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| My husband was not a hooligan, he just loved football, Hillsborough jury told | My husband was not a hooligan, he just loved football, Hillsborough jury told |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The widow of Patrick Thompson, who died aged 35 at Hillsborough, leaving five young children under the age of six, broke down at the inquest into the disaster, telling of a loving husband and asking the jury to understand he was "not a hooligan but a hardworking family man who just happened to love football". | The widow of Patrick Thompson, who died aged 35 at Hillsborough, leaving five young children under the age of six, broke down at the inquest into the disaster, telling of a loving husband and asking the jury to understand he was "not a hooligan but a hardworking family man who just happened to love football". |
| On an emotional morning at the new inquest into how 96 people died in the crush at Sheffield Wednesday's football ground in 1989, Kathleen Thompson and members of other bereaved families read personal statements about their loved ones and the impact of their loss. | On an emotional morning at the new inquest into how 96 people died in the crush at Sheffield Wednesday's football ground in 1989, Kathleen Thompson and members of other bereaved families read personal statements about their loved ones and the impact of their loss. |
| Describing Patrick, a former British Rail guard, as "a larger-than-life character who would help anybody", and a loving and generous man, Kathleen said of his death at Hillsborough: "The thing that hurts the most is the fact that the children have limited memories of their father. Only the two eldest have any memories at all." | Describing Patrick, a former British Rail guard, as "a larger-than-life character who would help anybody", and a loving and generous man, Kathleen said of his death at Hillsborough: "The thing that hurts the most is the fact that the children have limited memories of their father. Only the two eldest have any memories at all." |
| The Thompsons' older sons were aged five and four; they had a daughter, who was nearly two at the time, and twins, a son and a daughter, aged nine months. | |
| Crying as she concluded her description of Patrick, his personality, work, interests and their family life together, Kathleen said to the jury of seven women and four men: "Please listen to the evidence and let my children know that their dad was not a hooligan, but a hardworking family man who just happened to love football." | Crying as she concluded her description of Patrick, his personality, work, interests and their family life together, Kathleen said to the jury of seven women and four men: "Please listen to the evidence and let my children know that their dad was not a hooligan, but a hardworking family man who just happened to love football." |
| Wilf Whelan, the father of Ian, who died in the crush on the Leppings Lane terrace aged 19, described "a son any family would have been proud of", a church-going teenager who loved music, football and art, had a girlfriend, Joanne, and worked for British Nuclear Fuels in Warrington. | Wilf Whelan, the father of Ian, who died in the crush on the Leppings Lane terrace aged 19, described "a son any family would have been proud of", a church-going teenager who loved music, football and art, had a girlfriend, Joanne, and worked for British Nuclear Fuels in Warrington. |
| Referring to the allegations of bad behaviour and drunkenness made against some Liverpool supporters at Hillsborough by South Yorkshire police officers, widely reported in the media after the disaster, Wilf Whelan said: "He was not a football hooligan; he attended mass of his own free will. My family feel that they have had to defend his good name for the last 25 years. We would like to thank the coroner for this opportunity to do so again." | Referring to the allegations of bad behaviour and drunkenness made against some Liverpool supporters at Hillsborough by South Yorkshire police officers, widely reported in the media after the disaster, Wilf Whelan said: "He was not a football hooligan; he attended mass of his own free will. My family feel that they have had to defend his good name for the last 25 years. We would like to thank the coroner for this opportunity to do so again." |
| Statements about four more of the 96 victims of Hillsborough, Arthur Horrocks, who was 41 when he died, Christine Jones, who was 27, Roy Pemberton, who was 23, Paula Smith, 26 when she died, and Marian McCabe, who was 21, were also read out by bereaved relatives. In quietly emotional scenes, some members of other families, sitting in silence in the converted courtroom in Warrington, cried as they listened to the statements. | Statements about four more of the 96 victims of Hillsborough, Arthur Horrocks, who was 41 when he died, Christine Jones, who was 27, Roy Pemberton, who was 23, Paula Smith, 26 when she died, and Marian McCabe, who was 21, were also read out by bereaved relatives. In quietly emotional scenes, some members of other families, sitting in silence in the converted courtroom in Warrington, cried as they listened to the statements. |