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15

Apr 2021

Community
Community

Knaresborough man recalls Hillsborough disaster horror

Published: 15 Apr 2021, 17:00 BST

Updated: 15 Apr 2021, 17:04 BST

by Thomas Barrett

Comment

0

David Houlgate was just 21 when he travelled on the coach with 42 other local Liverpool fans to Sheffield. On today's 32nd anniversary of the disaster, he recalls watching fans from Harrogate pull people to safety on the Leppings Lane end.

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A Liverpool fan from Knaresborough has recalled the horror of attending the Hillsborough disaster, which happened 32 years ago today.

The Stray Ferret asked David Houlgate, founder of the Harrogate district branch of the Liverpool FC Supporters Club, about his memories of the day that claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans in a crush on the Leppings Lane end.

A 2016 inquest ruled the supporters were unlawfully killed due to grossly negligent failures by police and ambulance services.

A total of 43 Liverpool fans from the Harrogate district travelled by coach to the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.

The coach departed from Gracious Street car park in Knaresborough and picked up fans in Starbeck, Harrogate and Leeds.

David was 21 at the time and travelled on the coach with his mum Diana, who was the branch secretary.

He was in the upper tier of the stand and saw members from Harrogate pulling people out of the pen where the crush took place. He recalls:

"I was fortunate not to be in the pen but we had some really young lads in there. We were lucky that we all survived.
"When it was happening you saw people starting to climb fences and police pushing them back in. You could see supporters on the pitch resuscitating people. You saw supporters carrying people on old advertising boards. It was clear something dreadful was happening."





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There was an emotional wait back at the coach for the Harrogate and Knaresborough fans to return. Fortunately, all did. David said:

"You're suffering from shock and you're not computing it all.
"Nobody had mobile phones back then and everyone had families with parents sat at home, wondering if we survived."


David still travels to Liverpool games on the coach with fans from the area. He said he shares a bond with the few fans left who were at Hillsborough and also still go to games.

Due to lockdown, he is currently working from home and said time alone can trigger painful memories.

He remembers the 96 people who lost their lives as well as the countless others who were affected by the tragedy.

He added:

"I'm sat at home now thinking about it. It's with you all the time and impacts on how you look at life."