Ibrox Disaster, 40th anniversary

Today marks 40 years since the horrific events that occured in the closing minutes of the Old Firm derby, at Ibrox, in 1971. Fans were crushed when crash barriers on a stairwell collapsed - 66 died and over 200 were injured.

Rangers manager William Waddell, who died in 1992, recounted his feelings in the immediate aftermath:

"It’s strange what comes into your mind, but when I first went to the top of the steps and looked down on the pile of bodies, my initial thought was of Belsen, because the corpses were entangled as they had been in the pictures which came out of the concentration camps.

But, my God, it was hellish, there were bodies in the dressing rooms, in the gymnasium, and even in the laundry room. My own training staff and the Celtic training staff were working at the job of resuscitation, and we were all trying everything possible to bring breath back to those crushed limbs.
 
Honestly, I will never forget the sight of Bob Rooney, the Celtic physiotherapist, with tears in his eyes giving the kiss of life to innumerable victims. He never stopped, nor did the Rangers doctors, nor the nurses and ambulancemen who flocked to join them, and we will never know how many lives were saved in there during that frenzy of activity."

The deceased:

GLASGOW

DAVID ANDERSON [45], JOHN BUCHANAN [32], RICHARD BARKE [15], DAVID DUFF [23), PETER FARRIES [26], JOHN GARDINER [32], THOMAS GRANT [16], CHARLES LIVINGSTON [30], BRIAN HUTCHINSON [16], JOHN JEFFREY [16], ANDREW LINDSAY [18], THOMAS MELVILLE [17], FRANCIS DOVER [16], ROBERT MULHOLLAND [16], DUNCAN McBREARTY [17], DONALD McPHERSON [30], THOMAS McROBBIE [17], ROBERT RAE [25], WILLIAM SHAW [30], WALTER SHIELDS [15], GEORGE SMITH [40], WILLIAM SOMERHILL [17], JAMES TRAINER [20], JOHN CRAWFORD [23], GEORGE FINDLAY [21], JOHN NEIL [29]

LIVERPOOL

NIGEL PICKUP [8]

EDINBURGH

WALTER RAEBURN [36], JAMES SIBBALD [28], ROBERT C CAIRNS [17]

LANARKSHIRE

THOMAS DICKSON [32], IAN FREW [21], JAMES GREY [37], IAN HUNTER [14], JAMES MAIR [19], ROBERT MAXWELL [15], ALEXANDER ORR [16], MATTHEW RIED [49], CHARLES STIRLING [20], PETER WRIGHT [31]

ARGYLL

GEORGE IRWIN [22]

FIFE

PETER EASTON [13], MARTIN PATON [14], MASON PHILLIPS [14], BRIAN TODD [14], DOUGLAS MORRISON [15]

RENFREWSHIRE

HUGH ADDIE [33], ROBERT GRANT [21], ALEX McINTYRE [29], GEORGE WILSON [15]

STIRLINGSHIRE

MARGARET FERGUSON [18], ROBERT McADAM [36], RICHARD McLEAY [28], JOHN McLEAY [23]

WEST LOTHIAN

RUSSEL MALCOLM [16]

DUMBARTONSHIRE

GEORGE ADAMS [43], ROBERT CARRIGAN [13], CHARLES DOUGAN [31], ADAM HENDERSON [42], DAVID McGHEE [14], THOMAS MORGAN [14], JAMES RAE [19], JOHN SEMPLE [18], THOMAS STIRLING [16], DONALD SUTHERLAND [14].

EAST LOTHIAN

JAMES McGOVERN [24]