Football Crowd Control
| Author | F. T. Tarry |
| Published date | 01 October 1946 |
| Date | 01 October 1946 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X4601900406 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Football Crowd Control
THE
BOLTON
FOOTBALL
DISASTER
By F.
T.
TARRY, C.B.E.
Chief
Constable,
Southampton
Borough Police
REPLYIN G to a question asking if, in order to allay public anxiety
during the coming football season, he would summon aconference
with the Football Association and the Football League to arrange a
consultation with the clubs with a view to agreeing safe maximum
attendances at football grounds, the Home Secretary on August
rst
replied : "
The
number
of people
that
could safely be admitted depends
so largely on the individual circumstances of the ground
that
Idoubt
whether it would be useful to attemptto deal with the question centrally.
Pending further consideration of the machinery necessary for deter-
mining and enforcing maximum safety attendances, I am sure that
the clubs willtake every precaution open to
them
and, in this connection,
will study the report on the Bolton disaster."
The
report was made by
Mr.
R. Moelwyn Hughes, K.C., follow-
ing his enquiry into the disaster on March 9th, when an unexpectedly
large crowd assembled for the match between Bolton Wanderers and
Stoke City, and a section of the crowd forced its way into the already
packed northern terraced slope, known as the Railway Enclosure,
resulting in the deaths of thirty-five persons and injuries to hundreds
of others of the crowd assembled in the ground.
The
disaster was
unique.
There
was no collapse of a structure.
It
was the first example
in the history of English football of serious casualties inflicted by a
crowd upon itself.
The
only other comparable incident (it was
not
a
disaster) in the history of football was
the
Wembley Cup Final on
April 28th, 1923.
That
occasion was one which attracted a larger
crowd
than
had ever before attended any football match, and disaster
was avoided largely through the judgment and tact of the Police,
particularly the skill of a mounted policeman. Recommendations for
legislation to provide for the licensing of sports and football grounds
by local authorities, and the issue of regulations by the Secretary of
State, made subsequently by a Departmental Committee on Crowds,
were not proceeded with.
The
Bolton disaster was an instance, fortunately extremely rare
in this country, of the ease and simplicity with which adangerous situa-
tion can arise amongst a crowd, through small influences and opportuni-
ties which, in their initial stages, are unseen and unchecked. Here
275
To continue reading
Request your trial