Why we fight on...

Our campaign had three elements: an apology, to overturn the death by misadventure verdict and finally for a fitting memorial to be built on the site.

 

We've achieved the first. Now we're campaigning for the rest.

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Death by misadventure - so what? 

 

To be clear. The Summerland fire was a safety scandal on the scale of Grenfell Tower. Summerland was a fire trap.

 

Each and every one of the 50 deaths was avoidable.

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And yet, the conclusion of the Summerland Fire Commission - 'no villains' - signalled to the inquest that those responsible for Summerland: the architects; Isle of Man authorities; designers; senior management were not to blame for the tragedy.  

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Instead, after three hours, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of death by misadventure. This suggests that the people to blame were the victims themselves.  Can that really be right? 

 

Does this matter?

 

Yes, it does. How can the state blame 50 people, including 11 children, for their own deaths?  The families want to set the record straight and clear their loved-ones' names. 

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We want the victims to be remembered.

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The Summerland site has been derelict since 2005 and has been for sale for 17 years. Our aim is for the Isle of Man Government to maintain this site of national and international significance in a respectful way and a fitting memorial, proportionate in size to this huge and devastating disaster, to be provided.