Hillsborough stories: Ian Thomas Glover

Ian Glover, a street paver from Liverpool, travelled to Hillsborough with his brother Joe and other friends, who all survived.

This is the full statement to the inquests from his sister, Lorraine Glover:

I am the sister of Ian Thomas Glover, who was killed in the Hillsborough disaster on 15 April, 1989. He was just 20 years old.

I make this statement on behalf of my whole family, including my mother, Teresa, my brothers John and Tom and my sister Cathy.

My father, John, died in March, 2013 and my brother, Joseph, died in 1999.

Ian was born on 10 January, 1969 and he weighed 8lbs. We are all very close in age. My brother John is the eldest, followed by Cathy, then Joe, then Ian, myself and then Tom.

We had a very happy childhood. When we were all young and in bed, we would all shout "Goodnight" to each other. We were just like the Waltons.

We had a lot of good times. It was a very welcoming house and always full of our friends and relatives. Our parents were very generous.

We were all very close growing up. Three of my brothers shared a bedroom. Joe and Ian used to argue about clothes a lot, especially when Joe took them without asking.

Ian was designer mad and always wanted to iron his clothes himself in case anyone marked them.

I'd say Ian was the most stubborn out of us all. After an argument, sometimes Ian would not speak to us for days.

However, he was very thoughtful. He was the most caring out of us all, especially about our mum. If she had a cough or a cold, Ian would stay in with her.

'Flowers for Mum'

He really doted on her. I found a birthday card he had sent to my mum in which he had written that the sweetest girl he had ever kissed was another man's wife - his mother.

My mum's 50th birthday was two days after Ian died. On her birthday, flowers were delivered from Ian. He had ordered them before going to the match.

I always thought Ian was very sensible, maybe because I was younger than him. But he seemed quite old for 20.

He was very particular about things. He liked his room to be spotless and he kept all his cassettes and records in order.

Ian was very good looking and lots of girls fancied him. He was just under six foot and had fair hair.

Ian started going out with Nicky when he was 15 and she was his first proper girlfriend. Nicky was always at our house and they would often just watch films in his bedroom.

They later got engaged. They had not arranged the wedding when Ian died, although I'm sure they would have done.

Ian and Nicky were childhood sweethearts and they idolised each other. Nicky is still very close to us and she still visits Ian's grave.

Ian and Nicky used to go on double dates with my brother John and his wife Sue. Ian loved John's children, Emma and John, and he used to babysit for them.

It is sad that Ian never got the chance to be a dad and also that there are lots of nieces and nephews that he has never met. The children often talk about their uncles Ian and Joe, even though they never knew them.

We all go to the cemetery where they are buried together now with my dad too.

Ian went to St Francis de Sales Infants and Junior School. He was in the school football team. He then went on to St Bonaventure's Secondary School.

'Loved music'

He left school when he was about 16 and got a job in a food factory. He then went to work as a paver with my dad and he left this job shortly before the disaster.

Nicky's dad worked for Yorkshire Metal and, through him, he was able to get an interview for a job there just before he died. After the disaster, Yorkshire Metal wrote to us to say they would have employed Ian.

It would have been a stable job, but, sadly, this was never to be.

Ian had lots of friends. Ian and Joe were quite close in age and were in the same circle of friends.

They socialised together - neither of them were drinkers. They went to concerts together. I remember them going to see Supertramp.

Ian was really into music. He loved Deacon Blue, The Waterboys and Daryl Hall and John Oates. His favourite song was The Whole of the Moon by The Waterboys.

Ian was not planning on going to Hillsborough that day. John and Joe had tickets and Ian got one at the last minute.

'Traumatised'

Ian went to special matches (like the semi finals) - he didn't go every Saturday. He was not as passionate about football as my older brother John was.

Ian's clothes are still hanging up in his bedroom, including what he was wearing the day he died.

Every so often, my mum washes and irons them and hangs them back up. Our family has never been the same since Ian died.

My brother Joe was on the Leppings Lane terraces with Ian. Joe was able to escape from the pen, but he then saw Ian being crushed through the fence and was unable to help him.

He later tried to resuscitate Ian and helped to carry him to the gymnasium. Joe was badly traumatised by what happened and he never really recovered.

He would often go missing and we would later find him asleep on Ian's grave. Joe blames himself that he survived Hillsborough and Ian didn't.

Almost exactly 10 years after the Hillsborough disaster, Joe was also crushed to death. He was unloading a wagon at work when he was crushed by five tonnes of marble. Joe managed to save a colleague by pushing him out of the way.

'Heartbreaking'

At Christmas and New Year, there have been two very special people missing from our home. At midnight, we always gather at the family home and we kiss the pictures of Ian and Joe.

After Hillsborough, my father John dedicated himself to getting justice for Ian. He was a leading campaigner and was involved in setting up the Hillsborough Justice Campaign.

Over the years, this took its toll on my dad and the rest of our family. My dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer in October, 2011 and, against the odds, was still alive when the Hillsborough Independent Panel report was published in September, 2012.

Although he did not die until after the original inquest verdicts were quashed, by that stage he was too ill to learn of the decision.

After the disaster, Ian became one of the victims, 'Glover 37', which we found heartbreaking, because to us he was our lad and he was our life and he was just very popular with everyone.

Our family have learned to be very strong, but it will always be incomplete.