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Hillsborough inquest hears moving tributes from families of crush victims Hillsborough inquest hears moving tributes from families of crush victims
(about 5 hours later)
A teenage Liverpool supporter who died at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough football ground in 1989 had been caught in a crush in the same end of the same ground the previous year and feared going back, the new inquest into the 96 deaths has been told. A teenage Liverpool supporter who died at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough football ground in 1989 had been caught in a crush at the same end of the same ground the previous year and feared going back, the new inquest into the 96 deaths has been told.
In a statement read on behalf of Kevin Traynor, 16 when he died, and his brother Christopher, who also died at Hillsborough aged 27, their sister, Theresa Arrowsmith, said Kevin had been at the previous year's FA Cup semi-final when Liverpool had also played Nottingham Forest: "Kevin voiced concerns in 1988 about the safety of the stadium and the crushing that took place that year," she said. In a statement read on behalf of Kevin Traynor, 16 when he died, and his brother Christopher, who also died at Hillsborough aged 26, their sister, Theresa Arrowsmith, said Kevin had been at the previous year's FA Cup semi-final when Liverpool had also played Nottingham Forest. "Kevin voiced concerns in 1988 about the safety of the stadium and the crushing that took place that year," she said.
When he found out the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between the same two clubs would again be held at Hillsborough, Kevin had said: "'Oh no, not that stadium again.' On learning that the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between the same two clubs would be held at Hillsborough, Kevin had said: "Oh no, not that stadium again."
"Christopher tried to reassure his younger brother by saying: 'Don't worry, I will be there with you,'" Arrowsmith said. "None of them came home." Christopher had told his younger brother: "Don't worry, I will be there with you," Arrowsmith said. "None of them came home."
Her statement about the lives, loves, work, interests, sense of humour and ambitions of the Traynor brothers was the first of six personal accounts read out by bereaved family members on the morning of the fifth day of the inquest in Warrington.Her statement about the lives, loves, work, interests, sense of humour and ambitions of the Traynor brothers was the first of six personal accounts read out by bereaved family members on the morning of the fifth day of the inquest in Warrington.
Christopher Traynor, who was a joiner at the Cammell Laird shipyard until he was made redundant, and then at Wirral borough council, had married his wife, Elizabeth, in 1987. They had hoped to start a family together, Arrowsmith said, but after Elizabeth had a miscarriage, "Hillsborough cut short any chance of them having a family". Christopher Traynor, who was a joiner at the Cammell Laird shipyard until he was made redundant, and then at Wirral council, had married his wife, Elizabeth, in 1987. They had hoped to start a family, Arrowsmith said, but after Elizabeth had a miscarriage, "Hillsborough cut short any chance of them having a family".
Described as "a caring and genuine person, even in death", Christopher Traynor was identified as having saved the life of another man, Norman Langley, who was trapped in the crush alongside him in the Leppings Lane end.Described as "a caring and genuine person, even in death", Christopher Traynor was identified as having saved the life of another man, Norman Langley, who was trapped in the crush alongside him in the Leppings Lane end.
Sarah Brown, the widow of Steven Brown, told the inquest jury of seven women and four men: "He loved me with a passion which I never knew existed."Sarah Brown, the widow of Steven Brown, told the inquest jury of seven women and four men: "He loved me with a passion which I never knew existed."
She was six months pregnant when Steven, who desperately wanted a baby daughter, died at Hillsborough aged 25. "For Steven never to have got a chance to meet and greet his new little baby," she said, her voice cracking with grief, "well, there are no words to describe that void."She was six months pregnant when Steven, who desperately wanted a baby daughter, died at Hillsborough aged 25. "For Steven never to have got a chance to meet and greet his new little baby," she said, her voice cracking with grief, "well, there are no words to describe that void."
Veronica and Stephen Rogers, the parents of Henry, who was 17 when he died at Hillsborough, described a sporty, charming, helpful, clever son who was interested in business and planned to study economics at the London School of Economics.Veronica and Stephen Rogers, the parents of Henry, who was 17 when he died at Hillsborough, described a sporty, charming, helpful, clever son who was interested in business and planned to study economics at the London School of Economics.
Their older son, Adam, who was engaged to be married, was also at Hillsborough. He survived the crush in the Leppings Lane end, but died five months later from diabetes; they believe the trauma of the crush, and of Henry's death, substantially contributed to Adam's death. Their older son, Adam, who was engaged to be married, was also at Hillsborough. He survived the crush at the Leppings Lane end, but died five months later from diabetes; they believe the trauma of the crush, and of Henry's death, substantially contributed to Adam's death.
Nicholas Joynes, an engineer with Otis elevators on Merseyside and a keen and talented footballer, was 27 and had been married to his wife Gillian, who was in court, for less than a year when he died in the crush. The family had suffered a previous tragedy when another of Peter and Patricia Joynes' sons, Mark, had died in an accident in 1983 while working in South Africa. Reading the statement, Paul, the Joynes' surviving son, said: "Mark's death could have been prevented – he did not receive the appropriate medical care; later there was a successful prosecution. Nick couldn't contemplate how Mark had been let down so badly by the hospital in South Africa. Nicholas Joynes, an engineer with Otis elevators on Merseyside and a keen and talented footballer, was 27, and had been married to his wife Gillian, who was in court, for less than a year when he died in the crush. The family had suffered a previous tragedy when another of Peter and Patricia Joynes's sons, Mark, had died in an accident in 1983 while working in South Africa.
Reading the statement, Paul, the Joynes's surviving son, said: "Mark's death could have been prevented – he did not receive the appropriate medical care; later there was a successful prosecution. Nick couldn't contemplate how Mark had been let down so badly by the hospital in South Africa.
"Nick was very close to Mark and Mark's death affected him greatly. He became very protective of us all.""Nick was very close to Mark and Mark's death affected him greatly. He became very protective of us all."
The personal "pen portrait" of Francis McAllister, 27 when he died, was read by his older brother, Mark, who recalled a "larger than life" character who had only in recent years before Hillsborough found his niche, as a firefighter stationed at Manchester Square in central London.
Mark McAllister said that their father, who died nine years after Hillsborough, had once saved Francis from drowning in a boating lake. "Our father died always regretting that he had not been on hand to save his son one more time," he said.
Brian Anderson, who himself survived the crush in the Leppings Lane central "pens" which killed his father, John, read the statement with his sister, Dorothy, and his own children alongside him. John, who also worked at Otis elevators, was 62, "fit and healthy", an amateur football referee, had been married for 42 years and was looking forward to retirement when he was killed.
"My mum has been deprived of spending her later years with her husband," Brian said. "My dad and I were not only father and son, but good friends as well. Dad is still greatly missed by all of us."
Ian Collins, brother of Gary, 22 when he died, read out a statement from their father, John, which was dominated by repeated expressions of love for Gary. "It stops my family and I in our tracks," the Collins statement said, of seeing scarves draped in tribute to the Hillsborough victims, or "justice for the 96" stickers.
"To think that the Hillsborough disaster could have been prevented," Ian Collins read, "is excruciating to live with."
In the tribute to Eric Hankin, a hospital nurse, 33 when he died at Hillsborough, his daughter Lynsey, who was 12 when she lost her father, said: "Dad was like a giant, a big friendly giant. He made everyone laugh. He was a good dad; he loved me, and I loved him.
"A big, giant-shaped hole has been left in my heart since the day he died. I've learned to live with it but I don't think the pain will ever leave me. My family and I hope that this procedure [the new inquest] allows us and our loved ones the freedom to finally rest in peace."
The new inquest was ordered after the previous inquest, which took place in Sheffield in 1990-91, was quashed in the high court in December 2012 after a long campaign by the bereaved families.