Remembering the 66. Brian Hutchison.

[The Moonlighter 387]

Two weeks ago we placed at plaque at Daldowie Crematorium in memory of Brian Hutchison.His brother Tommy has shared his thoughts.

 

Our brother.

 

I remember one of my 1st Rangers presents, a tracksuit, my best Christmas present ever, when it got wet in the rain I was lucky to be able to walk in it never mind run, it just soaked up the water but i loved it. Birthdays and Christmas presents after that I would ask for a new strip, boots or a mouldy. Anyone who got hit in the inner thigh with a mould master will be cringing reading this. I even remember a wet bladder with laces coming through the air and thinking should i duck or knock myself out?

All we did at the time was kick a ball from morning to night. A ball at your feet on the way to school and home again, any chance we had, at school playtime was kicking a ball, sometimes it was just a tennis ball because full sized balls where banned in the playground, at dinner time we headed to the pitch for a full game. I wasn’t very good so sometimes didn’t get picket to play, I would be devastated but couldn’t show it. One of my classmates was so good he went on to play for Rangers , I’ve always been proud of that and would tell anyone who would listen.

 

In those days we would leave the house in the morning wether we where going to school or during school holidays and our parents wouldn’t expect to see us until we wanted fed at night. There was no danger, nothing bad ever happened or so a lot of us thought.

There where atrocities happening not far off but we wouldn’t hear about that for a few years.

 

I remember my brothers going to Rangers games years before i was allowed to go and looked forward to when I could go.

My older brother was 3 years older than me and my eldest brother 3 years older than him.

 

I was 13 when me and my mate upstairs started to go to Ibrox, i know this was young and i would never let my kids do anything like this at that age but it was a different time. We would get the bus from the east end into glasgow then walk from the town over to the stadium and get a lift over the turnstiles.

 

We would take in the atmosphere and enjoy the games standing on our tippy toes to see by the big people.

We would join in with the songs that we had heard from a lp record on our radiogram in the living room.

You would find yourselves beside older guys who would relieve themselves into beer cans or miss them and wet someone else’s trousers.

When you left the stadium,being small you could get lifted off your feet with the crowd, we didn’t think much of that at the time but looking back now know how dangerous it was.

After the game we walked back to the town centre and got the bus back to the east end, my big brother would have already been back home on the supporter bus, got changed and went out again.

 

My big brother would go on a supporters bus that left from a local pub, he would follow The Rangers every week home and away.

When he came back he would tell me about the places he had been watching the Gers.

 

I answered our new phone a few times and it would be a girl from Dundee or somewhere else i had never been, asking for Brian.

 

We shared a room and the walls where full of Rangers pictures. We would cut pictures out of the papers or magazines that we could get at the time.

 

I remember getting excited about my 1st old firm game and I was looking forward to it for ages, we would talk about it all the time.

I knew my brother was going to the game with my mates big brother, we went our separate ways all of us buzzing for the game.

Most reading this will know what happened at the game but at the time we had no idea(no mobile phones, no internet, no social media. We made our way home to the east end after the game the usual way.

 

Coming off the bus we walked up towards our street, i could see the window open in our flat, remember it was January, it was cold, and saw my mum at the window, when she shouted “where’s Brian”? I knew something was wrong and ran up to our 1st floor flat.

I was told that there was a newsflash on tv and fans had died at Ibrox, i was 13 and I didn’t think that anything could have happened to him.
My thoughts where that he had went to a pub or met a girl or his mates. My mum wouldn’t let me go,she held me close for a while hoping the phone would ring and it would be Brian calling to say he was with a mate or a girl and he would be late home.

 

It was confirmed to dad by the police that Brian had been one of the fans who had died. Anyone who has had a loss will know how things went after that.

The daily record had a picture of Brian with a headline that said, the boy who lived for Rangers

 

At the time you could leave school at 15 and Brian had started working at the shipyards in govan and a lot of his fellow workers,neighbours and friends turned up for the funeral, they lined the path from our house to the road where the hearse was waiting. The coffin had a Rangers crest made from flowers on it. Brian was cremated at Daldowie crematorium, Willie Henderson who was a hero of mine at the time was at the ceremony as a representative of the club. I cant help think it must have been hard for players to go to so many funeral services, one of my heroes was near to me and it could have been anyone.

 

At my age I’ve had many losses since then but i don’t think anyone should go to see their favourite team and not come home.

I don’t say the words to him but I’m glad i still have another brother with us.

 

Thanks Iain and anyone involved who work hard to keep doing this great work.

 

 

[MacK1950 2,226]

1 hour ago, The Moonlighter said:

Two weeks ago we placed at plaque at Daldowie Crematorium in memory of Brian Hutchison.His brother Tommy has shared his thoughts.

 

Our brother.

 

I remember one of my 1st Rangers presents, a tracksuit, my best Christmas present ever, when it got wet in the rain I was lucky to be able to walk in it never mind run, it just soaked up the water but i loved it. Birthdays and Christmas presents after that I would ask for a new strip, boots or a mouldy. Anyone who got hit in the inner thigh with a mould master will be cringing reading this. I even remember a wet bladder with laces coming through the air and thinking should i duck or knock myself out?

All we did at the time was kick a ball from morning to night. A ball at your feet on the way to school and home again, any chance we had, at school playtime was kicking a ball, sometimes it was just a tennis ball because full sized balls where banned in the playground, at dinner time we headed to the pitch for a full game. I wasn’t very good so sometimes didn’t get picket to play, I would be devastated but couldn’t show it. One of my classmates was so good he went on to play for Rangers , I’ve always been proud of that and would tell anyone who would listen.

 

In those days we would leave the house in the morning wether we where going to school or during school holidays and our parents wouldn’t expect to see us until we wanted fed at night. There was no danger, nothing bad ever happened or so a lot of us thought.

There where atrocities happening not far off but we wouldn’t hear about that for a few years.

 

I remember my brothers going to Rangers games years before i was allowed to go and looked forward to when I could go.

My older brother was 3 years older than me and my eldest brother 3 years older than him.

 

I was 13 when me and my mate upstairs started to go to Ibrox, i know this was young and i would never let my kids do anything like this at that age but it was a different time. We would get the bus from the east end into glasgow then walk from the town over to the stadium and get a lift over the turnstiles.

 

We would take in the atmosphere and enjoy the games standing on our tippy toes to see by the big people.

We would join in with the songs that we had heard from a lp record on our radiogram in the living room.

You would find yourselves beside older guys who would relieve themselves into beer cans or miss them and wet someone else’s trousers.

When you left the stadium,being small you could get lifted off your feet with the crowd, we didn’t think much of that at the time but looking back now know how dangerous it was.

After the game we walked back to the town centre and got the bus back to the east end, my big brother would have already been back home on the supporter bus, got changed and went out again.

 

My big brother would go on a supporters bus that left from a local pub, he would follow The Rangers every week home and away.

When he came back he would tell me about the places he had been watching the Gers.

 

I answered our new phone a few times and it would be a girl from Dundee or somewhere else i had never been, asking for Brian.

 

We shared a room and the walls where full of Rangers pictures. We would cut pictures out of the papers or magazines that we could get at the time.

 

I remember getting excited about my 1st old firm game and I was looking forward to it for ages, we would talk about it all the time.

I knew my brother was going to the game with my mates big brother, we went our separate ways all of us buzzing for the game.

Most reading this will know what happened at the game but at the time we had no idea(no mobile phones, no internet, no social media. We made our way home to the east end after the game the usual way.

 

Coming off the bus we walked up towards our street, i could see the window open in our flat, remember it was January, it was cold, and saw my mum at the window, when she shouted “where’s Brian”? I knew something was wrong and ran up to our 1st floor flat.

I was told that there was a newsflash on tv and fans had died at Ibrox, i was 13 and I didn’t think that anything could have happened to him.
My thoughts where that he had went to a pub or met a girl or his mates. My mum wouldn’t let me go,she held me close for a while hoping the phone would ring and it would be Brian calling to say he was with a mate or a girl and he would be late home.

 

It was confirmed to dad by the police that Brian had been one of the fans who had died. Anyone who has had a loss will know how things went after that.

The daily record had a picture of Brian with a headline that said, the boy who lived for Rangers

 

At the time you could leave school at 15 and Brian had started working at the shipyards in govan and a lot of his fellow workers,neighbours and friends turned up for the funeral, they lined the path from our house to the road where the hearse was waiting. The coffin had a Rangers crest made from flowers on it. Brian was cremated at Daldowie crematorium, Willie Henderson who was a hero of mine at the time was at the ceremony as a representative of the club. I cant help think it must have been hard for players to go to so many funeral services, one of my heroes was near to me and it could have been anyone.

 

At my age I’ve had many losses since then but i don’t think anyone should go to see their favourite team and not come home.

I don’t say the words to him but I’m glad i still have another brother with us.

 

Thanks Iain and anyone involved who work hard to keep doing this great work.

 

 

A very moving and sad article,I had ticket for the game but at last minute decided not to go as I was going out that night.

Still shiver at the though that that was the staircase I always exited from either to go for subway or walk down Copland to use the ferry.