Page 144 - Once a copper 10 03 2020

Birmingham hooligans, armed with
broken plastic seating, parts of the
advertisement hoardings, pieces of
iron and wood, stormed onto the
pitch rom the Railway end heading
towards the Leeds section, attacking
over a hundred policemen,
including mounted officers, who
blocked their path.

In truth, the police were struggling at
both ends of the pitch, in our efforts
Figure 62The Police Cordon ready to move
to contain and separate the
opposing factions.

The valiant horses were not to escape attack. Several sustained injuries, the
worst of which was to a fifteen-year-old bay gelding called Hidalgo, which
suffered deep cuts to its legs. Several of the mounted officers were also hurt.

Birmingham City manager Ron Saunders was summoned, and he made an
appeal over the public address system, asking the crowd to go home. His
words fell on deaf ears and chares at the police continued. Saunders’ tried
again, pleading ‘In the name of football, please stop’ – and the violence did
start to lessen but more as a result of final police charge, led by the ‘mounted
cavalry’, which scattered the mob.

The Leeds end at the Tilton Road was by now being controlled by the OSU in
full riot gear. It was these guys who had been diverted from a game at West
Bromwich against Arsenal who had saved our bacon. The subsequent video
footage shows them stopping the angry Leeds fans climbing the fence with
systematic use of their pegs.

At the Railway end the officers fighting back
the Zulu warriors were less well equipped,
minus riot gear, with only their ‘tit hats’, no
shields, and wooden truncheons to hold the
line. With no fence to stop the invasion, they
were to be grateful to the courageous
mounted officers and horses who saved the
day. It was like a scene from Charge of the
Light Brigade, especially the white horse Figure 63 The police horse heroes
who repeatedly rode backwards and
forwards knocking the hooligans over like skittles.

Encouraged, officers drew their pegs again and in on ferocious charge, beat Page144
the Zulus back into the seated area. by this we formed into a line with ‘pegs’