0:00:02 > 0:00:05- United by disaster, never to see each other again. - I thought I'd lost him.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07Without you, I wouldn't be here now.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10They shaped history together but lost touch.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12We were pioneers. We were starting to
0:00:12 > 0:00:15stand up for ourselves and believe in ourselves.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17And that makes me feel proud.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20And unsung heroes meet those they saved.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22You see someone in trouble, you go and help.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24You saved my daughter's life.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26It will be a real pleasure to meet him in person
0:00:26 > 0:00:28and to say thank you for saving my life.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30SHE SQUEALS
0:00:31 > 0:00:35We went through all that and then just lost each other.
0:00:35 > 0:00:41Brought together by fate, separated by life. Real Lives Reunited.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48Today, survivors of a crashed airliner reunite to share
0:00:48 > 0:00:50stories of how they escaped with their lives.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55And then you realise that... whoa, I'm alive.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58The lifeboat crew who had to use their skills on dry land to
0:00:58 > 0:01:01rescue the crash survivors.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03The doors flew open and it was just, "Let's go.
0:01:03 > 0:01:04"Let's see what we can do to help."
0:01:04 > 0:01:08On that night it was running towards the unknown. It's as simple as that.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12And the women of Doncaster who made footballing history,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15come together for the first time in over 40 years.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18To see them all together, it's not tears of sadness,
0:01:18 > 0:01:19it's tears of joy.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30In the '80s, airlines started competing for domestic routes.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35Lower fares and frequent flights were great news for passengers.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37In January 1989,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40one such flight departed Heathrow bound for Belfast.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44There were 118 passengers and 8 crew on board.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48But less than one hour into the flight, the unthinkable happened.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53The 8th of January, 1989, changed my life for ever.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56It's the most scary thing I think I've ever seen.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59It was pretty...bad.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01You think it will never happen to you.
0:02:03 > 0:02:04But it happened to me.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Good evening.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09The experts say the chances of both engines on a brand-new
0:02:09 > 0:02:12airliner failing at the same time, are 100 million to 1.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15But that seems to be what happened last night.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18If the Boeing's remaining engine had delivered its power for just
0:02:18 > 0:02:20another 30 seconds,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23it would've reached the runway half a mile beyond the motorway.
0:02:23 > 0:02:29Tragically 47 people lost their lives. But incredibly 79 survived.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34Chris Thompson sat in seat 1E and Dominica McGowan 17 rows back.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37They were two of 126 people on board that night.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43I remember it was a cold night. It was dark - January.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46I kind of remember looking out and thinking,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48"That's a miserable night to be flying."
0:02:48 > 0:02:52We took off and within 15 minutes they'd started
0:02:52 > 0:02:54to serve the evening meal.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Alan Johnston was sitting just behind the right wing.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00There was this incredible shuddering
0:03:00 > 0:03:02and a noise as if
0:03:02 > 0:03:07someone had thrown heavy gravel into a washing machine.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09The plane started to shake about a bit.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12And as soon as this happened, I just looked to the other guy
0:03:12 > 0:03:15and said, "That's an engine. It can't be anything else."
0:03:15 > 0:03:18SHUDDERING AND CLUNKING
0:03:18 > 0:03:20The left engine had failed.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Seconds later, the pilot announced he was diverting the plane to
0:03:23 > 0:03:27East Midlands Airport for an emergency landing.
0:03:27 > 0:03:33I saw out of the window a church spire on my right,
0:03:33 > 0:03:35which looked surprisingly close.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39We looked surprisingly low in relation to it.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41People were screaming. Other people were crying.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45You could even hear the luggage coming down. You could hear stuff falling.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47We were told to prepare for crash landing.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52And you were just getting chills and the hairs on the back
0:03:52 > 0:03:54of your neck stand up and it's absolutely horrifying.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58But you can't go anywhere.
0:03:58 > 0:04:04And...shortly after that, there was what I have described as noisy,
0:04:04 > 0:04:06black chaos.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09After skimming rooftops over the village of Kegworth,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12the plane was less that a mile from the safety of the runway
0:04:12 > 0:04:14but it didn't make it.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17The jet slammed into the embankment of the M1.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24The crash ripped the plane into three.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Emergency services were alerted immediately.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Paramedic Maurice Foster was first on the scene.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33By the time I'd got across the motorway,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36it had only been on the ground a matter of minutes.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39I picked the radio up and said, "Send everything."
0:04:39 > 0:04:41I mean, what else do you need to know?
0:04:41 > 0:04:42Send everything.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47I remember this...
0:04:49 > 0:04:53..shock and disbelief really.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56And I still have that picture of looking round that plane and seeing...
0:04:56 > 0:05:02the dishevelment - the bags, the bodies, the brokenness...
0:05:03 > 0:05:06You know, it was like a frozen picture.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10I tried to move my limbs about. I could move my arms.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15I couldn't move my legs. And I thought, "Oh, dear, I am trapped.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18"And I'm not quite sure which way up I am."
0:05:18 > 0:05:22Trapped in their seats, Alan and Chris were seriously injured but
0:05:22 > 0:05:26Dominica unbuckled her seat belt and crawled through the wrecked plane.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29I broke practically everything, you know?
0:05:30 > 0:05:35Femur, ribs, pelvis, shoulder, fractured skull.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38So I don't know how I crawled out, but I did.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41I stood up and looked up the motorway
0:05:41 > 0:05:46and it's just blue lights. A total sea of blue lights.
0:05:46 > 0:05:47There must have been hundreds
0:05:47 > 0:05:50and hundreds of people pouring into the scene.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Despite the incredible efforts of all involved,
0:05:54 > 0:05:5839 died at the scene, and another 8 in hospital later.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02But 79 survivors were pulled from the plane and rushed to hospital.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05When I came round, I was lying in a hospital.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08Then the reality gradually starts to come back.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Oh, there was a plane crash, I was on it.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12And then you realise that...
0:06:12 > 0:06:16whoa, I'm alive.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Chris and Dominica were strangers on that flight.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24Both share an incredible bond of survival few of us can understand.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27It's been almost 25 years since they've spoken.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32- Yeah, I wasn't sure whether I had. - It's good to see you.- Indeed. It's very nice to see you too.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35So have you been doing plenty of talking about all of this?
0:06:35 > 0:06:38The whole talk process I think is like therapy.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Well, I'm a psychotherapist.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44So I knew from my training as a counsellor that it was good
0:06:44 > 0:06:45to talk about it.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49A seating plan used in the air accident report is a stark
0:06:49 > 0:06:51reminder of how lucky survivors were.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54The black dots basically are all the people that died.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58- Were they?!- And the green dots are the survivors.- Oh, are they?
0:06:58 > 0:07:01- And you didn't realise that.- No, I didn't know that.- Yes.- Goodness.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04These people here were identified by their dentures.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08- So they were...- I didn't know that.- ..five feet away from me.
0:07:08 > 0:07:09Really? I didn't know that.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12When you see all those black dots it's really shocking, isn't it?
0:07:12 > 0:07:14It's surprising when you see them like that.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Later, the remarkable story of how an off-duty lifeboat crew saved
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Alan from the wrecked plane.
0:07:20 > 0:07:21To actually meet somebody,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24especially after all these years, unbelievable.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26And Chris and Dominica meet the surgeon who
0:07:26 > 0:07:28treated their horrific injuries.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32- He gave me the ability to walk properly again.- As far as I'm concerned, he saved my life.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Today, the England Women's Football Team are serious
0:07:42 > 0:07:44contenders in the international game,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46they rank seventh in the world and reached
0:07:46 > 0:07:50the quarterfinals in the 2011 Women's World Cup.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53To get there, women footballers have had to overcome sexism
0:07:53 > 0:07:55and opposition at EVERY level.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59This must be one of the only places in the country where girls
0:07:59 > 0:08:01chase after boys and don't mind admitting it.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03They train hard and they play exceedingly well,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06it seems to me, but I just can't kind of live with
0:08:06 > 0:08:08the idea of girls playing football.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12But a group of teenage girls from Doncaster played a major
0:08:12 > 0:08:16part in changing the male-dominated world of football for ever.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18# We're magic we're Doncaster Belle Vue. #
0:08:18 > 0:08:20They used to say it was a man's game and, you know,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23we women shouldn't be playing. They're not good enough.
0:08:23 > 0:08:24Oh, lassies shouldn't be playing football.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26You want to get back and get the pots washed.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Get back and do the washing. Look after the kids.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32Definitely shouldn't be in shorts running around
0:08:32 > 0:08:33kicking a bag of air.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36But Sheila and her friends had other ideas.
0:08:37 > 0:08:38Seven - nil!
0:08:38 > 0:08:40We were determined.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44We still wanted to play football, whether men wanted us to or not.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Whether they wanted to watch us or not. We wanted to play.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50I was 14 and I had a friend.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52I just said to her one day, "What are you doing tonight?
0:08:52 > 0:08:54"Do you fancy coming out?" She said, "Do you know?
0:08:54 > 0:08:57"I go to football at Cantley - a ladies' team."
0:08:57 > 0:09:02And I just said, "Can anybody go?" And she says, "Well, yeah.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05"Do you want to come?" And that's how it all started.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08At first, there were only enough girls for games of five-a-side.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13But news of the team spread and within two years there was a squad.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17By 1969 the Belle Vue Belles had been formed.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20The women that had played football at my time, were
0:09:20 > 0:09:25playing in friendly games, charity games, just playing for a bit of fun.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29But after 20 years on the pitch, their efforts paid off when
0:09:29 > 0:09:32they were invited to join the first ever Women's National Division.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34To actually go and play
0:09:34 > 0:09:37and play in a proper team, in a proper match,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40in a proper league was brilliant.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44They were team-mates on the pitch and the best of friends off it.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46I made a lot of friends through the Belles.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50All the girls were very close as a team.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53We used to, some of us, go on holiday together.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56And we were there for each other.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Win or lose, we'd sort of, you know, support each other
0:09:59 > 0:10:02and get each other going again.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04And win they did.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08And we found success by winning our first cup, which I believe
0:10:08 > 0:10:11was the Red Cross trophy.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13And that then leads to wanting a bit more.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15So you become hungry for a bit more.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19And the Belles went from strength to strength winning their first
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Women's FA Cup in 1983.
0:10:22 > 0:10:23WHISTLE BLOWS
0:10:23 > 0:10:26They reached the final on another seven occasions,
0:10:26 > 0:10:28winning the cup six times in total.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31And they're one of only two non-London teams to have
0:10:31 > 0:10:34won the FA Women's Premier League.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39They never stop running from whistle to whistle.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41THEY CHEER
0:10:41 > 0:10:44But as time passed, life got in the way.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48Things change and people want to go in different directions.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51One of the hardest things is finding your centreforward's pregnant
0:10:51 > 0:10:54and she won't be available for the cup final.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58I loved with a passion the Belles and I loved what we went through.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00Pioneers for the women's game.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05They haven't played together as a team for more than 35 years
0:11:05 > 0:11:09but thanks to their achievements the Doncaster Rovers' ground
0:11:09 > 0:11:10is now home to the Belles.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13A fitting site for Sheila to meet up with
0:11:13 > 0:11:151969 midfielder Sue Horsefield.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- Have you brought some souvenirs. - Oh, just a couple.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23And right-winger Sue Greaves.
0:11:23 > 0:11:24THEY CHUCKLE
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Thanks a lot!
0:11:27 > 0:11:28LAUGHTER
0:11:28 > 0:11:32Oh, my God! It don't get any better than that!
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Doncaster Belles. We all had those, didn't we?
0:11:35 > 0:11:36- We all bought one of them.- Yeah.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39We looked the part and we were the part.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43- Yes, we were. And then we had red for a change of kit.- Yes, we did.
0:11:43 > 0:11:49- And then, '76, we changed to that. - Yeah.- Because we loved Brazil.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52- Yeah. Happy memories.- Yeah.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57Later, after three decades apart, some of the Belles who formed
0:11:57 > 0:12:00the closest bonds are brought back together.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Just to see them, it will be brilliant.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15On a cold night in January 1989, a Boeing 737 bound for Belfast
0:12:15 > 0:12:18crashed into the embankment of the M1.
0:12:18 > 0:12:2447 people lost their lives but, incredibly, 79 passengers survived.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27It's now more than five hours since the Boeing 737 came
0:12:27 > 0:12:30down on the embankment behind me splitting into three sections.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33And incredibly survivors are still being pulled from the wreckage.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Travelling on the motorway that night, was Barrie Brigham
0:12:36 > 0:12:39and his lifeboat crew from Withernsea near Hull.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42One of the lads in the actual bus, shouting, "Look at that.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45"Look at all them sparks coming out the back of the aeroplane!"
0:12:45 > 0:12:49But little did the men know they'd just witnessed the plane's engine explode.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52And they were about to drive into a scene of utter devastation.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Paramedic Maurice Foster was already there
0:12:55 > 0:12:57tending to the severely injured.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Unless you're actually there and see something like that,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02you're actually part of it and it's real,
0:13:02 > 0:13:06it's hard to imagine just how terrifying it can actually be.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11In the minibus with Barrie was lifeboatman Andrew Shakesby.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15That's when doors flew open and it was just, "Let's go.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17"Let's see what we can do to help."
0:13:17 > 0:13:22On that night we was running towards the unknown. It's as simple as that.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25I looked up and out of nowhere there's the RNLI there.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29I thought, "RNLI? What are they doing here?!"
0:13:29 > 0:13:31We didn't know anything about aeroplanes.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34All we knew was that there were a load of people in trouble.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36And them people need help.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Emergency services were quick to arrive
0:13:39 > 0:13:43but Barrie had already led his crew to the tail of the plane.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46I said, "The best thing we can do is make a double path down the side
0:13:46 > 0:13:50"and what we'll do is we'll, pass the bodies, survivors, down between us."
0:13:50 > 0:13:52The embankment was really, really steep
0:13:52 > 0:13:55and we were all forming the chain to try and help people down.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57They were coming out with broken legs.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59We had to use our belts and what we could
0:13:59 > 0:14:02to strap them. That's where our lifeboat training came in.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06Trapped in his seat, and unable to move his legs,
0:14:06 > 0:14:0863-year-old Alan Johnston was slipping in
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and out of consciousness when the RNLI came to his recue.
0:14:11 > 0:14:18I remember being gently handled out of an aperture.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21I didn't know whether it was a hole in the fuselage,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24or one of the doors in the fuselage, or what is was.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27I can remember him coming out because he was one of them
0:14:27 > 0:14:29which I think is dead.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31I just saw his eyes flicker.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33And I said, "He's alive this one.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37"We'll get him down as quick as we can. If we get the ladder back up."
0:14:37 > 0:14:41And we got the ladder up pretty sharpish and got him down onto the motorway.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45I think he was taken away inside a few minutes to one of the ambulances.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48I owe my life to Barrie and his colleagues,
0:14:48 > 0:14:54and the firemen who were involved in trying to remove
0:14:54 > 0:14:57living people from that tangled wreckage.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00The Withernsea Lifeboat crew continued to tend to injured
0:15:00 > 0:15:02survivors for over four hours.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06Not long after midnight, physically and emotionally drained,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Barrie managed to give an eyewitness account.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10When we got up there, the ambulance men got up
0:15:10 > 0:15:13and started the passing people out of the aircraft as best we could.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Really surprising how many people came out alive from that back section
0:15:16 > 0:15:18behind us there. Just unbelievable.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20Years later, Alan tracked down Barrie
0:15:20 > 0:15:23and the two have since become good friends.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28Andrew, however, has never met any survivors from that fateful night.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30Since the accident, I got quite friendly with Alan,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33we got quite a good friendship, friendship born on the fact
0:15:33 > 0:15:37that we were thrown into something that we didn't want to be in.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41He's obviously a tremendous, solid Yorkshireman
0:15:41 > 0:15:43and I want to see him again very much
0:15:43 > 0:15:45and to meet his colleague, Andrew.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Kegworth did affect me and, to be honest,
0:15:50 > 0:15:52I wanted to shut it all out of my life,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56and this is the first time I've talked about it.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59I feel I can finally cope with what's gone on.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04- Alan! Hello there, my friend. How are you?- Great to see you.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06Could I introduce you to Andrew? He's another one of the rescuers.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10- Andrew.- Hi there. Nice to meet you. - Hello. Lovely to meet you, too. Gosh!
0:16:10 > 0:16:14Two of you...to whom I owe my existence.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16It's quite a meeting.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20For Alan, there's still much he'd like to know about his rescue.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23In that small doorway, and that's where we were taking people out.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26How long was it from when the plane crashed
0:16:26 > 0:16:30- until you got in that doorway? - Oh, I should think it was...
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Well, to get to it in the first instance
0:16:32 > 0:16:34- was probably about ten minutes... - Mm-hm.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37- ..by the time we got up there and we got ourselves organised.- Goodness.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Now, this is the bit I remember the most,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42is looking at the wreckage when I was actually climbing up there.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46- Seeing how thin the aircraft was. - All the bits and pieces, yeah.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51You expect an air plane to be a nice, big, solid piece of steel.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56But, up to that point, I never realised how fragile aircraft were.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01I've never seen these photos. Needless to say, that's amazing.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06I think after Kegworth, I realised that I had to do things...
0:17:07 > 0:17:09..that meant something to me,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12and actually achieved something in my life.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Soon after the crash, Andrew quit his job in IT.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Overwhelmed by what he'd witnessed at Kegworth,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21he decided he too wanted to work for the Ambulance Service.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23You became a paramedic?
0:17:23 > 0:17:25I did. I had an office job beforehand,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28I saw the other emergency services that day and I thought,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31"I want to do something with my life that makes a difference."
0:17:31 > 0:17:36- How wonderful.- And it has done. - Well, one bonus of...
0:17:38 > 0:17:44..the awful accident was that we have made some lasting friendships.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46We were really glad we could help somebody,
0:17:46 > 0:17:48and to actually meet somebody,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51especially after all these years, unbelievable. Thank you.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54You were meant to be there, put it that way.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57I think the moral of the story is that the RNLI do produce good teams
0:17:57 > 0:18:00that no matter where the situation is,
0:18:00 > 0:18:02we turn our hand to whatever we can do
0:18:02 > 0:18:05and we work together really well as a team.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Later, the surgeon who rebuilt many of the severely injured
0:18:08 > 0:18:10meets two former patients.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Because Professor Wallace made me who I am.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16He made me... He gave me the ability to walk properly again.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27The success of any team is all down to the right people,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30being in the right place at the right time.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33One of the country's most successful women's football teams,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37the Doncaster Belles, were formed in 1969.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39But their achievements have been hard-earned,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43with women struggling to be taken seriously as footballers.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46They're committed and they train hard and they play exceedingly well,
0:18:46 > 0:18:47it seems to me,
0:18:47 > 0:18:51but I just can't kind of live with the ideas of girls playing football.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53But today the Belles are major players
0:18:53 > 0:18:55in the semi-professional women's league.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Without the likes of the Belles
0:18:57 > 0:19:01and some of the other teams that were starting around that time,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03we probably wouldn't have that women's game.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05Now, some of the other Belles
0:19:05 > 0:19:07who helped change the face of women's football
0:19:07 > 0:19:10are back at the club that means so much to them.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13- Jill! Are you OK?- Still got your name on your shirt, do you?
0:19:13 > 0:19:16THEY LAUGH
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Oh, my God! Look at the state of these!
0:19:20 > 0:19:23We're dragging them in now, girls, we're dragging them in!
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Little Jill!
0:19:27 > 0:19:31Jill Betts joined the Belles in 1969, aged just 11.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36She played for over ten years and was the team's best penalty taker.
0:19:36 > 0:19:37Just getting here this morning,
0:19:37 > 0:19:41I had this funny feeling inside that it's all...
0:19:41 > 0:19:44it's great - just seeing Janet and Jill and Lynda and Sue.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52That's been so good.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58And just seeing everyone together, it's absolutely...
0:19:58 > 0:20:00- It's not tears of sadness, it's tears of joy.- That's right.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02Getting everybody back together and...
0:20:02 > 0:20:07- That's what the Belles do to you. You never forget.- No. No, you don't.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09We were a rare bunch.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12And it's fabulous to see everybody.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14For the Belles, the 1983 FA Cup Final match
0:20:14 > 0:20:16was their crowning glory.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Go on! Go on, Sheila!
0:20:20 > 0:20:22For keeper Janet Milner, being injured
0:20:22 > 0:20:25and unable to play the game was heartbreaking.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28But, with the score 1-1 at half-time,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31the Belles needed something extra to help them to victory.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33Janet walked into the dressing room.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35Listen, we've not played yet.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38They're done! They've showed you, they've showed you their mettle,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41and we've not started! All right?
0:20:41 > 0:20:45I desperately, desperately wanted to play, it was a dream and...
0:20:46 > 0:20:48That was your contribution, Janet.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53- You were great, Jan.- Thanks. Yeah.
0:20:55 > 0:20:56Don't let's blow it today.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59We've got the team we need, let's show them.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03The Belles went on to win their first-ever FA Cup.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10Through the '70s and '80s, the Donny Belles' biggest rivals
0:21:10 > 0:21:14were the ladies of Rotherham's Kilnhurst Shooting Stars.
0:21:14 > 0:21:20They were tough. It was usually 2-1, 3-2 - very, very close games.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22It was always a grudge match.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25But in a friendly type of way, but we knew there were on our heels
0:21:25 > 0:21:28and, I tell you what, they knew we were on theirs, as well.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Local derbies, yes, there were some crunching tackles going in.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36There were some really hard-fought battles.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39But, at the end of the day, we came off the pitch, we shook hands,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41and we were still all friends,
0:21:41 > 0:21:43even though we played for different teams.
0:21:45 > 0:21:4744 years since the team was formed,
0:21:47 > 0:21:51Janet and the rest of the Belles have a unique opportunity
0:21:51 > 0:21:54to play their old rivals, the Kilnhurst Shooting Stars,
0:21:54 > 0:21:56one last time.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59I don't really care if we can't run fast or what we can do.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02To put the boots on and have one last game
0:22:02 > 0:22:06with us all together, I think it will be absolutely brilliant.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08Gordon Bennett!
0:22:08 > 0:22:11I think we can still show them, Lynda, can't we?
0:22:11 > 0:22:12- Even at this age.- Yeah.
0:22:24 > 0:22:25Oh, well done.
0:22:27 > 0:22:28The game's finished,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32Doncaster Belles, nil, Kilnhurst Shooting Stars, one.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35There were always a handshake and a cuddle at the end of the game,
0:22:35 > 0:22:37irrespective of who won.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40- Wonderful, nice to see some old foes. - Well played, mate.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43- Well done.- Well done.- Well done.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46We were pioneers, we were starting to stand up for ourselves
0:22:46 > 0:22:48and believe in ourselves
0:22:48 > 0:22:54and we kick-started women's football from the '60s up to the present day.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56And that makes me feel proud.
0:23:10 > 0:23:15In January 1989, a Boeing 737 was flying from Heathrow to Belfast,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17when an engine failed.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Crew mistakenly shut down the remaining good engine.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26The airliner fell out of the sky and smashed into the M1 embankment.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31NEWSREADER: The Boeing 737 almost made it to the East Midland Airport runway.
0:23:31 > 0:23:3447 passengers lost their lives.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Earlier, two survivors, Chris Thompson and Dominica McGowan,
0:23:37 > 0:23:38were reunited.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41On the night of the crash, both were rushed to Queen's Medical Centre
0:23:41 > 0:23:44in Nottingham with life-threatening injuries.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48NEWSREADER: Overnight, surgeons here completed the 23rd operation
0:23:48 > 0:23:52in 24 hours on some of the most seriously injured.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54It's incredible that people can survive that.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59- That's me.- Is that you?- Yeah.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02There was a lot of noise out of the other engine and at that point
0:24:02 > 0:24:05it sounded as if the other engine was doing what the first engine had done.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09So, first, we poured another glass of wine and crossed my fingers, you know?
0:24:09 > 0:24:12- NEWSREADER:- Within seconds, the plane crashed.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14I can remember opening my eyes...
0:24:14 > 0:24:16in intensive care and seeing my daughter...
0:24:22 > 0:24:25..and thinking, "God, I got through that."
0:24:25 > 0:24:28I didn't realise... I didn't think I would get through it,
0:24:28 > 0:24:32so I remember seeing her at the end of the bed and saying, "Mhairi?"
0:24:33 > 0:24:38And she smiled and she was crying and she smiled and I said, "God, Mhairi,"
0:24:38 > 0:24:41"can't believe that happen to me."
0:24:41 > 0:24:44On duty in hospital that night was Professor Angus Wallace,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47one of the country's leading orthopaedic surgeons.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50The severity of the injuries were horrific.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55I mean, people were literally scooped off the plane, put...
0:24:55 > 0:25:00thrown...put in an ambulance, brought here and brought onto a trolley.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Mr Wallace made me who I am.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Made me...gave me the ability to walk properly again.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09As far as I'm concerned, he saved my life and I wouldn't be here today,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12so it would be a real pleasure to meet him in person
0:25:12 > 0:25:15and to say to him, "Thank you for saving my life."
0:25:18 > 0:25:22- Hello there.- Well, well, well. - Dominica McGowan.- Nice to see you.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26- It's so lovely to see you. - Lovely to have you back here.
0:25:26 > 0:25:31- Professor Wallace.- Hello. Very nice to see you. I do remember you.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35I struggle a little bit with you, Dominica,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38- because you were so bruised and battered.- That's right.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41- Slightly different circumstances this time.- Very different...
0:25:41 > 0:25:44Just let me see you walking, I couldn't believe that,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46because you had smashed-up legs.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50- Yeah, and you did a brilliant job on them.- Come and have a seat.
0:25:50 > 0:25:51Thank you.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Thanks to your extreme skill and time, patience and ability...
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Well, it was very much a team effort,
0:25:56 > 0:25:58because when you went to the operating theatre,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02it wasn't one surgeon working on you, it was a number of surgeons.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Well, he had severe leg fractures.
0:26:06 > 0:26:11And he had a very nasty fracture round about his tibia and fibula,
0:26:11 > 0:26:14again between the knee and the ankle.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17- That's your leg. - That's my leg, is it?
0:26:17 > 0:26:20- Right, and that's the smashed-up bone there...- My goodness.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22..down, just above the ankle.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26That's your foot, cos you had quite a nasty foot injury.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29- It was crushed, as well, I believe. - That's right, it was crushed, yeah.
0:26:29 > 0:26:35- That's the fractures there. - Gosh.- Wow. That's amazing.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39- Now, I understand that you crawled out of the aeroplane.- I did.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42But you had a fracture of your shoulder,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44you had a fracture of your thighbone,
0:26:44 > 0:26:49you had an injury to your spine - you shouldn't have been able to do that.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52- Was it not painful? - I have no memory of pain.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56I have a very clear memory of, "I have to get out of here."
0:26:56 > 0:26:58So, that's the survival instinct, isn't it?
0:26:58 > 0:27:03The legacy of the Kegworth tragedy is safer air travel for us all.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Based on research into what happened on the plane,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09Professor Wallace's team developed a new brace position
0:27:09 > 0:27:12to reduce injuries and increase chances of survival
0:27:12 > 0:27:13in future crashes.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18We presented that to the Civil Aviation Authority,
0:27:18 > 0:27:22and the CAA finally agreed that as a standard brace position
0:27:22 > 0:27:25for the UK and it remains so today.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Very proud of that.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30I am so pleased to have this opportunity to thank you,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33because I often thought about you and talked about you over the years
0:27:33 > 0:27:36and it's been a real pleasure to have this opportunity to come along.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38It's really nice to actually have a face-to-face,
0:27:38 > 0:27:40to say thank you very much.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42And for my family to say thank you, as well,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45because without you they wouldn't have me either.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49It's a real pleasure to see people that you've treated
0:27:49 > 0:27:54who've done well, who are back to near normal and...
0:27:56 > 0:27:59..I'm absolutely delighted that you have done so well.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Next time, the civilians who found themselves
0:28:10 > 0:28:12in the middle of a warzone.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15I prayed really hard, face down on the...on the deck.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18I thought, "Someone is trying to kill me."
0:28:18 > 0:28:20And ten years after she was pulled
0:28:20 > 0:28:23from the rubble of a factory explosion,
0:28:23 > 0:28:25a woman meets the fireman who saved her life.
0:28:25 > 0:28:30I can't find the words to express how grateful I am to him for what he did.