A total of 27 people were injured as they tried to jump from windows or down drainpipes of the two-storey house at 439 New Cross Road, London. Read More About Us. The victims of the fire were very publicly memorialised during the Black Peoples Day of Action (2 March 1981) when up to 20,000 people (estimates vary) marched for over 12 miles through central Londonfrom New Cross Road to Hyde Parkwith many carrying aloft placards bearing pictures of the thirteen victims, their names, and dates of birth and death. I know this area although I am from the midlands and sympathise entirely but was unfamiliar with its history and significance thank you for the information. The silence over the loss of thirteen lives was also filled by music and poetry. Within days community groups, including the Race Today Collective and the Black Parents Movement, formed the New Cross Massacre Action Committee. People have trouble now, unless they're rich, with retiring before . [2], A forensic science report produced for the Metropolitan Police in 2011 ruled out a firebomb attack, finding instead that the fire had started when somebody in the house set fire to a foam-filled armchair in the front room of the property at 5:40 am on Sunday morning. The event was hosted by Kwame Kwei-Armah and was an evening of spoken word, film, discussion and Lovers rock music. The party had started the night before on January 17, 1981 but the fire started around 5.40am the following morning.. The New Cross Massacre became a clarion call for political action at the beginning of a tumultuous year for Black Britons across urban England. A survivor of the New Cross fire of 1981 which killed 13 Black partygoers has dismissed fresh allegations of police cover-up after renewed speculation that the blaze was started by a racist arsonist. View the profiles of people named Anthony Cross. Joan Ruddock, Labour MP for Lewisham Deptford, has worked closely with the families and was responsible for securing a second police inquiry. He is Professor of Medieval Studies at Birkbeck, University of London and from 2017 to 2021 was Executive Dean of the School of Arts, and has written widely on medieval Christian-Jewish relations and on medieval culture and literature. But yet people are left standing there and speculating. ER 2002-10, 2015, 2017-22 Director. Meet the Birkbeck family of Norfolk - prominent landowners, Barclay founders and rewilders Updated: Dec 28, 2022 Who Owns Norfolk's research recently identified that the bucolic and expansive ~9,000 acre West Acre Estate is one of the largest remaining country estates in Norfolk. About me. In addition to the 13 who died in the fire, 27 were injured and a 14th took his own life two years later. But attempts to get a new inquest were twice rejected, until the High Court finally agreed to demands in 2002. He died, aged 20 years, on 9 July 1983, after falling from the balcony of a block of council flats in South London. It seeks to deepen understandings of the past, cast light on the present and agitate for change in the world we live in now. [2] The coroner said that the fire was probably started deliberately by one of the guests, but as he could not be sure of this, he returned an open verdict.[10]. In the face of this silence, activists from across London established the New Cross Massacre Action Committee. Presenter posts Home Secretary warns political correctness has created a 'blind spot' for Islamist extremism to operate 'This is not the way to conduct an interview': Smiling Iranian foreign minister says women in his country Now the CHICKENS could get vaccines! The Witch Trials of JK Rowling makes sensible points. It was a profoundly moving act of memorialisation and defiance. Hassan Howe tells i: It was drizzling and I wondered if people would come. ANTHONY, Fla. (WCJB) - The American Red Cross is assisting a family after their home caught fire in Anthony early on Wednesday morning. Sign up hereto stay up to date with the best new TV. A new investigation into the blaze that killed 13 young black people at a London party 23 years ago suggests that a group of adults inside the house was to blame. Mr Haynes told BBC London what he remembered of the night. 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This year marks the fortieth anniversary, but unlike the thirtieth when public events were held at the Albany Theatre in Deptford, the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown will inevitably mean that commemorations will take a different form this year. is a New York State licensed and insured life safety company. Others carried loudspeakers and banners bearing the names and faces of thevictims. [21][22] On 16 January 2011, a memorial service was held there, with speakers including George Francis, chair of the New Cross Fire Parents' Committee, Lewisham Council leader Steve Bullock and Joan Ruddock, MP for Lewisham Deptford.[23]. 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A white Austin Princess car was seen driving away from the fire. Aaron Andrews is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Leeds Beckett University working on the AHRC-funded project Forged by Fire: Burns Injury and Identity in Britain, 1800-2000. Pedestrian, 49, who swore at 77-year-old cycling on the pavement who then veered into road and was struck by Are you allowing your bank to rip you off? But, as Darcus Howe said on the 30th anniversary of the fire in 2011 it is the blaze we cannot forget.. He had to pause our interview just to take a call from a well-wisher about this very topic. Both inquests recorded open verdicts. They declared March 2, the Black Peoples Day of Action to demonstrate against the Mets mishandling of the teenagers deaths. BIRBECK, Anthony Correspondence address No 4, Castle Court 2, Castlegate Way, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 4RH . Frustrated by the polices inquests, on January 20, black Britons began organizing. Leverage your professional network, and get hired. He has published on inequality and the inner city in Britain, and his article Truth, Justice, and Expertise in 1980s Britain: the Cultural Politics of the New Cross Massacre appears inHistory Workshop Journal issue 91, where it is available on free access. Thats what counselling does for you; every Monday, I end up crying my eyes out because of things that Id blocked out for years., Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. Thirteen young black people were killed and the black community stood up and said, No, not this time., Uprising airs at 9pm on Tuesday 20, Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 July on BBC One. Survivor season 41 - everything we know about the cast, 1981 New Cross Fire wasnt a racist attack, survivor says, he appeared in a 2020 documentary co-produced by Nadine White about the Black Peoples Day of Action march, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Up to 20% off and extra perks with Booking.com Genius membership, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 15% off selected items using this eBay discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK February 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this February, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. No one has ever been charged in connection with the fire, which forensic science subsequently established started inside the house. Its a sentiment shared by Hassan Howe. The New Cross Fire (January 18, 1981) On Sunday, January 18, 1981, thirteen black youths attending a birthday party in Deptford, South London was killed in an alleged racially-motivated house fire. Please use the search above if you cannot find the record you require. I recently learnt that Paul ran into the house several times. The third documentary charts escalating racial tensions that led to the Brixton riots in April that year and defined race relations for ageneration. "He came in, got dressed, and kissed his mother and kissed me and said, 'I'll see you in the morning,'" said Mr Francis, a former British Rail worker and photographer who lives in Sydenham, south London. Covering: Cooke Township, Newville Borough, North Newton Township, Penn Township, South Newton Township, West Pennsboro Township, Lower Mifflin Township, Upper Mifflin Township, Upper Frankford Township Office Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm Police have launched a murder inquiry after survivors described how they saw a car being driven away from the incident as the fire broke out. And he went and kissed his father and that was the last we saw of my son. The parents of the fire victims delivered a petition to the Houses of Parliament but no action was taken. Witnesses stated that he threw a Molotov cocktail into the house party. 20072023 Blackpast.org. ', Chillingly, the source added: 'He said that while watching Rastafarians jumping out of the top-floor windows on fire, he referred to them as 'roastafarians'.'. But further investigations were not made nor charges brought. Contradictory claims and reports of a supposed fight in the living room complicatedmatters. Already serving a life sentence for two murders, including that of his pregnant 22-year-old girlfriend April Sheridan, Smithyman gave a chilling account during 40 taped interviews of how the fire started. 1 He lived at Westacre, Norfolk, England. Lindsay Birbeck (Image: Lancashire Police). "They [the victims' families] felt they were black people treated as second-class citizens. Sir Collins, who lost his son Steven in the fire, produced a whole album in tribute to the thirteen young Black Britonsthe album features Stevens voice, recorded when he was much younger. In 2017, the "13 Dead, Nothing Said"[27] exhibition was hosted at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He added: : The one thing that people cant seem to get into their heads is this: the fire started inside the party, not outside. The meeting concluded with a march to the scene of the fire and a demonstration there, which blocked New Cross Road for several hours. It was through the assembly of the people that black-Britons discovered that the police was forcing statements out of black youths without lawyers or parents being present. New Cross fire tragedy remembered 40 years on. Your email address will not be published. Feelings of anger in the black community were compounded by the fact that neither the Queen nor the government of the day, under Margaret Thatcher, offered formal condolences to the families of the New Cross fire victims. The new police inquiry, involving fresh interviews with witnesses, has now formally established that the blaze started when a naked flame was applied to a foam-filled armchair in the living-room. There are 5 ways to get from New Malden to Birkbeck by tram, bus, taxi or car. If you do the research, youll find out that this information came out before. . A second Coroners inquest into the New Cross fire held in 2002 also returned an open verdictthough, crucially, the partygoers were fully cleared of any responsibility. My specialities are: - UX and human-centred design - user research - content. As the clock ticked past midnight on 18 January 1981, a house party in New Cross, south-east London, was just getting started. Among the victims was 16-year-old Yvonne Ruddock, who had been celebrating her birthday with around 50 guests when the blaze broke out in the early hours of Sunday, 19 January. 439, New Cross Road. Jeselnik's punch lines are like Kyrie Irving's crossover dribbles: You know they're coming, have a good sense of the direction, and yet you're still surprised. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Others have been very ill for a period of years.". See Photos . After being told of what Smithyman had claimed, she told the MoS: 'The case has never been investigated properly. Others believed, however, that the fire started from a dispute between revelers. The jury returned an open verdict. The people who know what really happened are already dying out and are going to take that to their grave. Documents and papers related to the New Cross Massacre Action Committee's campaign are held in the archives of the George Padmore Institute and can be accessed by the public. A 14th victim, who had survived the. [2][11] The Black Power group Black Unity and Freedom Party (BUFP) published an account of what happened on the night of the fire in their journal, Black Voice. [citation needed] Additionally, reggae producer Sir Collins, whose son Steve died in the fire, released a tribute album in memory of the victims. LinkedIn is the world's largest business network, helping professionals like Anthony Birbeck, MBE, FRSA discover inside connections to recommended job candidates, industry experts, and business partners. The parents of 17-year-old Gerry Francis, one of the victims, have fought for an. The disaster claimed a 14th victim two years later when 20-year-old Anthony Berbeck took his own life in 1983 because of what an inquest judge called "trauma brought on by the fire". There were no safe spaces, says George Ruddock, whose cousins Paul and Yvonne Ruddock died in hospital after the fire. Save my name and email address in this browser for the next time I comment. On the night of the fire, nine black youth died. "With all the parents suffering, we want an answer," said Mr Francis, aged 75. Police notes seen by the MoS state that a senior officer wrote in a 1993 Home Office briefing document: 'He (the arsonist) describes the motive for the fire as a stupid prank purely to scare the partygoers because they had refused them entry to the party.'. Initial rumours of a racist attack carried out by far right groups were too easily overlooked by police, it has been claimed. Facebook gives people the power to. Sir Steve McQueen praises resilient black people who protested against racism after the New Cross fire, I remember growing up and someone in my family always knew someone, who knew someone [who died in the fire], says Sir Steve McQueen, who co-directed Uprising with James Rogan. What is that? The only way was to march through London and disrupt it as much as we could.. Yvonne's brother Paul, aged 22, also perished. He died, aged 20 years, on 9 July 1983, after falling from the balcony of a block of council flats in South London. Maurice Boyd Birkbeck and Thomas Anthony Birkbeck, all estate agents. Post Coronavirus lockdown I have returned to seeing clients face to face but am continuing to . Smithyman's alleged involvement first emerged when he was interviewed by police ten years after the fire following a tip-off by a previous associate called Paul Smith, who is now a property developer based in Clacton, Essex. LTO at Shaw Industries. 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