Interesting South Yorkshire Police Medal

bigjarofwasps · March 30, 2021

Constable 446 Maxell GROOME
South Yorkshire Police.

Police Constable Maxwell ‘Max’ Derek Charles GROOME was born during 1957 in Nottingham. He grew up in the village of Great Bowden near Market Harborough in Leicestershire.

He joined the South Yorkshire Police and was stationed at Woodseats Police Station in the very late 70's into the early 80's.

He was on duty in uniform at the Hillsborough Football Stadium on 15th April 1989 for the FA Cup Semi-Final between Liverpool & Nottingham Forest. By 1989 he had policed over 140 football matches, half of which were at Hillsborough.

For that match he was stationed within the stadium and was initially in front of the Spion Kop where the Nottingham Forest Fans were.

At around 3:10pm he realised Liverpool fans were running down to his position to obtain advertising hoardings to use as make shift stretchers. He realised it was not a pitch invasion and began to help the fans carry the hoardings back to the Leppings Lane Pens.

He later helped carry 19 year old victim Colin Wafer, on a temporary stretcher, with 7 football fans to the gymnasium.

3 days later Pc Max Groome submitted his written statement on the incident, but it later became the most heavily amended police statement during the subsequent enquiry. He had criticised the police staffing levels and management during the incident. He later made allegations that senior officers were protecting each other due to their membership of a certain Masonic Lodge.

Only following his retirement did he feel safe to speak openly about his concerns and suspicions of senior officers, this was during the 2014 Hillsborough inquest hearing.

During 2001 Pc Max Groome was photographed whilst escorting Liberal Democrat Leader Charles Kennedy around Fawcett Street Police Station, on J District in Sheffield. This station was closed down in 2015. It was around this year that Pc Max Groome retired from the South Yorkshire Police.

Maxwell Groome passed away on 7th December 2020 aged 63 years, at home near Market Harborough.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-30520871

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/dec/17/hillsborough-disaster-police-masonic-conspiracy

https://www.channel4.com/news/hillsborough-inside-the-library-of-a-cover-up

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/retired-pc-tells-mayhem-pitch-8306263

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/176452-hillsborough-inquests-december-17

https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/
915438/hillsborough-116-statements-by-pcs-altered-to-lose-criticism-of-cops/

https://pop-culture.fandom.com/wiki/Special:MobileVisualEditor?page=Hillsborough_disaster&section=25

https://www.civillitigationbrief.com/2016/04/27/hillsborough-and-witness-statements-1-amendments/

https://www.channel4.com/news/hillsborough-inside-the-library-of-a-cover-up

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/maxwell-groome-obituary?pid=197309304