Police found no evidence to support Smithymans confession, which was one of several made from inside jail between 1991 and 1993. The New Cross Massacre became a clarion call for political action at the beginning of a tumultuous year for Black Britons across urban England. . Exclusive: A lot of people refuse to do their research because they want to believe that a white person did it; how did the alleged white arsonist get past the doors and into the party? Wayne Haynes told The Independent. The armchair blew up and I ran out. The Independent on Sunday has also learned that much of the blame will be directed at a group of adults who were at the party that night. We wanted to make our voices heard, says Hassan Howe, the widow of the Trinidadian writer and racial justice campaigner Darcus Howe. 13 Apr 1922, d. 21 Mar 2008 Citations When the Black community locks shop and puts up a wall of silence regarding what goes on within our community - nothing comes out. This new evidence is expected to emerge at the inquest, which will last three months. Anthony Birbeck is on Facebook. Joan Ruddock, Labour MP for Lewisham Deptford, has worked closely with the families and was responsible for securing a second police inquiry. The New Cross Massacre Action Committee (NCMAC) was set up, chaired by John La Rose,[2] and organised weekly meetings in New Cross, which saw increasing participation as the police investigation announced that there was no evidence of arson and that the fire was believed to be accidental. Two inquests into the victims' deaths gave an open verdict. Anthony Berbeck. Many black Britons viewed those acts the states retaliation for the Black Peoples Day of Action demonstration. They felt as if no one cared about their loss. Actor Ben Cross, who was best known for playing athlete Harold Abrahams in the film Chariots of Fire, has died at the age of 72. Lindsay Birbeck (Image: Lancashire Police). Maurice Boyd Birkbeck and Thomas Anthony Birkbeck, all estate agents. He was one of more than 100 youngsters who had gathered at 439 New Cross Road to celebrate 16-year-old Yvonne Ruddock's birthday. In addition to the 13 who died in the fire, 27 were injured and a 14th took his own life two years later. Ms Ruddock said she hoped people who had remained silent for years would finally reveal the truth about what happened, and has suggested there should be immunity for witnesses. View this record View. The house had been full the night before, with revellers celebrating the sixteenth birthday of Yvonne Ruddock and the eighteenth birthday of her friend Angela Jackson. Cordelia J Birkbeck. An audience member suggested a weekday march to bring the city to a standstill. Many of the victims' families and the survivors attended the event. (link opens a new window) Support links. The New Cross Massacre exposed the indifference and disdain with which government and the media have treated the loss of Black lives. Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. You still feel it. Person, Sport / Games, Tragedy, Germany, Israel/Palestine, Romania. [14] One slogan read: "Dame Jill Knight Set The Fire Alight! Covering: Cooke Township, Newville Borough, North Newton Township, Penn Township, South Newton Township, West Pennsboro Township, Lower Mifflin Township, Upper Mifflin Township, Upper Frankford Township Office Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm The symbolism of the march drew on Black British history, and articulated new Black futures. No one has ever been charged in connection with the fire, which forensic science subsequently established started inside the house. ", "New Cross fire - a turning point? The disaster claimed a 14th victim two years later when 20-year-old Anthony Berbeck took his own life in 1983 because of what an inquest judge called "trauma brought on by the fire". Username. Stephen Anthony Birbeck, age 75, Buffalo, WY Background Check. After being turned away, the other boy whom he named began the fire in revenge. The investigation and the inquiry was bungled. The convicted killer, who now lives as a woman in prison, retracted the confessions and denies being present when the New Cross fire started. The projections are now to make retirement at 67 by 2028 (not mandatory, just the starting age). The victims of the fire were all young Black, Mixed Race, British people between the ages of 14 and 22. 2023 London Remembers, All Rights Reserved. Born in Timioara, Romania. The Witch Trials of JK Rowling makes sensible points. The disaster claimed a 14th victim two years later when 20-year-old Anthony Berbeck took his own life in 1983 because of what an inquest judge called "trauma brought on by the fire". By Andy Gardner and Jake Ryan For The Mail On Sunday, Published: 22:01 GMT, 30 October 2021 | Updated: 02:08 GMT, 31 October 2021, Michael Smithyman, who had been jailed for killing his pregnant girlfriend, was the subject of a police report submitted to the Home Office and was reinterviewed by an elite Scotland Yard unit in 1993. Passionate sales leader and business development expert, inspired by creating material value for customers.<br><br>Successful team builder in early stage companies, who enjoys leading from the front and has a proven record in executing go-to-market strategies.<br><br>My strengths are creating culture and data driven process for individuals to thrive, with a focus on building enduring customer . View the profiles of people named Anthony Birbeck. The final day of 47-year-old Lindsay's life, August 12, 2019, had begun with a shopping trip with her daughter Sarah, to buy a new school uniform. Find 10 people named Stephen Birbeck along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. (For some context, this was the time in history when the Vikings were still a major European powerhouse on the . 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, the 58-year-old said. people of colour disproportionately impacted by coronavirus. Aaron Andrews is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Leeds Beckett University working on the AHRC-funded project Forged by Fire: Burns Injury and Identity in Britain, 1800-2000. 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 . Stephen Birbeck. Beaming Prince Harry and Meghan enjoy a date night at exclusive $4,200-A-YEAR Repli-Kate! London, 02 Feb 04 ER 2002-10, 2015, 2017-22 Director. Lives in Dalton, Georgia. But further investigations were not made nor charges brought. Subsequently, the New Cross Massacre Action Group was formed and led by activists, writers, and civil rights campaigners John La Rose and Darcus Howe. 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. New Cross fire tragedy remembered 40 years on. I know this area although I am from the midlands and sympathise entirely but was unfamiliar with its history and significance thank you for the information. Mr Haynes, who worked closely with the Metropolitan Police during a second inquest into the disaster in 2004, said he remains satisfied with officers enquiries and believes that people within Lewishams own Black community know the truth behind how the fire started. ', 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 died, aged 20 years, on 9 July 1983, after falling from the balcony of a block of council flats in South London. There are 5 ways to get from New Malden to Birkbeck by tram, bus, taxi or car. It was this outpouring of anger which more than anything else led to a rethink in the way police worked with black communities. This week, a new inquest will be opened into all 14 deaths following an extensive forensic reinvestigation by police which includes an analysis of the movement of people at the house party. In early April, an estimated 943 peoples were stopped and searched by the police under Sus laws, an addendum to the 1824 Vagrancy Act, and 188 black youths were arrested. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Would the same happen if it had been 13 young white children? On the night of the fire, nine black youth died. They declared March 2, the Black Peoples Day of Action to demonstrate against the Mets mishandling of the teenagers deaths. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Numbers swelled as the march neared the city; young people jumped over school gates and curious shoppers joined the demonstration. 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. Petition text. Hassan Howe tells i: It was drizzling and I wondered if people would come. The parents of the fire victims delivered a petition to the Houses of Parliament but no action was taken. It will then cause further division which makes it harder for us to get to the bottom of anything.. Police initially thought the inferno was caused by a firebomb thrown through a downstairs window. EXCLUSIVE: Distraught mother waited 27 hours after calling NHS 111 but still didn't get to speak to a doctor Aldi releases list of 30 sites where it wants to open stores - is one of them near you? Mr Haynes, who jumped from a window, suffered life-changing injuries including 140 skin grafts from first degree burns. Others have been very ill for a period of years.". 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. This year marks the fortieth anniversary, but unlike the thirtieth when public events were held at the Albany Theatre in Deptford, the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown will inevitably mean that commemorations will take a different form this year. Police officers at the scene of the fire initially blamed the neo-fascist National Front. 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. Your email address will not be published. A total of 27 people were injured as they tried to jump from windows or down drainpipes of the two-storey house at 439 New Cross Road, London. 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.'. Mr Haynes is receiving counselling paid for by the BBC after he participated in the Uprising documentary in July by Steve McQueen and James Rogan, one year after he appeared in a 2020 documentary co-produced by Nadine White about the Black Peoples Day of Action march. This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated: Email or phone: Password: . He was 14 at the time and claims he had tried to gatecrash the party with another teenager. 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". 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. 1 He lived at Westacre, Norfolk, England. Warning chocolate lovers ultra-processed foods might make you depressed, study claims. 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. [9] This second inquest also resulted in an open verdict. The Action Committee sought to raise awareness of the tragedy, raise money for the bereaved, and establish the true cause of the fire. The victims, aged between 14 and 22, were celebrating a 16th birthday when the fire . I recently learnt that Paul ran into the house several times. "There were no condolences from the government, there were no condolences from the palace," said Ms Ruddock. 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. The party had started the night before on January 17, 1981 but the fire started around 5.40am the following morning.. Many close to the inquiry believe there was a lack of will to solve the case and it was 'swept under the carpet and these promising lines of inquiry ignored'. But forensic evidence then suggested it began inside the house. He was the baby of the family. 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. Cross Fire: With Han Lu, Lei Wu, Shuailiang Liu, Francis Wong. A second Coroners inquest into the New Cross fire held in 2002 also returned an open verdictthough, crucially, the partygoers were fully cleared of any responsibility. Police also ruled out the theory that a fight had taken place. All Rights Reserved. The New Cross Fire tragedy highlighted hostility between black Britons, the police and the media. Id travelled down from Rugby [in Warwickshire] and wanted to hear rastaman music, he says with alaugh. She received her medical degree from University. Female farmer, 20, who stuffed apples into her Tinder lover's car exhaust and scrawled profanity on his 'He has shown no remorse': Carrie Johnson says the early release of Joanna Simpson's killer BA pilot husband Schools in London, the South East and Wales to shut today as teachers stage THIRD day of strikes in blow to Putin 'is more furious than ever' over leaks claiming he lives in luxury mansion with his gymnast lover and Russia's troop death toll 'passes 150,000' with bodies of 'human wave' soldiers carried off battlefield Ukraine's first lady condemns Putin for 'mercilessly firing at civilians' as 'deliberate missile strike' on Model, 44, 'smuggled 5M in criminal cash into Dubai by hiding banknotes in suitcases on two flights from Paedophile's victim poses as a sex abuser online, befriends him and lures himinto admitting raping her: Boris Johnson 'could make first comments on Brexit deal TODAY' amid DUP meltdown with hardliners saying it Grinning and bearing it? 1 Anthony Leng Birbeck. This is all much to his annoyance because Smithymans confession has been in the public domain for years. Smithyman's alleged involvement first emerged when he was interviewed by police ten years after the fire following a tip-off by a previous associate called Paul Smith, who is now a property developer based in Clacton, Essex. My knees went jelly.. in the Civic Suite. In the early morning on Sunday 18 January 1981, a fire broke out at 439 New Cross Road in the London Borough of Lewisham. 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. OF ANTHONY BIRBECK, TN/83/42/37 LATE. It seeks to deepen understandings of the past, cast light on the present and agitate for change in the world we live in now. A survivor was so horrified by what he saw that he killed himself two years later. Photo Vron Ware, Courtesy of Autograph ABP, London, African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. England, 16 Feb 04 And that was when I decided I've got to move, I've got to get out of here.". Refreshments are available both before and after the service. If we could retire at a reasonable age of 60 then it would open the workforce to the new generation. So what new news have we found out from the same damn man?. Join Facebook to connect with Anthony Birbeck and others you may know. It was like the charge of the light brigade. The fire and the protests that followed were part of the Steve McQueen co-directed television documentary series Uprising shown on BBC One in July 2021. Recommended option. 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. [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. He has published on inequality and the inner city in Britain, and his article Truth, Justice, and Expertise in 1980s Britain: the Cultural Politics of the New Cross Massacre appears inHistory Workshop Journal issue 91, where it is available on free access. "I hope the people inside the house will be called to give evidence.". 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. Yvonne's brother Paul, aged 22, also perished. 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 Black Peoples Day of Action was organised for Monday 2 March thatyear. Paul died a hero.. RE: DEPTFORD FIRE CON I remember the floor felt spongy and the heat was rising. [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 views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. His mother, Velvatine, said: "Before he went he kissed me goodbye and said I will see you in the morning Mum. It hits you again with full force. Michael Smithyman, who had been jailed for killing his pregnant girlfriend, was the subject of a police report submitted to the Home Office and was reinterviewed by an elite Scotland Yard unit in 1993. After huge public pressure, the Metropolitan police wrote to the Attorney General in 2001, asking him to reopen the investigation. Our colleague, Andrew Behan, has researched this young man:Anthony Alexander Berbeck was born on 17 August 1962 in Lewisham, the son of Wilfred P. Berbeck and Cynthia L. Berbeck ne Whyte. Sunday & Metro media Group Civic Suite school gates and curious shoppers joined the demonstration I recently learnt that ran! Are 5 ways to get from New Malden to Birkbeck by tram, bus, taxi or.. People named stephen Birbeck along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok on! 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