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]. The eight-page briefing note states: 'It is suspected that Smithyman was the other person with [name removed for legal reasons] when the fire started and it is our belief he will admit his full complicity in the matter.'. ", "New Cross fire - a turning point? For ten hours campaigners marched eight miles from Fordham Park, South London to Hyde Park, Central London with placards stating, Thirteen Dead, Nothing Said and No Police Cover-Up.. So what new news have we found out from the same damn man?. | Required fields are marked *. Unveiled by Sybil Phoenix, a community leader who had beencalled to the scen Fencing master and coach. It seeks to deepen understandings of the past, cast light on the present and agitate for change in the world we live in now. The parents of 17-year-old Gerry Francis, one of the victims, have fought for an explanation of what happened ever since. The Black Peoples Day of Action was organised for Monday 2 March thatyear. Uprising connects three chapters in recent British history through powerful testimonials and archive footage: the New Cross fire and the Black Peoples Day of Action, when 20,000 people marched on central London to protest against the silence from the state. Having grown up in a mixed race neighbourhood and having friends that have taken this to heart I was interested as to why. Its a state ofbarbarism.. Yet the survivors and bereaved families are still here waiting for compensation.. He added: : The one thing that people cant seem to get into their heads is this: the fire started inside the party, not outside. Join Facebook to connect with Anthony Cross and others you may know. Magdalene Edwards, now 57, survived the fire by jumping from a window while three months pregnant, but her 16-year-old stepsister Rosalind Henry died. The Grenfell Tower fire In December 2017, just six months after the Grenfell Tower fire, Dame Judith Hackitt produced her interim report. England, 16 Feb 04 See Photos. It was through the assembly of the people that black-Britons discovered that the police was forcing statements out of black youths without lawyers or parents being present. A survivor was so horrified by what he saw that he killed himself two years later. There was no escape from it.. Since the article was published over the weekend, social media has been awash with speculation about the cause of the fire while Wayne continues to receive numerous phone calls from campaigners celebrating what has been regarded as a long-awaited uncovering of truth. BIRBECK, Anthony Correspondence address No 4, Castle Court 2, Castlegate Way, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 4RH . The New Cross fire is still regarded by many as the greatest tragedy to affect Britain's black community. Other occupants: Sylvia K Birbeck. Protesters travelled from across England to attend the eight-hour march, which set off from Fordham Park in New Cross a short walk from the scene of the fire. 1 . They were known as the bullies in blue, says Leila Hassan Howe, who in 1981 was a member of the Race Today Collective in Brixton. Anthony Birbeck Please use the search above if you cannot find the record you require. Join Facebook to connect with Tony Birbeck and others you may know. "He came in, got dressed, and kissed his mother and kissed me and said, 'I'll see you in the morning,'" said Mr Francis, a former British Rail worker and photographer who lives in Sydenham, south London. Warning chocolate lovers ultra-processed foods might make you depressed, study claims. Many believe he took his own life as a result of the trauma of. "I hope the people inside the house will be called to give evidence.". is a New York State licensed and insured life safety company. people of colour disproportionately impacted by coronavirus. Forty years on, and for the first time on British television, the story of the fire and its aftermath are being told in Uprising, a three-part BBC One series which begins tonight at 9pm. . Lebanon police arrested 27-year-old Anthony Boisvert, of Lebanon, in connection with the incident. 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. There was a significant amount of racial tension across London. When the Black community locks shop and puts up a wall of silence regarding what goes on within our community - nothing comes out. It was a profoundly moving act of memorialisation and defiance. The event was hosted by Kwame Kwei-Armah and was an evening of spoken word, film, discussion and Lovers rock music. "They [the victims' families] felt they were black people treated as second-class citizens. View the profiles of people named Anthony Cross. 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. drew on Black British history, and articulated new Black futures. The New Cross Massacre exposed the indifference and disdain with which government and the media have treated the loss of Black lives. Nine people were killed and 20 injured in a blaze which engulfed a house early this morning in south London. When they arrived, heavy smoke and flames were coming from the home. But, as Darcus Howe said on the 30th anniversary of the fire in 2011 it is the blaze we cannot forget.. Within days community groups, including the Race Today Collective and the Black Parents Movement, formed the New Cross Massacre Action Committee. Smithyman, who was 14 at the time of the tragedy, reportedly told officers that he had tried to gatecrash the party with another teenager who began the blaze in revenge after they were refused entry. 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. | Barling's London", "Hideously diverse Britain: Memories of the New Cross tragedy never fade", "New Cross Fire Memorial Window at St. Andrew's Church, Brockley, London SE4 - detail", "New Cross fire: Memorial service and commemorative plaque unveiling", "New Cross Fire - New Cross Road, London, UK", "Memorial plaque for New Cross fire victims unveiled", "New Cross Fire Memorial in Fordham Park", "13 Dead, Nothing Said" exhibition at Goldsmiths, "13 Dead, Nothing Said" | 16 May 2017 27 May 2017" Exhibition notes, "Photographs uncover 1981 New Cross march for racial equality", "Blood Ah Go Run: New Cross Fire 1981 Documentary", "Linton Kwesi Johnson - New Crass Massahkah", https://www.discogs.com/release/4627678-Sir-Collins-New-Cross-Fire-Page-One, "Jay Bernard wins Ted Hughes new poetry award", "Jay Bernard's 'personal and brave' poetry wins Ted Hughes award", "British writer launches poetry show based on 'New Cross Massacre' which killed 13 Blacks", "Alex Wheatle on the Life Story That Inspired Steve McQueen's Latest Small Axe Film", "Steve McQueen To Co-Direct BBC Race Relations Documentary Series 'Uprising', "30 years after the New Cross fire: challenging racism today", Remembering the New Cross Fire 30 Years On - promotional video, "New Crass Massahkah: Remembering the fire at 439 New Cross Road", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Cross_house_fire&oldid=1141325113, Glenton Powell, age 16 (died in hospital), Yvonne Ruddock, age 16 (died in hospital), This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 13:53. 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". Police initially said the blaze had been started by a firebomb that had been thrown through a ground-floor window. 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 . Lovers rock tracks pumped from a sound system as revellers jostled. The Action Committee sought to raise awareness of the tragedy, raise money for the bereaved, and establish the true cause of the fire. It hits you again with full force. Linton Kwesi Johnson, the Jamaican-born Dub poet, describes the day of action as the most powerful expression of black political power this country has ever seen. . 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. ER 2002-10, 2015, 2017-22 Director. They felt as if no one cared about their loss. RE: DEPTFORD FIRE CON New Cross fire tragedy remembered 40 years on. True justice would look like 65 Black people, who were affected by the fire, being made multi millionaires by the Government where they havent received compensation, Mr Haynes said. An audience member suggested a weekday march to bring the city to a standstill. Prince Andrew 'fears he won't be able to afford Royal Lodge if King Charles cuts his 250K grant - but is Can you solve this trivia riddle? Moreover, local far-right extremism and the longer history of racist arson attacks in the area suggested that the fire was a deliberate attack. But if it was a racist attack we wouldve known a long time ago. We wanted to make our voices heard, says Hassan Howe, the widow of the Trinidadian writer and racial justice campaigner Darcus Howe. Thirteen young black people were killed and the black community stood up and said, No, not this time., Uprising airs at 9pm on Tuesday 20, Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 July on BBC One. Anthony Cross. Dane Henry A. Chinnery was born on 21 August 1997, the younger child of Anthony N. Chinnery and Beverley L. Chinnery ne Hall whose birth was registered in August 1997 in the Croydon registration d 12,210 brave WW1 seamen remembered on the monument at Tower Hill. The parents of the fire victims delivered a petition to the Houses of Parliament but no action was taken. Police notes seen by the MoS state that a senior officer wrote in a 1993 Home Office briefing document: 'He (the arsonist) describes the motive for the fire as a stupid prank purely to scare the partygoers because they had refused them entry to the party.'. I don't think so. 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 deathsof his best friends. This is a proven fact. Yvonne loved soft, sweet girl music. The Witch Trials of JK Rowling makes sensible points. Documents and papers related to the New Cross Massacre Action Committee's campaign are held in the archives of the George Padmore Institute and can be accessed by the public. A series of public memorials have been installed naming the fourteen young men, women, and children who lost their lives as a result of the firethese include plaques on 439 New Cross Road and Lewisham Town Hall, and a memorial in Fordham Park. 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. As a survivor, I feel triggered by these discussions and the furore around it is irritating because all its doing is upsetting a whole bunch of people - again, winding up the Black community - again, only for the matter to get dropped again, he continued. Thirteen young people were killed, more than 50 injured and one guest - Anthony Berbeck - died two years later at the age of 20. Among the victims was 16-year-old Yvonne Ruddock, who had been celebrating her birthday with around 50 guests when the blaze broke out in the early hours of Sunday, 19 January. This theory was corroborated by eyewitnesses who reported having seen a white man drive away from the house in a light-coloured Austin Princess moments after the fire had started. Facebook gives people the power. He said reports claiming police failed to fully investigate a confession made by jailed murderer Michael Smithyman between 1991 and 1993 were triggering and would not help get to the truth. 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 face of this silence, activists from across London established the New Cross Massacre Action Committee. Forty years on, it is vital that we continue to remember the story of the New Cross Massacre. 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. The victims were also commemorated in January 2011 with a blue plaque from Nubian Jak Community Trust. At the time, the area saw a lot of racist attacks and far-right political activity, with the National Front having a significant presence. No disrespect to those who did try to help but a lot of so-called activists made their names off the back of the tragedy - TV appearances, radio shows, big jobs, said Mr Haynes. Major Henry Anthony Birkbeck held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) 1 He was awarded the Military Cross (M.C.) Police found no evidence to support Smithymans confession, which was one of several made from inside jail between 1991 and 1993. Peter Fryer, Staying Power: History of Black People in Britain. Anthony BIRBECK Filter appointments Filter appointments Current appointments Total number of appointments 7 Date of birth April 1961 CHESTER-LE-STREET CC TRADING LIMITED (10000684) Company. 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