NAMES OF THE 66 RANGERS FANS WHO DIED ON STAIRWAY 13 GLASGOW David Anderson, age 45, Easterhouse John Buchanan, age 37, Castlemilk Richard Barke, age 15, Shettleson David Duff, age 23, Possilpark Peter Farries, age 26, Sandyhills John Gardiner, age 32, Knightswood Thomas Grant, age 16, Yoker Charles Livingston, age 30, Tollcross Brian Hutchinson, age 16, Barlanark John Jeffrey, age 16, Yoker Andrew Lindsay, age 18, Easterhouse Thomas Melville, age 17, Possilpark Francis Dover, age 16, Possilpark Robert Mulholland, age 16 Drumchapel Duncan McBrearty, age 17, Shettleston Donald McPherson, age 30, Craigton Thomas McRobbie, age 17, Bridgeton Robert Rae, age 25, Partick William Shaw, age 38, Ruchazie Walter Shields, Partick George Smith, age 40, Cardonald William Somerhill, age 17, Gallowgate James Trainer, age 20, Bridgeton John Crawford, age 23, Springburn George Findlay, age 21, Townhead John Neil, Shettleston LIVERPOOL Nigel Pickup, age 9, Liverpool EDINBURGH Walter Raeburn, age 36, Broughton James Sibbald, age 28, Restalrig Robert C. Cairns, age 17, Edinburgh LANARKSHIRE Thomas Dickson, age 32, Airdrie Ian Frew, age 21, Airdrie James Grey, age 37, Larkhall Ian Hunter, age 14, Newmains James Mair, age 19, Larkhall Robert Maxwell, age 15, Blantyre Alexander Orr, age 16, Airdrie Matthew Ried, age 49, Caldercruix Charles Stirling, age 20, Chapelhall Peter Wright, age 31, Uddingston ARGYLL George Irwin, age 22, Dunoon FIFE Peter Easton, age 13, Markinch Martin Paton, age 14, Markinch Mason Phillips, age 14, Markinch Brian Todd, age 14, Markinch Douglas Morrison, age 15, Markinch RENFREWSHIRE Hugh Addie, age 33, Barrhead Robert Grant, age 21, Bishopton Alex McIntyre, age 29, Barrhead George Wilson, age 15, Greenock STIRLINGSHIRE Margaret Ferguson, age 18, Falkirk Robert McAdam, age 36, Denny Richard McLeay, age 28, Slammanan John McLeay, age 23, Slammanan WEST LOTHIAN Russel Malcolm, age 16, Broxburn DUMBARTONSHIRE George Adams, age 43, Clydebank Robert Carrigan, age 13, Kirkintilloch Charles Dougan, age 31, Clydebank Adam Henderson, Cumbernauld David McGhee, age 14, Bearsden Thomas Morgan, age 14, Bearsden James Rae, age 19, Kirkintilloch John Semple, age 18, Kirkintilloch Thomas Stirling, age 16, Kirkintilloch Donald Sutherland, age 14, Bearsden EAST LOTHIAN James McGovern, age 24, Tranent

At the end of the traditional “Old Firm” New Year game in 1971 a tragedy of such magnitude occurred that football was, for the moment, forgotten.                The Program from the tragic day It was thought that Colin Stein’s dramatic equaliser for Rangers in the final seconds of the match, a minute after Jimmy Johnstone opened the scoring for Celtic, caused fans who were leaving the ground to come back and meet a wave of jubilant fans coming in the opposite direction. Under so much pressure the steel barriers on Stairway 13 in the ground gave way and a total of sixty six people died, and many more injured in the resulting crush. The enquiry that followed the horrific disaster found this to be untrue. The game had been good natured and there were just two arrests made by police, both for drunkenness, in the all ticket crowd of 80,000. The crowd had remained to the end and were heading in the same direction when the crush took place halfway down Stairway 13. It was determined that around 60 people were killed before the barriers gave way, with most being killed in an upright position. They died, not from asphyxiation, but from inhaling the contents of their own stomachs. It is believed that the crush resulted from a single person falling on their way down the stairs, and due to the steepness of the steps, the people behind saw nothing and continued down. A similar incident happened in the same stairway in 1969, two years before the disaster, killing two, which perhaps should have warned authorities of the dangerous possibilities.                    Stairway 13 Is Examined Both halves of the “Old Firm” came together to help the victims of the tragedy and a Scotland V Rangers and Celtic XI played in front of an 81,405 crowd at Hampden.               The Old Firm Comes Together            In Glasgow Cathedral

My Father: GEORGE ALEXANDER SMITH
By CRAIG SMITH

He was a glazier to trade, and until, 3 years ago I had followed in his footsteps. My lasting memories of him are of a kind and loving father a man with a smile on his face. My last memory was the day of the old firm game a Ibrox on the 2nd of January 1971. As he put his coat on to go to the game I asked if I could go with him, he laughed as he pointed out that my two older brothers weren’t going with him as it was too big a match, he turned and kissed us all goodbye. He was off to meet up with his brother John and his brother in law Alex.It was the usual after the New Year plenty of presents for us all still to play with and my brother’s birthday the next day. The weather was foggy and cold. As the day went on it didn’t seem any different from any other. At about ten to five a news flash interrupted the T.V. there had been an accident at Ibrox that’s all it said no mention of the scale just some people had been injured, my brothers immediately pointed out that the picture that had been flashed up on the screen was not of Ibrox something that STV was very good at. My mother looked worried but not concerned, as time moved on though she did, usually he would go to the pub after the game but on this night they had arranged to go to the golf club dance, she started to get worried why hadn’t he called, she started to call round his friends and family but no one had heard from any of them that were at the match. It was now getting late and you could tell there was something not right just by my mothers expressions, she was on the phone constantly. We lived at that time in a high rise flat 14th floor up at Tarfside Oval. Above our living room was the landing that lead to the lift, I remember a loud noise a lot of people walking along it at the same time then the door bell went my brother Stephen went up the stairs to answer it, I was sitting in the livingroom with my other brother George people were coming down the stairs my mum screamed then George screamed tears were streaming down their cheeks, I couldn’t understand what was going on.

My father and his brother and brother in law were standing at the Rangers end it was 1-0 to Celtic near the final whistle then Rangers scored jubilantly they made their was to the to of the terracing at stairway 13, as they got nearer the top they could feel the crowd getting tighter. People behind pushing them on and over the top of the stairs, worried looks on people as if they knew there was something wrong, over they went being forced by the weight behind them, it seemed that they were about half way down the stairs, John was now lifted off his feet, Alex had managed somehow to get over the fence which was at the side of the stairs, my dad pushed John up and over towards the fence people were pulling each other over the fence, as John got over he looked out on the sea of faces it was obvious that people were dead,he turned to look for his brother George as he reached for him he saw him swept away with the force of the crowd, screaming at him he saw his brother,my father die, upright. The life squeezed from him.

As my fathers family made their way to my house, they went to my grans house first, my mothers mother, who lived across the street. In there were my mothers brothers who had been waiting to go to the golf club dance. When she answered the door my uncles said that they had lost George at Ibrox he was dead. It was decided that my mother’s brothers would come over and tell us the news. On the way they met two policemen who were about to come over and they said that they would break the news to their sister, the police looked relived, who wouldn’t be, that was the crowd of people who came to the door that night, my fathers brothers couldn’t move with shock who could blame them. Anger followed this that a stairway on which had already had deaths could be left to kill so many, on the same stairway in September 1961 two were killed, then on September 1967 eight were injured and again on 2nd of January 1969 twenty-four were injured.

At that time we lived in house 66 on the 14 floor although you had to walk down to our livingroom on the 13th floor. My father was born on the 14th of August, was killed on the 13th stair and was one of 66 killed.

This is to the memory of all 66 who were killed and to the scars of the 145 injured Any questions on the Ibrox disaster please write to Craig Smith.

Craig Smith
Livingston Scotland

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