Isle of Man Resident Graeme Bamfield Publishes Book on 1989 Hillsborough Disaster Experience

uk reported. Bamfield was 13 years old at the time and attended the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, which resulted in the deaths of 97 people. Bamfield and his 16-year-old brother traveled by coach from Liverpool to the stadium in Sheffield.

Before the match, they met a Sheffield United fan in his 20s at a buffet at Bramall Lane. Outside the stadium, the crowd became panicked and crushed, creating a chaotic situation. Bamfield, who has asthma, was trapped beneath a police horse during the crush.

A Liverpool supporter noticed his distress and helped lift him up. Fans then passed Bamfield over their heads across the crowd to a police officer over a wall at about 14:40 BST. After being lifted over the wall, Bamfield was taken to a nearby portable cabin for ten minutes, where his brother and the Sheffield United fan found him.

The three then entered the stands behind the goal. The Sheffield United fan moved Bamfield and his brother up the stairs to a nearby stand, explaining that it would be less crowded and offer a better view. The gate opened at 14:52, and the match kicked off at 15:06 but was stopped at the same time due to the disaster.

Bamfield originally comes from Huyton, Merseyside, and has lived on the Isle of Man for 27 years. He described the event as the biggest game he had ever had a ticket for and recalled the chaos outside the stadium. " The Boy Over The Wall was published in March and serves as a personal project for Bamfield to recount his experience during the disaster.

“When we got to outside the stadium, it was a mess, we used to go to home games and it was single file, but this was chaos." > "I have asthma and I ended up beneath this police horse. There was this Liverpool supporter, he could tell I was in trouble, and people were trying to form a circle around me." > "He managed to lift me up, and then all the fans lifted me over their heads, across the crowd, and they passed me to a police officer over a wall." > "The gate opened at 14:52, so we missed being caught in the crush by seconds.”