In October 2002, Lewisham council installed a special stained-glass window at the church in their memory. Public meetings attracted hundreds of people who demanded answers. [32], Rex Obano's radio play Lover's Rock (BBC Radio 3, broadcast in November 2012) is a fictional account of the events leading up to the New Cross Fire. "I don't remember any noise, but what I do remember is that the more I wiped my face the more it felt like sweat until it started to feel gritty," he said. A 14th person, Anthony Berbeck, was described as having died "following trauma brought on by the fire". Facebook gives people the power. The New Cross fire is still regarded by many as the greatest tragedy to affect Britain's black community. The silence over the loss of thirteen lives was also filled by music and poetry. The parents of the victims have fought tirelessly to discover the truth about why their children died. On 18 January 1981 he was at a party held at 439 New Cross Road, London, SE14 6TA that claimed 13 lives as a result of a fire and subsequently became disturbed following the deaths of his best friends. 1 Child of Major Henry Anthony Birkbeck Major William Birkbeck+ 2 b. A memorial service which was originally planned to mark the 40th anniversary on Sunday, January . Thirteen young Black Britons, including Yvonne and her brother Paul, lost their lives as a result of the fire. The History of Radical Mas Bands at Notting Hill Carnival, Crush the Despicable! One eyewitness reportedly saw a man throw a missile at the house. This new evidence is expected to emerge at the inquest, which will last three months. It began on the evening of Saturday, 17 January 1981, and continued throughout the night and into the early hours of Sunday, 18 January.[5]. Voltaires Enlightened Racism. The new police inquiry, involving fresh interviews with witnesses, has now formally established that the blaze started when a naked flame was applied to a foam-filled armchair in the living-room. [40], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}512833N 00149W / 51.4757N 0.0304W / 51.4757; -0.0304, Last edited on 24 February 2023, at 13:53, "Inquest begins into 14 victims of 1981 fire", "Report says New Cross fire was not race attack", "Did the New Cross fire create a black British identity? The parents of 17-year-old Gerry Francis, one of the victims, have fought for an explanation of what happened ever since. A forensic report produced for the Met Police in 2011 ruled out a firebomb attack, concluding that the blaze started when someone in the house set an armchair alight. Its a state ofbarbarism.. An assembly of the people consisting of five hundred black Britons was formed to investigate the killings. Several theories on the cause of the fire have emerged over the years. The New Cross fire in South London in 1981 prompted a campaign for political action over allegations of a totally inadequate response from police and government. The convicted killer, who now lives as a woman in prison, retracted the confessions and denies being present when the New Cross fire started. Join Facebook to connect with Anthony Birbeck and others you may know. The event was hosted by Kwame Kwei-Armah and was an evening of spoken word, film, discussion and Lovers rock music. There were no safe spaces, says George Ruddock, whose cousins Paul and Yvonne Ruddock died in hospital after the fire. Until 2011 he was Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. Archive footage shows a coffin held aloft in the crowd as some waved placards emblazoned with messages like Black People Die Babylon Lie and Thatcher in her Silence Incites Violence. Despite this, it wasnt long before the police began to blame the victims. A white Austin Princess car was seen driving away from the fire. . Hassan Howe tells i: It was drizzling and I wondered if people would come. Today, the New Cross Fire remains unsolved. ", George Francis, Gerry's father and chair of the New Cross Parents' Committee, told BBC London: "Some people have gone mental through this fire. View the profiles of people named Anthony Cross. But yet people are left standing there and speculating. John La Rose, the founder of the UKs first black publisher and specialist bookshop New Beacon Books, said at the time: This outrage in the heart of London the Prime Minister says nothing. Peter Fryer, Staying Power: History of Black People in Britain. The exact cause of the fire has never been determined and the original inquest returned an open verdict, much to the dismay of the families of the victims. I shouted for help. Word spread that it was a targeted attack but fire forensics ruled out the allegation. [1] Nefertiti Gayle, Every Time Me memba (no date) reproduced in Beverley Bryan, Stella Dadzie and Suzanne Scafe, The Heart of the Race: Black Womens Lives in Britain, London, 1985, pp. Sign up hereto stay up to date with the best new TV. An inquest was held into the deaths in May 1981, but an open verdict was returned; the jury could not (or would not) specify the cause. No one has ever been charged in connection with the fire, which forensic science subsequently established started inside the house. Leverage your professional network, and get hired. I am a user experience and communications specialist with a passion for inclusive, accessible and user-focused design. View this record View. Sir Steve McQueen praises resilient black people who protested against racism after the New Cross fire, I remember growing up and someone in my family always knew someone, who knew someone [who died in the fire], says Sir Steve McQueen, who co-directed Uprising with James Rogan. It was a kind of sweep of passion and people saying "we have had enough".". His mother, Velvatine, said: "Before he went he kissed me goodbye and said I will see you in the morning Mum. No one has ever been charged in relation to the incident. It led to 20,000 people taking part in a mass protest, and is seen as a catalyst for the notorious Brixton riots in April of the same year, 1981. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in. Its a sentiment shared by Hassan Howe. | The poet Nefertiti Gayle later memorialised the tragedy alongside acts of racist violence in London, the United States, and Apartheid South Africa.[1]. So harrowing are the details that the families of the victims will be offered counselling after the hearing at the Inner London Crown Court. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? The last memory Mr Francis has of his son, who was the DJ at the party, was kissing him goodbye on the Saturday night. New Cross fire tragedy remembered 40 years on. There are 5 ways to get from New Malden to Birkbeck by tram, bus, taxi or car. Mel B reveals her Spice Girls bandmates knew about the 'abuse' she suffered while she was married to Stephen Do YOU know how much a flooded home costs to repair - and is it covered on your insurance? Lottery and the Arts Council to produce two anthologies of interpreters' stories and a play about a couple in a cross-language relationship, for the Soho Theatre, London. Through the occupation of urban space, the marchers filled the silence rendered by the states indifference to the loss of Black lives and proclaimed: Come what may, we are here to stay. His aunt Armza Ruddock, the mother of Paul and Yvonne, described hearing a bang. New Cross Fire Anniversary 39th anniversary of the New Cross Fire, when 14 young people tragically lost their lives at a house fire in New Cross Road in 1981. Between 5:45 and 5:55 a.m. on Sunday 18 January 1981, a fire broke out in the front room of 439 New Cross Road in the London Borough of Lewisham. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, a New Cross Massacre Action Committee (NCMAC) was set up, chaired by John La Rose, which organised a "Black People's Day of Action" on 2 March 1981, when some 20,000 people marched over a period of eight hours through London, carrying placards that bore statements including: "13 Dead, Nothing Said". If you do the research, youll find out that this information came out before. RE: DEPTFORD FIRE CON Your donation is fully tax-deductible. Mr Haynes told BBC London what he remembered of the night. Do you find this information helpful? Anthony Berbeck. But if it was a racist attack we wouldve known a long time ago. Tricky emoji quiz will put your knowledge of childhood classics to the test. Almost all victims of the blaze on January 18, 1981, were teenagers and all were black. The party had started the night before on January 17, 1981 but the fire started around 5.40am the following morning.. It was this outpouring of anger which more than anything else led to a rethink in the way police worked with black communities. ', Chillingly, the source added: 'He said that while watching Rastafarians jumping out of the top-floor windows on fire, he referred to them as 'roastafarians'.'. He is Professor of Medieval Studies at Birkbeck, University of London and from 2017 to 2021 was Executive Dean of the School of Arts, and has written widely on medieval Christian-Jewish relations and on medieval culture and literature. I am an experienced Counsellor, offering affordable counselling to those who feel burduned by emotional problems in their lives. Sylvia K Birbeck. The New Cross Fire tragedy highlighted hostility between black Britons, the police and the media. We needed to give it the platform itdeserved.. Double murderer confesses his part in New Cross fire which killed 13 black partygoers in 1981 - as dramatic new evidence sparks fresh accusations police failed to properly investigate blaze that . After being told of what Smithyman had claimed, she told the MoS: 'The case has never been investigated properly. 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Smithyman told police he went to a nearby adventure playground then returned to see a fire had taken hold at the house, and that people were jumping from upstairs windows. Contradictory claims and reports of a supposed fight in the living room complicatedmatters. The New Cross house fire was a fire that occurred during a party at a house in New Cross, south-east London, in the early hours of Sunday, 18 January 1981.The blaze killed 13 young black people aged between 14 and 22, and one survivor killed himself two years later. A new investigation into the blaze that killed 13 young black people at a London party 23 years ago suggests that a group of adults inside the house was to blame. Lindsay Birbeck (Image: Lancashire Police). Anthony Cross. Ruddock was on the third floor when the fire broke out in the ground-floor living room. Joan Ruddock, Labour MP for Lewisham Deptford, has worked closely with the families and was responsible for securing a second police inquiry. 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