New Cross Fire - New Cross Road, London, UK
N 51° 28.542 W 000° 01.823
30U E 706218 N 5706909
On 18th January 1981 a fire occurred at a flat in New Cross Road, Deptford in south east London. As a result of the fire, 13 young people lost their lives with a another dying two years later. A plaque was erected to mark the 30th anniversary.
Waymark Code: WMMZQF
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/29/2014
Views: 1
The BBC website tells of the fire and the plaque:
A memorial plaque has been unveiled in memory of 13 black youngsters who died in a fire at a flat in south-east London 30 years ago.
The victims, aged between 14 and 22, were killed in the blaze as they attended a 16th birthday party at 439 New Cross Road, Deptford, in 1981.
London Fire Brigade also held a guard of honour for the young victims.
Up to 300 people listened to a poetry reading and observed a two-minute silence as the plaque was unveiled.
On the night of the fire more than 100 guests had gathered at the flat for Yvonne Ruddock's birthday party. She was among those who died in the blaze.
In addition to the 13 youngsters who were killed in the fire Anthony Burbeck, who was at the party, died two years later.
Many people believe Antony took his own life as a result of what he saw that night and losing several of his friends and the plaque refers to 14 deaths, including his.
The original inquest, which began within months of the incident, returned open verdicts.
The investigation into the fire was reopened in 1997, following lobbying by members of the victims' families, and a second inquest was ordered in 2002.
That inquest also recorded an open verdict in 2004.
A press release on the Nubian Jak website tells us:
Three decades after 14 young people tragically lost their lives after attending a house party in New Cross, the Nubian Jak Community Trust, in partnership with Lewisham Council (and consultation with Black History Walks), is to install a blue plaque at the address where the tragedy took place.
The ceremony will take place at 439 New Cross Road, Lewisham, London, SE14 6TA, on Tuesday 18th January, 2011 at 2:00pm.
The plaque will be the climax of a series of events happening over 4 days beginning with a Remembrance Evening of entertainment at the Albany Theatre, Deptford, on 14th January hosted by the playwright Kwame Kwei Armah. This will be followed on Sunday 16th January, by a 3pm Memorial Service at St Andrews Church, Brockley SE4. Then two days later, on Tuesday 18th, exactly 30 years to the day the catastrophic fire took place, a blue commemorative plaque will be unveiled by family members of those that perished in the fire. Also attending will be the mayor of Lewisham, dignitaries, TV personalities, the media and members of the public.
The New Cross Fire was a devastating house fire which killed 13 young black people during a birthday party in New Cross, South East London, on Sunday January 18, 1981. It would later claim a 14th victim. The black community were shocked by the indifference of the wider population, and accused the London Metropolitan Police of a cover up, which they suspected was an arson attack motivated by racism. The protests arising out of the fire led to a mobilisation of black political activity and the largest ever street march by a BME community in Britain. To date no-one has ever been charged, but the case represents a land mark in British African Caribbean history and race relations.