Memories of Scottish football's darkest day

Dec 30 2010

FOR Rangers fan James Thomson, the tragic events of the Old Firm New Year Derby 40 years ago are never far from his thoughts.

James (59), janitor at Muiredge Primary School in Uddingston, is still haunted by events on January 2, 1971, in which 66 Rangers fans lost their lives, and is still struggling to come to terms with the disaster all these years later.

Survival instincts kicked in for the then 19-year-old James and he admits to stepping on people to escape the crush at Stairway 13 - but he also helped a number of people get out of the danger area with their lives.

Recalling that fateful day, James said: "As I left the stadium, it was 1-0 to Celtic and as soon as we started to go down the stairs Rangers scored, so everybody went back up to have a wee look down on the park and cheer.

"I was smack right in the middle of it. Just as the final whistle blew, that's when it happened because people were trying to get back up the stairs, but people were trying to get down, and it was just a collision.

"At that point, when we turned around everybody was falling and it was like a pack of cards.

"I actually stood on top of two or three people to get onto one of the railway sleepers, which were positioned all the way down the stairs, and there was a wee bush on the slope.

"I used that to get out but when I realised how quiet it was - and I realised people were dying - I stopped to help pull people out.

"Younger boys were putting their hands up to me and I was pulling them over. Other people were falling on top of them and their shoes were coming off in the crush.

"I'll always remember that - they were saying 'I want my shoes' and I was saying 'son, there are people dying here, your shoes are gone'. It must have been about 10 or 12 people that I actually pulled out of there.

"When I was getting out I saw what I thought was somebody's leg and it was lying by itself, but it was an artificial limb.

"The railing going right down the stairs was all mangled and the silence was eerie.

"It was just silent and policemen were all joined up at the elbows and walked on as a chain.

"As they were pulling people out, you could hear a sharp intake of breath as they were just getting air into their lungs. People had blue or purple lips, it was terrible.

"It's a moment that has never left me. Something like that never leaves you at all, it's as if it happened yesterday."

Another aspect of the disaster that James finds difficult to come to terms with was how quickly the death toll rose, and the way supporters dealt with what happened.

James said: "I met my wife's brother, who was 15, and I went into a shop and asked if I could phone home, so I said everybody was OK and they were with me.

"But when I went on the underground at Ibrox, a policeman he told me there were 23 dead.

"By the time we got to Buchanan Street, which is about 10-15 minutes away, it was up to 48.

"Everybody was just passing information up the carriage, nobody was talking, singing or anything."

Despite the tragedy, James still regularly attends matches at Ibrox and is pleased that football safety has changed dramatically since 1971 - even if it has reduced atmosphere at games.

James said: "Everything changed after the accident and it was more or less an accident waiting to happen - not just at Ibrox either.

"Sometimes at Rangers v Celtic games, you could actually lift your feet off the ground, it was that tight. That's the way it was in stadiums then.

"At the old Celtic Park, when you were going down the stairs, you were hitting a brick wall, and there was a dangerous corner you had to watch for when leaving.

"It has definitely been for the best that things have changed. The atmosphere might have changed a bit though."

While James doesn't need to be reminded about the Ibrox disaster, watching documentaries and news footage brings it all flooding back.

He said: "It never leaves you. I saw footage on TV this year and it showed what happened.

"I had told my wife that there was a pile of shoes left behind and I'm not sure if she believed me or not, but when we were watching the TV, a photograph popped up of a polythene bag full of shoes, and that's just something that stuck in my head.

"I often wonder how those boys I pulled out of the crowd turned out in life. I've always wondered that."