Lockerbie Bombing Anniversary: James and Jackie's story

Over the course of this week we'll be taking a look at how the incidents of the 21st of December 1988 shaped the lives of people within Lockerbie, and how it continues to affect them today.

You can hear more about this in the documentary for Greatest Hits Radio as we take a look at the legacy of that night 35 years on.

Lockerbie: What Happened

On the 21st of December, 1988, commercial plan Pan Am 103 was flying from London to New York when it exploded at over 30,000 feet.

The explosion killed all 259 people on the plane, many of whom were Americans heading home for Christmas, as well as 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie.

Former Libyan intelligence officer, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is so far the only man convicted in relation to the bombing, after being found guilty of 270 counts of murder by a panel of three Scottish judges, sitting at a special court in the Hague in 2001.

He was sent to prison in Scotland, but was controversially granted compassionate release in 2009 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, returning home to Libya where he died in 2012.

Jackie Moffat

Jackie Moffat was a school teacher in Lockerbie 35 years ago.

She'd just moved home, and was decorating with her children in preparation for Christmas when she seen a flash of light outside her window.

She said: "It wass the light that appeared first.

"All of a sudden there was a lot of noise of things hitting the roof. It was raining pieces. It was very scary. Places were ablaze.

"There was a lot of debris lying around, but I didn't look, we just went.

"We didn't look to see what it was, or identify anything, it was just a case of you walked. I just didn't want to know."

From that point onwards Jackie made it a point to attempt to help out as best she could.

She went to the school and began working in the kitchen to make sure emergency services were fed round the clock as they attempted to clear up what had happened.

As time passed though Jackie never really got an opportunity to address what had just happened to her. In the immediate aftermath she was kept busy, but over time she found herself unable to speak about what had happened to her, her family and the town.

She said: "Someone will bring on a question about the disaster and I can find myself tightening up and being stuck. I'm not able to answer the question.

"There was no support offered to us. There was one meeting as a public meeting for everyone. It was passed as a 'this is how you are supposed to react' type of thing.

"It wasn't really proper support the way we would recognise it as now.

"In those days there was no forum to sit and talk, and that's a lesson that would've been learned from that time. It just wasn't there."

Jackie is now finally beginning to feel like she can talk about what happened to her, but that's a very recent thing and follows discussions with other survivors about how they found speaking out.

James Gibson

James Gibson was only five years old when the events of Pan Am 103 unfolded before his very eyes.

As a young child he was staring out of his window on a hill just on the edges of town when he saw the explosion.

He explains what he saw: "When I was looking out I saw the big red flash in the sky and I thought it was Rudolph, that's what you are looking for an hoping for when you are five years old. You want Santa to come early. Then you go down are realise maybe it's not that.

"It was my Nana's house, it was the last house, her roof was on fire. There was still body parts and personal belongings scattered throughout Lockerbie though. I can mind them gathering them bits up. It's just not nice.

"I was just that young and innocent that I never associated that a body part could be detached from a body at that time."

Despite his tender age James still recalls parts of that night in 1988, and it clearly had a lasting impact on him.

He recalls even now when he hears a plane he always has to look up, just to check.

"Your always looking up, hearing different things. I still get flashbacks, just wee things. It leaves you thinking I'm lucky to not have really seen it.

"But it's something that is never really spoken about, just let it lay. It wouldn't be until last ten years or something like that I've really started talking about it and thinking about it and coming to terms with it.

"Where we stayed if it stayed in the air a little bit longer it would've ploughed into the hill and we'd all have been gone.

"It's horrible thinking about what ifs and maybes. It's not nice for anyone to try and drag up any memories."

Untold stories

All this week, we're hearing from some people who've not previously shared their Lockerbie experience or story:

Colin Dorrance: he was an 18 year old police officer when flight Pan Am 103 came down over Lockerbie.

On the night of the attack he was travelling from his parents to a Christmas party in the town.

Read his account of what happened here.

Support

If you need any support on any of the issues we've raised throughout our coverage visit the Tim Parry and Johnathon Ball Foundation who can help provide comprehensive support to victims and survivors of terrorism.