AyrshireBear10

For a proposed book in the wake of the supporter 40th anniversary memorials and what the club done to mark 40 years since the disaster Im looking for your thoughts and memories. A book by the fans in tribute to our 66 fellow fans. In addition to thoughts of some families and other relevant people. All being done mindful of proceeds to charity. Please send anything you wish to submit via Private Message What do you think of how the 40th was marked between us fans and the club? Did you know anyone lost that day in '71 ? What was it like in the times before exiting the stairway or experiencing such a large crowd compared to these days? What was it like to be a bear in the times before that day - the whole matchday experience like we have now - pre match routine,catching sight of the stadium,climbing the stairs and the terracing/stadium as it was, the songs sang at the time and the players in favour or the whipping boys etc. What was Willie Waddell like, his conduct after the disaster and his mission to ensure nothing like stairway 13 ever happened again ! The likes of Jock Wallace too who played such a part in the recovery and rescue ? Views of the previous anniversaries and what can be done in the times to come like a marker where stairway 13 was opposite the megastore or future anniversaries ? If the stadium is a memorial to the 66 then what is the club needing to do to keep it fitting the memory of our absent friends ? Anything you wish to put forward for inclusion then do so by pm Many thanks --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are the photos of the restored stone and the new stone at the grave of Margaret Ferguson who died in the Ibrox Disaster. Many thanks to all who have donated so far to the fund !! [/url

Total donations are now at £1454.70 Many thanks to all who are donating !! http://tinyurl.com/32bdlyy

I meant the Celtic fans !! No Rangers fan would ever desecrate the memory of the 66 fans who died. They had messages on their internet forums wanting to turn up boycotting the service either inside or out with banners about their former manager Jock Stein !! I didnt want to give them the opportunity of that so withdrew my involvement. Anyone else can take the idea on for a service - I just felt I was better to do some fundraising that would show the families that Rangers fans still care and think of the ones who died not just once a year every 2nd January!!

What is his reason for that? For it being an old firm game the disaster happened at but it was an idea seen as a supporters service for those supporters who never came home - not for the leader of a faith in Scotland who has publically attacked the Rangers support time and again!! The other faith leaders in Glasgow would then have to be asked and there was already internet messages on other boards from people who wished to attend and boycott the service by way of banners about a former manager of theirs. That plus the possible media intrusion which the families saw enough of in 1971 saw me withdraw from my involvement on the issue. Any decent person regardless of creed,colour or background would have been welcome at the cathedral service Im sure. It is something anyone can take forward though - I just couldnt take it further myself. Im sure the fans have a right to remember those 66 souls and show our respects to the surviving families in a proper manner/service of remembrance as the 40th anniversary passes.

Donations to the fund now stand at £1337.20 Brilliant generosity from Bears all over the world !!

Donations are now at £627.20 There is an auction on Ebay for the fund http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250662098173&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT Pretty soon there will be a signed Rangers top for auction and other items too !! The existing and new memorial stone will be placed on Margaret Fergusons grave next week along with flowers on behalf of the worldwide support !! The stone for the McLeay brothers will soon be ordered as well as the benches for Margaret Ferguson and the Kirkintilloch Lads who never came home as fundraising continues!! Anyone who wishes to donate to this fund can do so at http://tinyurl.com/32bdlyy

http://www.knockoutart.co.uk/ and his facebook with rangers work http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000455328598#!/album.php?aid=12675&id=100000455328598 Oh and I will also recommend Craig at RangersCanvas !! Top work and top guy !!

Many thanks for the kind message Annette !! This fund for Margaret is a chance for us all to pay tribute to her memory and the other victims and let you and your family as well as the other families that we care and think of her and them all - not just once a year!! This is the link to the Ibrox Memorial Grove that will help to restore the caledonian forest started from donations to Margarets Fund that will see 66 trees planted soon for all the victims. http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/groves/grovepage.php?id=1246

Donations now stand at £511.02 Many thanks

Donations now stand at £456 so far !! Every donation helps and a big thankyou to all. http://tinyurl.com/32bdlyy

The final aim of the Margaret Ferguson Fund is to place a memorial bench in Old Aisle Cemetery to the 4 lads from Kirkintilloch who never came home from Ibrox. Robert Carrigan aged 13 James Rae aged 19 John Semple aged 18 and Thomas Stirling aged 16 3 of those lads are buried in Old Aisle Cemetery and the other was cremated at Maryhill !! Any donation is welcome however big or small as we honour our absent friends at http://tinyurl.com/32bdlyy

Many thanks !! Here is the McLeay Brothers from Slamannan who died.... it is hoped to place a small memorial vase at their grave too. THE tiny village of Slammanan was plunged into mourning on January 2, 1971, when the Ibrox disaster claimed the lives of two brothers. Josie McLeay, who now lives in Carronshore, was left with three young children when her husband Richard was snatched away from her aged just 28. The couple would have celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary just a few days later. Josie, of Roughlands Drive, will be at Ibrox for the first time on Tuesday, along with her daughters Audrey (31) and Pamela (33), and their families. She said: "He was a football fanatic, he had been since I started seeing him. He even went to Leicester to see Rangers play while I was having Pamela! ''I can remember falling out with him on the morning of the match because we d been flooded out on New Year s Day and he left me with the kids because he didn t want to miss the game. I remember telling him 'don t come back as he went away." That was the last time Josie was to see the father-of-three alive. He had persuaded his 23-year-old brother John to accompany him to the match. But neither returned on the supporters bus that had picked them up earlier in the day in Camelon. As news of the tragedy spread, their father Finlay tried phoning an emergency hotline. But, frustrated at being unable to get through, he set off for Ibrox like hundreds of other frantic friends and relatives of missing fans. It was 2 a.m. more than nine hours after the match ended that the family received the devastating news that both brothers had died. Josie recalls: ''It may be 30 years ago, but it all just seems like yesterday at the moment. Richard s dad was very agitated when he came in to tell us that there had been an accident at Ibrox. I told him there were thousands there and it didn t mean to say the boys had been hurt. ''But we started to worry because, although Richard would often go out after the game, John always came straight home and they were both missing. I can still remember the numbness when I found out what had happened. None of us could believe it. His dad never recovered from it. He died just a few months later. ''The brothers were buried in a double grave in Slamannan Parish Church cemetery. I can still see the mass of people lining the streets for the funeral. They were both Slamannan born and bred. I can also remember going to the big memorial service at Glasgow Cathedral, with all those families, the players, nurses and first aid people. The place was packed out. ''I hate this time of year, it all comes flooding back. I ll definitely be there next week, I decided right away I wanted to go, but I m dreading it. The full impact of what happened did not hit Josie until April 1989, when she watched another sporting disaster unfold on TV. The disaster at Hillsborough, when 90 died, sparked a nervous breakdown. ''I just cracked up, she said. ''My doctor said it was because I d been so preoccupied bringing up the kids when Robert died, I hadn t had time to grieve. Josie and her family have welcomed the efforts made by the club to commemorate all those who lost their lives. But Audrey said: ''I m glad Rangers are doing something, but this should have happened years ago. They didn t seem to bother before. Josie added: ''I think it s a good thing something like this is being done, but it s bringing back an awful lot of memories.

Donations now at £335

Donations now stand at £235 Many thanks to everyone who is donating so generously.

total so far is at £140 Margarets surviving sister is delighted at what is being done and is thankful to everyone involved !! No matter the donation even 1 British Pound is gratefully received and will make such a difference. You can donate here..... http://tinyurl.com/32bdlyy

Only one female died at Ibrox that fateful day. Margaret Ferguson was just a teenager when tragedy struck at the end of the Old Firm encounter the diehard supporter had defied her father to see. The 18-year-old had been banned from going to the clash by David Ferguson, whose family lived in Maddiston. The Falkirk fan did not like the intense rivalry surrounding the fixture and ordered her to stay at home. But, against his wishes, young Margaret was determined to be there. She managed to persuade her sister Ann to give her the money she needed to join the local supporters bus. Now Mrs Leishman, Ann, aged 54, was the only member of her family to know Margaret had gone to the game. Her dad found out when the coach returned to the Four Mile Inn in Maddiston without her, and the news was broken to him that she was missing. Ann said: ''When I heard something had happened at Ibrox I tried to get a hold of dad, but the bus was already back and he had found out Margaret had not returned with everyone else. ''I honestly thought she had just missed the bus home or been injured in some way. I began to get really worried as time went past. But I didn t think for a minute she d been killed. ''She couldn t afford the bus so she asked me for the money. I couldn t say no. Margaret would always get her own way because she was the youngest of the family. She was the baby. Mr Ferguson and two other family members went through to Glasgow to try to find out what had happened to Margaret. But, after several agonising hours, they were forced to return home none the wiser. They had wrongly been told that the only female victim was an older woman and not a teenager. It was only the following day when the family read eye-witness accounts of a young girl lying dead on the Ibrox pitch that they realised Margaret s fate. She was the last victim to be identified. More than 300 mourners packed out Cairneymount Church for Margaret s funeral. They included Rangers boss Willie Waddell, the former Ibrox idol now Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson, and her hero Colin Stein, scorer of the fateful equaliser. His young fan was so devoted that at Christmas she had made a doll for the baby daughter of the Ibrox ace and gave it to him at his home in Linlithgow. Margaret s family still hold a party in her honour every year on January 2 a celebration of her life. Ann said: ''I ll always remember her fun-loving nature. She was full of life. She was a Rangers fanatic, even though the rest of the family were all Falkirk supporters. She lived for her football. Margaret s family have campaigned for years for the erection of a permanent memorial to the disaster victims, writing to Ibrox on a number of occasions urging action from the club. Another of Margaret s sisters, Mrs Mary Gibb,(55) said: ''I think it ll be good to bring everyone together to talk about what they went through and felt at the time. It s the first chance many people will have had to pay a proper tribute to the victims. There was no real chance for us to do so at the time we were just trying to cope with what had happened. ''Her funeral was one of the biggest I can remember in Maddiston. Everybody rallied round at the time. It doesn t seem like it was 30 years ago. Mrs Leishman has since passed away.

We can only hope that Rangers do something - it would be a massive own goal for them not to do something major !! I know they were only planning a service for the 50th anniversary but the 40th is just as important a milestone anniversary. I dont think there will be a service at the cathedral due to the wishes of Dr Whitely wanting the high clergy of the catholic church involved with the service.

Inspired early on by what the guys set up and done for the Markinch lads I felt it would be a good thing to honour the memory of the only female victim of the Ibrox Disaster, Margaret Ferguson by way of a memorial bench and hopefully restoring the memorial plaque at her grave. I dont have exact figures at the moment but am in communication with Falkirk Council. The thread will be updated daily as to amount being raised and communication with surviving family and the council. Donations can be made here if anyone wishes. http://tinyurl.com/32bdlyy Margaret Ferguson from Maddiston was 18 when she died in the disaster. As fate would have it she slipped out the house to go to the game with a friend whilst her family went to the Falkirk game and they returned unware Margaret was caught up in the tragedy at Ibrox. Only a fortnight earlier she had made a doll for Colin Stein's daughter and taken it to his house. I would also hope to start an Ibrox Disaster Memorial Grove to all 66 victims at http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/groves/index.html which is planting and dedicating trees helping to restore the caledonian forest !!