Ray Lewis, the referee who was forced to abandon the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough at 3.06 p.m. on April 15th, 1989, strode past the flowers on to the turf at Anfield yesterday and stood in the goal mouth facing 10,000 fans in the Kop.
Dressed in black shorts and shirt, the usual dress of match officials but also suitable for a day of mourning, he remained motionless while the Love and Joy Gospel Choir sang Amazing Grace.
At 3.06 p.m. he blew a short blast on his whistle to begin a minute's silence for the 96 men, women and children who died at Sheffield Wednesday's ground.
A man clung tightly to his baby son, who was keeping warm with a blue hat and red Liverpool scarf. Another man in a blue jacket wiped his eyes and tried to control his trembling lip. Then Mr Lewis blew his whistle again.
A little earlier, after the crowd had sung Abide With Me and asked "Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory", three members of the clergy read out the 96 names, including three Harrisons and three Thompsons; Adam Edward Spearitt, aged 14, crushed on the Leppings Lane terrace; and Tony Bland, the last of the victims to die when his life support machine was switched off four years later.
Karen Hughes, aged 27, heard the 51st name, that of her uncle Eric Hughes, read out. She glanced over towards the 96 candles flickering at the front of the stand. Later she wept during Amazing Grace.
"It just brings it all back to you every year," she had said before the Rt Rev James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool, began the 10th anniversary memorial service. "That's why we stopped coming for a few years." Trevor Hicks, chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, heard the names of his daughters Sarah and Victoria. He was given a standing ovation after telling the crowd: "We have not got to the bottom of this matter. I am sick of being asked: `Isn't it time to pack it in?' Our answer is simple. It is a matter for the families.
"We are definitely not going away. .. We seek answers, explanations, truth, justice." Former Republic of Ireland international John Aldridge only met 14-year-old Lee Nicol once but the effect was more traumatic than anything else the former Liverpool striker will ever face.
Now Tranmere Rovers's manager, Aldridge was part of the Liverpool team which faced Nottingham Forest on that fateful day.
"Lee was in the middle of the crush at the Leppings Lane end but was still alive when he was pulled out," said Aldridge.
"I went to see him in hospital. He looked a lovely kid. As he lay there in a coma I whispered words into his ears. I asked the doctor about his chances of recovery. `He's clinically dead, John' he said.
"I feel no shame in admitting Hillsborough affected me mentally for a long time. I couldn't cope. It weakened me physically, emotionally and mentally."
