Rugby Museum in the spotlight for highlighting New Cross fire

The party was being held to celebrate the 16th birthday of Yvonne Ruddock – and she was one of 13 teenagers and young black people who died from the blaze.

Just weeks before the fire, Yvonne had celebrated Christmas in Rugby.

Her family moved to south London in the 1960s after living in Rugby for many years and returned regularly.

Friends and family from the town made the trip to London to celebrate Yvonne's birthday. Two never returned - 16-year-old Patrick Cummings and 18-year-old Humphrey Brown, while Yvonne's brother, Paul, 22, also lost his life.

A borough council spokesperson said: “Black communities in the capital, regularly targeted by the National Front, assumed the fire had been started by a petrol bomb and the tragedy quickly brought to a head long-simmering tensions over the perceived racism of the Metropolitan Police, tabloid press and the establishment.

“In the weeks which followed, the tragedy of the New Cross fire became the catalyst for protest, with the slogan ‘13 dead, nothing said’ adopted by the New Cross Massacre Action Committee, which organised a Black People's Day of Action on March 2, 1981.”

The march saw 20,000 people take to the streets of London for a peaceful protest, but a month later riots broke out in Brixton, sparking a summer of rioting in cities across the country.

No one has been charged in connection with the fire.

An inquest into the 13 deaths took place in 1981 and recorded an open verdict.

A second inquest in 2004 also recorded an open verdict.

The spokesperson added: “Four decades on, the New Cross fire remains a significant chapter in the fight for racial justice in Britain, with the BBC documentary Uprising winning a Bafta in 2022 for best factual series.”

The Art Gallery and Museum has been shortlisted for the best community and neighbourhood initiative at the Association of Public Service Excellence Awards for The New Cross Fire 1981, an exhibition held in January.

While documenting the events of 1981, it also told the human stories behind the headlines and the impact of the tragedy in Rugby.

To mark the end of the exhibition, the museum hosted an event which brought together family and friends of the victims.

Lorna Tavares, Yvonne's cousin and the driving force behind the exhibition, said: “The survivors, known as New Cross Fire Momentum 1981, are extremely grateful to Rugby Art Gallery and Museum and the council for the unwavering and continued support.

“The events of 1981 shook Rugby to the core and were never addressed until the exhibition, which was dedicated to the young lives lost, the families who fought for justice, the community's support throughout the UK, and the survivors who live with the trauma and wear the scars, many of whom were not given a voice and have never spoken."

Sally Godden, manager of the gallery and museum, said: “The team was proud to support Lorna and help turn her idea for an exhibition into a reality.”

The APSE Service Awards celebrate excellence in the public sector and the ceremony takes place in September.