A Hillsborough memorial at Nottingham Forest’s stadium would be an important landmark for thousands affected by the disaster, according to a supporter who watched the tragedy unfold.
Peter Hillier believes a tribute would serve as a poignant point of reflection that would help him and many others still devastated by what they saw.
His words came as a prominent survivors organisation said Forest fans seeking support would be welcome.
READ MORE: Mum in double Hillsborough tragedy on what must happen now after 'Anne'
Peter was 25 when, on April 15, 1989 he was among the Forest supporters in attendance at the tragic FA Cup semi-final.
He said many, like him, were traumatised by what they saw as 97 innocent men, women and children were unlawfully killed and many others injured in a crush on the Leppings Lane terrace allocated to Liverpool supporters.
The 57-year-old said: “I have been affected by it ever since. There are people here who still aren’t able to get on with their lives, who suffer terrible trauma and have never had anyone to talk to about it. A lot of people are not even able to go to a football match.”
Peter recently got in touch with the Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance, which offers a support network for survivors and bereaved relatives. The group is now helping several Forest supporters access therapy and Peter is in the process of establishing a Nottingham-based sister group.
He said: “Speaking with them made me realise it absolutely would help survivors of Pen Three and Pen Four and relatives of the 97 to know there are people down here who care.”
Peter said he feared there was a perception that Nottingham Forest supporters did not care about the tragedy and the fight for justice that followed.
One thing that could change that would be a permanent memorial to the 97 and those affected by the tragedy at the club’s City Ground, he believes.
The headteacher said: “The fact there are people on Merseyside and associated with Liverpool FC trying to help us, we ought to be reciprocating that in some way and building some sort of a relationship.
“There have been 32 years of people down here hiding their feelings, some of our supporters are damaged. The active recognition that the day 97 people were unlawfully killed, that they had gone to watch a football match between two teams and one of them was us - that people were killed watching a match that involved Nottingham Forest - as a place that people affected around here have to go to and reflect, especially around the anniversary, that would really help.
“There is a danger of it being lost to history. There are some people in this city that don’t know Forest were playing that day.”
While Peter continues to push for a formal memorial and to raise awareness of the support networks that are available to Forest fans affected by the tragedy, Peter Scarfe, chair of the Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance, said help would always be made available to anyone who needed it.
He said: “The help is there if they need it. We are here for them, it’s a hand of friendship. Whatever your allegiances, we are all football supporters who went to a football match. For me, it doesn’t matter where your allegiances lie - we are still football supporters and none of us deserved that.”
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