parade is somewhat disturbing to read. Structurally outdated and neglected, the football club’s administration and local authorities (County Council, fire, police) knew of the risks surrounding the wooden Main Stand, and understood that it was a potential death trap, unable to provide quick exit in the event of a serious incident. Responsible people do not ignore such information, yet that was the case on and before May 11, 1985. The rushed and wholly shambolic Popplewell Inquiry avoided obvious lines of further enquiry and delivered nothing but further questions, and Heginbotham was a known ‘serial insurance claimant’ due to the outrageously high number of fires occurring at his business premises. Widely ridiculed in the community for such ‘unlucky’ behaviour, Heginbotham was under severe financial pressure at the time of the fire to redevelop Bradford City’s aged facilities as the team stepped up to Division Two, and to save his troubled toy company.
I ‘enjoyed’ reading this account of a major public incident – Fletcher’s writing style is engaging and detailed, and his determination to understand the ignored facts of the disaster is to be commended. A lot of what took place on that day is disturbing and tragic (and possibly criminal), and never should have been allowed to happen. This book gives a voice to some of the victims, and asks reasonable questions that are yet to be truthfully answered.
Part Two’s investigative spotlight on all of the various officials and individuals responsible for the health and safety of patrons at Valley Parade is somewhat disturbing to read. Structurally outdated and neglected, the football club’s administration and local authorities (County Council, fire, police) knew of the risks surrounding the wooden Main Stand, and understood that it was a potential death trap, unable to provide quick exit in the event of a serious incident. Responsible people do not ignore such information, yet that was the case on and before May 11, 1985. The rushed and wholly shambolic Popplewell Inquiry avoided obvious lines of further enquiry and delivered nothing but further questions, and Heginbotham was a known ‘serial insurance claimant’ due to the outrageously high number of fires occurring at his business premises. Widely ridiculed in the community for such ‘unlucky’ behaviour, Heginbotham was under severe financial pressure at the time of the fire to redevelop Bradford City’s aged facilities as the team stepped up to Division Two, and to save his troubled toy company.
I ‘enjoyed’ reading this account of a major public incident – Fletcher’s writing style is engaging and detailed, and his determination to understand the ignored facts of the disaster is to be commended. A lot of what took place on that day is disturbing and tragic (and possibly criminal), and never should have been allowed to happen. This book gives a voice to some of the victims, and asks reasonable questions that are yet to be truthfully answered.
December 8, 2024
Picked this book up because it popped up on the feed of my former colleague from the 'small [accountancy] firm in Islington' and it was both about Bradford and the fire that had claimed the lives of his younger brother, dad, uncle and grandpa. I'd heard from someone that he'd been a survivor, but I hadn't realised that he'd been both at Hillsborough when he was 14, and Bradford at the age of 12. As a fan of Bradford City, where his family was from, and then as a fan of Nottingham Forest since his family had moved. I also hadn't realised that he had been nationally profiled several times.
Like the sport that he loves so much, the book is one of two halves. The first recalls the Bradford he knew, his family and the personal tragedy that befell him.
The second half investigates why what happened had in particular at Bradford (the then owner had a modus operandus of burning his failing businesses and claiming millions in insurance proceeds), and why the continued lack of regulation allowed Hillsborough to happen just two years later.
A lot of callous negligence by Conservative governments of the time, not regarding football oiks as worthy of the same health and safety measures that were accorded cricket etc fans. Martin Fletcher puts it best:
'[An] editorial after Hillsborough best exposed the attitude of the ruling classes in Britain. It spoke of a 'slum sport, watched in slum stadiums by slum people' [...]
The 80s in Britain became known as the 'disaster decade': there was Bradford and Hillsborough; the Manchester runway, King's Cross and Piper Alpha fires; the Zeebrugge/Herald of Free Enterprise and Marchioness sinkings; the Kegworth air crash; the Clapham Junction rail crash [...] a series of disasters that had no place in a civilised country; in one governed by the rule of law rather than in the name of Thatcherite deregulation, cost-cutting efficiency and profit.'
He concludes that had more truth of the Bradford City fire come out in a different political culture with lessons learnt, many of the ensuing disasters would have been avoided. As it is, the limited inquiry which sought not to attribute blamed and which allowed for conflicting accounts, raised as many questions as it answered.
Like the sport that he loves so much, the book is one of two halves. The first recalls the Bradford he knew, his family and the personal tragedy that befell him.
The second half investigates why what happened had in particular at Bradford (the then owner had a modus operandus of burning his failing businesses and claiming millions in insurance proceeds), and why the continued lack of regulation allowed Hillsborough to happen just two years later.
A lot of callous negligence by Conservative governments of the time, not regarding football oiks as worthy of the same health and safety measures that were accorded cricket etc fans. Martin Fletcher puts it best:
'[An] editorial after Hillsborough best exposed the attitude of the ruling classes in Britain. It spoke of a 'slum sport, watched in slum stadiums by slum people' [...]
The 80s in Britain became known as the 'disaster decade': there was Bradford and Hillsborough; the Manchester runway, King's Cross and Piper Alpha fires; the Zeebrugge/Herald of Free Enterprise and Marchioness sinkings; the Kegworth air crash; the Clapham Junction rail crash [...] a series of disasters that had no place in a civilised country; in one governed by the rule of law rather than in the name of Thatcherite deregulation, cost-cutting efficiency and profit.'
He concludes that had more truth of the Bradford City fire come out in a different political culture with lessons learnt, many of the ensuing disasters would have been avoided. As it is, the limited inquiry which sought not to attribute blamed and which allowed for conflicting accounts, raised as many questions as it answered.
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May 18, 2024The chapter '11 May 1985' was one of the most harrowing things I've read.
I work in a modern stadium and during a training session 10+ years ago we were shown images and a video of the Bradford Fire and how something minor (in this case a cigarette in a debris of rubbish) could become so disastrous minutes later, especially when combined with unsafe, unorganised and archaic safety measures.
But reading the words from Martin Fletcher was the first time I've read something personal and in-depth about this day and in the second half of the book, maybe coming to the realisation that there may have been more to it than just a lit cigarette and much more could have been done to prevent it. And that's one of the most frustrating things about it; a rushed and inadequate Inquiry that wasn't fit for purpose for such a tragedy.
May the 56 never be forgotten.
I work in a modern stadium and during a training session 10+ years ago we were shown images and a video of the Bradford Fire and how something minor (in this case a cigarette in a debris of rubbish) could become so disastrous minutes later, especially when combined with unsafe, unorganised and archaic safety measures.
But reading the words from Martin Fletcher was the first time I've read something personal and in-depth about this day and in the second half of the book, maybe coming to the realisation that there may have been more to it than just a lit cigarette and much more could have been done to prevent it. And that's one of the most frustrating things about it; a rushed and inadequate Inquiry that wasn't fit for purpose for such a tragedy.
May the 56 never be forgotten.
May 12, 2019
Such articulate and sensitive recollections. Had the book a since 2018, but took me a while to face my own demons. I bawled several times at the pure honesty from youth & taking one through the natural steps of tragedy and emotion. Part 2 focuses on the probable cause via various lines of enquiry, which the Popplewell Inquiry did not pursue. To some it is considered hyperbole, but the dogged determination & forensic pursuit of evidence, puts previous efforts by the Authorities to shame. So many Q's should have been asked to secure the truth. An opportunity so willingly lost.
Well crafted & deserving of accolades.
Well crafted & deserving of accolades.
January 4, 2023
This is a heartbreaking and gripping account of an English football tragedy that was completely avoidable. Martin Fletcher lost four family members in the Bradford City fire on that terrible 1985 day, and needs to be commended for having the poise to relate his account of the day’s events. It is a horrible tale, and while reading it, your heart may sink lower and lower with each page. That being said, it is a historically important book that indeed lifts lid on governmental bureaucracy and indifference in the face of disaster. I have never read a book quite like it.
November 9, 2024
Really enjoyed reading this book despite the harrowing subject. I was a young child when this happened but remembered hearing it on the news. My sincere condolences to the author for losing four members of his family in this tragedy and to all the other families who are bereaved in such an awful way. I recommend others to read this book.R.I.P The 56 always. No one should ever go to a football match and never return home regardless of who they support.
February 29, 2020
The first half of this book is a harrowing and poignant memoir of a man who lost four members of his family in the Bradford City fire in the 1980s. It is beautifully written and moved me to tears - such a raw grief. The second half explores the failings that led to the fire's occurrence, and makes a strong case for a public enquiry to end the injustices the Bradford families have undergone.
May 19, 2020
As a Bradford lad myself I too always wondered about the Popplewell inquiry concluding in 7 or 8 days. Martin writes an excellent, well researched book which not only points out the many flaws of a Thatcher led government, but the love that a football club can still attract even after tragedy.
February 9, 2023
At times harrowing in its truthfulness in reliving a horrific experience. Superbly well written and researched to try and uncover the truth and poses so many questions about what actually happened and those who ran the club at the time.
May 26, 2024
Read in a single day, it was so compelling.
Shocking reading in every way - the description of the tragedy, the inadequacy of the investigation into it and what the author was able to uncover about what really happened.
Shocking reading in every way - the description of the tragedy, the inadequacy of the investigation into it and what the author was able to uncover about what really happened.
February 21, 2017
The first half of this book is absolutely heart-breaking. When I was the author’s age ( I am a couple of years older) I would go to football with my dad leaving mum at home. Fortunately a disaster like this never happened to us and the worst she would have would be two unhappy people coming back home on a Saturday evening after yet another loss. The tragedy of this event is laid out in this book and it choked me up. I also watched the ITN news report referenced in the book on YouTube. It is so awful.
The second half of the book looks at the Bradford City Chairman at the time, Stafford Heginbotham, and the Popplewell Inquiry. Prepare to be amazed and absolutely horrified.
Football grounds in the 70’s and 80’s, especially in the lower divisions, were something to behold and the chairman were not always the most scrupulous of people, to put it mildly.
Just a word for Martin Fletcher’s mother. What an amazing woman.
The second half of the book looks at the Bradford City Chairman at the time, Stafford Heginbotham, and the Popplewell Inquiry. Prepare to be amazed and absolutely horrified.
Football grounds in the 70’s and 80’s, especially in the lower divisions, were something to behold and the chairman were not always the most scrupulous of people, to put it mildly.
Just a word for Martin Fletcher’s mother. What an amazing woman.
November 1, 2015
This is a very interesting and poignant read about one of the survivors of the Bradford football club fire which killed 56 people. (I remember watching the fire on the tv at the time - it was really difficult to comprehend what was happening and that anyone would actually be hurt, as the whole thing seemed so surreal.) But I digress. Martin Fletcher has presented a very compelling argument about why, at the very least, there should be a fresh inquiry into the fire. Even as a sceptic, the fact that the owner of Bradford F.C. at the time had had NINE previous fires at his other businesses over the years should be enough to someone to ask if these were all just coincidences? Fletcher also shows how the original inquiry was completed in record time and a week after the fire, which even to a layman would suggest not enough time to complete a full and thorough examination of all aspects relating to the fire.
You don't have to be a football fan (I haven't been since the 1980s) to appreciate this book. It's been short-listed for the sports book of the year award, so let's hope Martin Fletcher's book gets a wider audience and hopefully one day, the proper enquiry that the fire deserves.
You don't have to be a football fan (I haven't been since the 1980s) to appreciate this book. It's been short-listed for the sports book of the year award, so let's hope Martin Fletcher's book gets a wider audience and hopefully one day, the proper enquiry that the fire deserves.
December 6, 2016
A must read book for English football fans, 56 is a brilliant representation of the "forgotten" English football tragedy in which people lost their lives in an avoidable and suspicious fire.
Martin "Fletch" Fletcher deserves special praise for the way he exposed himself describing how he survived as he was yards in front of his Dad, brother, uncle and granddad whilst they perished.
The second half of the book is superbly researched and eloquently written in which he describes another cover up as to the circumstances behind the fire and I hope Fletch and the people of Bradford get an enquiry and justice as the Hillsborough 96 did.
An excellent yet heartwrenching expose of the dangers of British football grounds before the Taylor report bore fruit.
Martin "Fletch" Fletcher deserves special praise for the way he exposed himself describing how he survived as he was yards in front of his Dad, brother, uncle and granddad whilst they perished.
The second half of the book is superbly researched and eloquently written in which he describes another cover up as to the circumstances behind the fire and I hope Fletch and the people of Bradford get an enquiry and justice as the Hillsborough 96 did.
An excellent yet heartwrenching expose of the dangers of British football grounds before the Taylor report bore fruit.
May 25, 2016
It is amazing that a new inquiry hasn't been ordered to investigate the Bradford Fire. The two most troubling aspects are how short and shallow the original inquiry was, and the baffling fact that a man with a history of fires on his premises did not warrant a criminal investigation into a fire on his premises that killed nearly sixty people.
As a read, the first half is harrowing and moving - how a child grows up dealing with surviving the fire by luck while his family perishes. The second half gets bogged down in parts by the sheer amount of information, but you can't say it isn't necessary.
As a read, the first half is harrowing and moving - how a child grows up dealing with surviving the fire by luck while his family perishes. The second half gets bogged down in parts by the sheer amount of information, but you can't say it isn't necessary.
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December 13, 2017Vital book if you have any interest in football
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews