Wirral honours Hillsborough dead - 15th Apr 2009 5:03pm
Wirral honours Hillsborough dead
PUBLIC transport came to a standstill at 3.06pm today as Wirral stopped to honour the 96 Hillsborough dead.
Hundreds gathered outside Wallasey Town Hall this afternoon to remember those who lost their lives in the tragedy.
Council employees and members of the public paid two minutes of silent respect to the fans who died in Britain's worst ever sporting tragedy at Sheffield Wednesday's stadium on April 15, 1989.
They were among millions across Merseyside and the country marking the 20th anniversary of the disaster.
Over at Liverpool Football Club’s Anfield stadium, the deceased's families were joined by approximately 30,000 others for a memorial service.
It featured contributions from those who witnessed the horrific events on the day, Culture Secretary Andy Burnham, who was heckled by the crowd, and singer Gerry Marsden who closed the service with a rendition of the club’s anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Among those paying their respects outside Wallasey Town Hall was Birkenhead MP Frank Field, who told the Globe: "I was in London and didn’t want to miss the event, so I came back to Wirral especially for this anniversary day.
"There were lots of constituents who were killed at Hillsborough and you never replace members of family like that. Also, there’s never been an apology.
"And while nobody wants ever to forget, sometimes, with grace, you manage to live with that loss.
"I think it's naturally difficult to live with that tragedy."
Asked whether the time was right to re-open the investigation into the tragedy, Mr Field replied: "I think a lot of people want someone to come forward and say sorry.
"It seems to me that there’s something almost obscene about the fact that we’re obsessed with apologising for something like slavery, which happened more than two hundred years ago and is a terrible chapter of this country’s history, yet with Hillsborough, here is a still living tragedy and nobody has apologised.
"Today is all about coming together to remember the tragedy and hoping that the scar tissue would have been healed for families if somebody had got the guts to come forward and apologise."
Sue Forrester, 47, a support worker for Wirral Independent Living Services, said: "It’s difficult to put into words how I feel.
"The memories of that day are still very vivid to me and the images on television are very upsetting.
"Seeing the people being brought out onto the pitch is just awful.
"I knew one of those who died, in passing, he had his whole life ahead of him and was only 20.
"I am still heartbroken for his family, because they had to cope with losing their son at such a young age."
Twelve people from Wirral died at Hillsborough.
THE WIRRAL GLOBE