On a cold, frosty morning, Markinch stopped to remember five local laddies who went to a football match and never came home.
Forty years to the day of the Ibrox disaster, scores of people turned out in the close-knit Fife town on Sunday to remember their lost young ones, to lay wreaths and observe a two-minute silence started and finished by the shrill blast of a referee’s whistle.
On January 2, 1971, Old Firm rivals Rangers and Celtic turned out in what was the traditional Ne’erday derby, but what started as a day cheering on their footballing heroes turned into horror. The worst disaster in Scottish football history saw 66 people die in a crush on Stairway 13. Hundreds more were injured.
Among those lost were five pals from Markinch — Peter Easton (13), Bryan Todd (14), Ronald Paton (14), Mason Philip (14) and Douglas Morrison (15). The sixth, Shane Fenton, was the only one who made it back to Fife alive.
Shane, who was 16, played for Markinch United with the other boys and they all attended the same high school. That morning Shane, along with other Celtic fans, walked with Rangers fans Peter, Bryan, Ronald, Mason and Douglas from Markinch to the CISWO Club in Glenrothes, where the buses waited to take them on their trip to Glasgow for the big match.
Despite supporting opposing teams, they were all the best of friends — and little did Shane know, as he boarded the Celtic fans’ bus, that would be the final time he would see his pals.
It was not until his bus stopped at Kincardine on the journey home that news trickled through that there had been an accident at the Rangers end of the stadium. By the time the fans were coming home, the village community was anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones and over the coming hours their worst fears were realised — five of their own had been caught up in the tragedy.
For Shane, who was so haunted by the tragedy that he stopped going to senior football matches, they may be gone but will never be forgotten. He spoke eloquently at Sunday’s short service to mark the anniversary. It was held at the memorial stone at the end of Park View, where four of the five boys had lived.
He said the boys died as they had lived, caught up in football. They had played the beautiful game at school, they came home and played it in the streets.
“The Ibrox disaster is something I will never forget,” he said. “It is a terrible tragedy and should rightly be remembered.
“It touched the lives of everyone in Markinch and has had a lasting impact on the area.”
He said his thoughts were with the families who lost loved ones and those who were in Ibrox on that fateful day.
Shane, who will return to Ibrox for the first time today to attend a memorial service, said he had been overwhelmed by the turnout.
Local MSP Tricia Marwick, who laid a bouquet of white flowers at the memorial stone, also paid tribute to the five Markinch boys who lost their lives.
“Forty years on from the death of the five young boys in the Ibrox disaster, the people of Markinch have never forgotten them,” she said. “Earlier this year, a new memorial stone was erected and five trees planted in remembrance of them.
“It was an honour to attend this service as both a Markinch resident and MSP for the town. For the families, friends and neighbours this is a sad anniversary and my thoughts are with them at this time.”
Fans attending Sunday’s Old Firm game observed a minute’s silence in remembrance of the disaster. The captains of the 1971 sides, Rangers’ John Greig and Billy McNeil for Celtic, led out the teams.