The New Cross Fire tragedy highlighted hostility between black Britons, the police and the media. Nine people were killed and 20 injured in a blaze which engulfed a house early this morning in south London. The poet Nefertiti Gayle later memorialised the tragedy alongside acts of racist violence in London, the United States, and Apartheid South Africa.[1]. Read More About Us. Lovers rock tracks pumped from a sound system as revellers jostled. By February 9, four more black teenagers had succumbed to their fire injuries. NF logos and W*gs Out written on rucksacks; N***rs Out scratched into school desks. ", "New Cross fire - a turning point? I'm a Feng Shui expert and these are the three things I will never allow in a bedroom. Wed walk to school and see graffiti of black men hanging on lamp posts. How the Princess of Wales recreated her 2006 outfit from Prince William's Sandhurst graduation EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Prince William's potentially awkward visit to homelessness charity. People have trouble now, unless they're rich, with retiring before . 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. For more information about this hero click on the picture of his plaque. Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4. . 20072023 Blackpast.org. Tricky emoji quiz will put your knowledge of childhood classics to the test. Rumours spread it was a racist petrol bomb attack but the Metropolitan Police believed the fire started inside the property. National newspapers largely ignored the New Cross fire and the Government remained silent. He smashed his hip into 163 pieces, damaged his sciatic nerve and up until this day cannot feel anything below his knee. . Find staff in Birkbeck's Department of Languages, Cultures and Applied Linguistics. Id travelled down from Rugby [in Warwickshire] and wanted to hear rastaman music, he says with alaugh. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, a New Cross Massacre Action Committee (NCMAC) was set up, chaired by John La Rose, which organised a "Black People's Day of Action" on 2 March 1981, when some 20,000 people marched over a period of eight hours through London, carrying placards that bore statements including: "13 Dead, Nothing Said". 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. Until 2011 he was Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. Lives in Dalton, Georgia. Recipient Resolution of Appreciation Palm Desert City Council, 1982, Rancho Mirage Parks Commission, 1985, Cove Communities Fire Commission, 1985, Rancho Mirage City Council, 1995. Sylvia K Birbeck. John La Rose, the founder of the UKs first black publisher and specialist bookshop New Beacon Books, said at the time: This outrage in the heart of London the Prime Minister says nothing. 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. "Nobody sent condolences, nobody behaved as they do nowadays or indeed as they would have done then if white children had been lost.". They were known as the bullies in blue, says Leila Hassan Howe, who in 1981 was a member of the Race Today Collective in Brixton. Actor Ben Cross, who was best known for playing athlete Harold Abrahams in the film Chariots of Fire, has died at the age of 72. [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. Survivor season 41: Who is host Jeff Probst? The victims were also commemorated in January 2011 with a blue plaque from Nubian Jak Community Trust. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? On 1 March, the Daily Mail falsely reported that several of the fire survivors were arrested and would face severe charges in what black Britons saw as an attempt to undermine the demonstration and the black communitys inquest into the house fire. There was no trust of any kind certainly not from young black people and theirparents.. 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! After huge public pressure, the Metropolitan police wrote to the Attorney General in 2001, asking him to reopen the investigation. Smithyman, who was 14 at the time of the tragedy, reportedly told officers that he had tried to gatecrash the party with another teenager who began the blaze in revenge after they were refused entry. An inquest was held into the deaths in May 1981, but an open verdict was returned; the jury could not (or would not) specify the cause. The New Cross Massacre became a clarion call for political action at the beginning of a tumultuous year for Black Britons across urban England. The blaze broke out on 18 January 1981 at a joint birthday party for Yvonne Ruddock and Angela Jackson at 439 New Cross Road in Lewisham. A memorial service which was originally planned to mark the 40th anniversary on Sunday, January . 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. [4], The party was a joint birthday celebration for Yvonne Ruddock (one of the victims of the fire) and Angela Jackson (who survived) and was held at No. ANTHONY, Fla. (WCJB) - The American Red Cross is assisting a family after their home caught fire in Anthony early on Wednesday morning. When safety doesn't come first! Several theories on the cause of the fire have emerged over the years. The fire and the protests that followed were part of the Steve McQueen co-directed television documentary series Uprising shown on BBC One in July 2021. CROSS-FIRE & SECURITY CO.,INC. "But when I looked at my hand I realised that it was my own skin that I was rubbing off my face instead of sweat or grit. Today, the New Cross Fire remains unsolved. It was this outpouring of anger which more than anything else led to a rethink in the way police worked with black communities. View the profiles of people named Anthony Cross. Michael Smithyman, who had been jailed for killing his pregnant girlfriend, was the subject of a police report submitted to the Home Office and was reinterviewed by an elite Scotland Yard unit in 1993. It was a kind of sweep of passion and people saying "we have had enough".". Word spread that it was a targeted attack but fire forensics ruled out the allegation. 439, New Cross Road. I recently learnt that Paul ran into the house several times. She received her medical degree from University. There were no safe spaces, says George Ruddock, whose cousins Paul and Yvonne Ruddock died in hospital after the fire. Boisvert is being charged with two counts of first-degree assault in the alleged stabbings and . He believes in some ways they have been helped by the passage of time - due to advances in forensic science they have been able to pin-point the exact location of the fire when it started (by an. The New Cross fire in South London in 1981 prompted a campaign for political action over allegations of a totally inadequate response from police and government. Username. Leverage your professional network, and get hired. Mr Haynes said: We need to stop doing this. Two inquests recorded open verdicts. ER 2002-05 View the profiles of people named Anthony Birbeck. The fourteen victims of the New Cross massacre were: Rosaline Henry; Patricia Johnson; Humphrey Brown; Gerry Paul Francis; Owen Wesley Thompson; Andrew Gooding; Peter Campbell; Lloyd Hall; Patrick Cummings; Steve Collins; Yvonne Ruddock; Glenton Powell; Paul Ruddock; and Anthony Berbeck. After being told of what Smithyman had claimed, she told the MoS: 'The case has never been investigated properly. Fern Tree Fire Brigade Deceased: 1992: Nigel Bruce HUME: Hobart Fire Brigade 1993: Kenneth Graeme HAMMOND: Fire Safety 1993: Neville Robert BINGHAM: Barrington Group 1993: James Maxwell SMITH: Stanley Fire Brigade 1994: Neil James MANNING: Tasmania Fire Service Deceased: 1994: Brian Edward RAINBIRD: Sorell Group 1994: William John BURKE: Hobart . ER 2002-10, 2015, 2017-22 Director. But Ruddock says black people were united in an increasingly hostile environment. [citation needed] Additionally, reggae producer Sir Collins, whose son Steve died in the fire, released a tribute album in memory of the victims. Stephen Anthony Birbeck, American city official. England, 16 Feb 04 A lot of people refuse to do their research because they want to believe that a white person did it; how did the alleged white arsonist get past the doors and into the party?. In the early morning on Sunday 18 January 1981, a fire broke out at 439 New Cross Road in the London Borough of Lewisham. We will carefully consider any new information.'. The Witch Trials of JK Rowling makes sensible points. "I don't remember any noise, but what I do remember is that the more I wiped my face the more it felt like sweat until it started to feel gritty," he said. [2] The initial police suspicion was that the party had been firebombed, either as a revenge attack or in an attempt to stop the noise; there was also an alternative theory that a fight had broken out, from which the blaze emanated. Protesters with Owen Thompson memorial poster, Black Peoples Day of Action, Fordham Park, New Cross, March 2, 1981. For many, it seemed as though Black lives did not matter. Since the article was published over the weekend, social media has been awash with speculation about the cause of the fire while Wayne continues to receive numerous phone calls from campaigners celebrating what has been regarded as a long-awaited uncovering of truth. Tony Birbeck Director at Centurion Financial Planning Durham, England, United Kingdom 72 followers 71 connections Join to connect Centurion Financial Planning Activity https://lnkd.in/dSyWCQM It. You still feel it. Anthony Cross. 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". Speaking exclusively to i, Ruddock says: The party was brilliant. Many black Britons viewed those acts the states retaliation for the Black Peoples Day of Action demonstration. He died, aged 20 years, on 9 July 1983,after falling from the balcony of a block of council flats in South London. However, he maintains that the initial police response in 1981 was woefully inadequate and the Conservative government failed to support those affected by the fire - and are still failing in this regard. 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.'. Public meetings attracted hundreds of people who demanded answers. One event in Leeds in August 1981, branded An evening of black cultural expression, included poetry, music and dance alongside hair-plaiting and painting competitions. This Government doesnt care about the people of this country, whether theyre Black or white; theyre quite happy to have in-fighting in this country among the racists and religions in this country because it helps them to keep control, Mr Haynes said. [13], The Action Committee organised a "Black People's Day of Action" on 2 March, when 20,000 people marched over a period of eight hours from Fordham Park to Hyde Park carrying placards that bore statements including: "Thirteen Dead, Nothing Said", "No Police Cover-Up" and "Blood Aga Run If Justice Na Come". Two-and-a-half years later, Anthony Berbeck took his own life, becoming the fourteenth victim of the massacre. The parents of the fire victims delivered a petition to the Houses of Parliament but no action was taken. For ten hours campaigners marched eight miles from Fordham Park, South London to Hyde Park, Central London with placards stating, Thirteen Dead, Nothing Said and No Police Cover-Up.. ANTHONY, N.M. - NASA White Sands Test Facility Fire Department escorted the remains of Lt. Edward Vasquez from Albuquerque to his hometown of Anthony, New Mexico, on Friday, with aid from local . But, as Darcus Howe said on the 30th anniversary of the fire in 2011 it is the blaze we cannot forget.. All rights reserved. He was awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize 2011, a prize "awarded to outstanding scholars under the age of 36 . 1 He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.) 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. We expand the work of History Workshop Journal, and continue the democratising spirit of the History Workshop movement. No one has ever been charged in connection with the fire, which forensic science subsequently established started inside the house. Forty years on, it is vital that we continue to remember the story of the New Cross Massacre. The house had been full the night before, with revellers celebrating the sixteenth birthday of Yvonne Ruddock and the eighteenth birthday of her friend Angela Jackson. Hassan Howe tells i: It was drizzling and I wondered if people would come. As the clock ticked past midnight on 18 January 1981, a house party in New Cross, south-east London, was just getting started. The verdict was disputed by those who believed that the fire had been the result of a racist arson attack, and the conduct of the Inner South London Coroner, who oversaw the inquest, caused particular dismay, exposing systemic flaws in the investigation of controversial deaths. Double murderer confesses his part in New Cross fire which killed 13 black partygoers in 1981 - as dramatic new evidence sparks fresh accusations police failed to properly investigate blaze that . Email or phone: Password: . It hits you again with full force. The parents of the victims have fought tirelessly to discover the truth about why their children died. Having grown up in a mixed race neighbourhood and having friends that have taken this to heart I was interested as to why. Linton Kwesi Johnson, the Jamaican-born Dub poet, describes the day of action as the most powerful expression of black political power this country has ever seen. [16][17], Tribune described the march as "the largest mass movement for racial justice on British soil at the time", but also noted that "journalists stationed in the offices of Fleet Street chanted monkey noises at the protestors down below. Despite repeated requests, bosses at Whitemoor prison refused to say whether they had passed on to Smithyman a request from The Mail on Sunday to interview him. As a survivor, I feel triggered by these discussions and the furore around it is irritating because all its doing is upsetting a whole bunch of people - again, winding up the Black community - again, only for the matter to get dropped again, he continued. [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]. (For some context, this was the time in history when the Vikings were still a major European powerhouse on the . 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. The group also plan to launch a charity to support those affected by the tragedy and help forward the aspirations of young, Black people of Caribbean heritage. Others believed, however, that the fire started from a dispute between revelers. Mr Haynes, who worked closely with the Metropolitan Police during a second inquest into the disaster in 2004, said he remains satisfied with officers enquiries and believes that people within Lewishams own Black community know the truth behind how the fire started. drew on Black British history, and articulated new Black futures. It was like the charge of the light brigade. 2021 Associated Newspapers Limited. This new evidence is expected to emerge at the inquest, which will last three months. I am a user experience and communications specialist with a passion for inclusive, accessible and user-focused design. In 2017, the "13 Dead, Nothing Said"[27] exhibition was hosted at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Ruddock was on the third floor when the fire broke out in the ground-floor living room. Our colleague, Andrew Behan, has researched this young man:Anthony Alexander Berbeck was born on 17 August 1962 in Lewisham, the son of Wilfred P. Berbeck and Cynthia L. Berbeck ne Whyte. The jury returned an open verdict. Many black Britons believed that the National Front (NF), a fascist group, was responsible for those incidents as well as the New Cross Fire tragedy. In the 1960s and 1970s there was a litany of police framing and police brutality. 13 Apr 1922, d. 21 Mar 2008 Citations The New Cross fire is still regarded by many as the greatest tragedy to affect Britain's black community. View Anthony Birbeck, MBE, FRSA'S professional profile on LinkedIn. There is also a memorial to the victims consisting of a park bench, plus 13 trees with a plaque at either end, on Hackney Downs in east London, and a memorial plaque on the wall of Catford Civic Hall listing the names of the "fourteen young people who died in the New Cross Fire of 18th January 1981". Required fields are marked *. "The phone rang the next morning. Two inquests into the victims' deaths gave an open verdict. [8] The inquest into the deaths of the 13 teenagers, began on 21 April 1981. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. For some it was seen as a chance to lay to rest the ghosts of 439 New Cross Road. A 14th person, Anthony Berbeck, was described as having died "following trauma brought on by the fire". But further investigations were not made nor charges brought. Almost all victims of the blaze on January 18, 1981, were teenagers and all were black. Initial rumours of a racist attack carried out by far right groups were too easily overlooked by police, it has been claimed. Its a sentiment shared by Hassan Howe. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in. Protesters travelled from across England to attend the eight-hour march, which set off from Fordham Park in New Cross a short walk from the scene of the fire. Lovers rock tracks pumped from a sound system as revellers jostled for space on the dancefloor. The South London blaze and the failure to find the culprit helped crystallise the feeling that those in authority did not care for them. The house had been full the night before, with revellers celebrating the sixteenth birthday of Yvonne Ruddock and the eighteenth birthday of her friend Angela Jackson. See full bio More at IMDbPro Contact Info: View agent, publicist, legal on IMDbPro Known For Cast Away Location Management (2000) Most Daring Producer (2007-2010) I Married a Murderer Producer (2017-2018) Coach Charming Producer (2015)

Lost Creek Golf Course Closing, Articles A