Exhibition reveal stories of Yvonne Ruddock killed in 1981 New Cross house fire

How did a 16th birthday party end in tragedy and why did it become a focal point of the fight for racial justice?

The New Cross Fire Momentum Survivors 1981 exhibition at Goldsmiths University reveals the stories of family and friends of Yvonne Ruddock who was one of 13 teenagers and young black people killed when a fire tore through her family home at 439 New Cross Road on January 18, 1981.

An inquest into the fire that same year concluded that the 13 deaths were suspicious but failed to reach a verdict.

It was a widely held assumption in black communities that the fire was started by fascists, most likely using a petrol bomb.

Another inquest into the fire in 2004 concluded that the fire was started deliberately.

No one has ever been charged in connection with the fire and the case remains unsolved.

Survivors, family, and friends have reclaimed the narrative of the tragedy and are bringing the story back to its source.

Photographs of the Black People’s Day of Action protest march and the Brixton riots by Vron Ware and David Hoffman feature in the exhibition along with newspaper coverage of the tragedy.

Yvonne’s roller skates, which were recovered from the house after the fire, a table tennis bat, and a tie from Harris School, where many of Yvonne’s family and friends studied, allows Goldsmiths to provide the human stories behind the headlines.

The exhibition also features a memory board of thoughts and feelings from many of the direct family and friends of Yvonne as well as poetry, music, and examples of the fashions worn by guests at the party.

The New Cross Fire Momentum Survivors 1981 will be open to the public until May 27 at Goldsmiths University, the Richard Hoggart Building, Kingsway Corridor in Lewisham Way, New Cross.

Website: The New Cross Fire Momentum 1981 Survivors 

Picture: Yvonne Ruddock’s rollerskates on display at the exhibition Picture: Goldsmiths University