Memorial service takes place 35 years since Lockerbie bombing
270 people lost their lives on this day in 1988
Last updated 21st Dec 2023
A memorial service marking 35 years since the Lockerbie bombing has paid tribute to the 270 people who died in the "senseless act of violence".
On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over the town in Dumfries and Galloway, 40 minutes into its flight from London to New York.
LISTEN: Our new documentary hears stories from Lockerbie as the town marks 35 years since the bombing of Flight 103
All 259 passengers and crew were killed, including 35 students from the University of Syracuse, along with 11 Lockerbie residents.
Victims were of 21 different nationalities, and 190 were American.
The crime scene covered 845 square miles, including rural Tundergarth, where wreaths were laid outside Tundergarth Church - which sits opposite the field where the nose cone of the plane fell to the ground.
The service was led by Jeff Brown, Moderator of the Presbytery of Annandale and Eskdale.
He said:
"We remember all those taken in a senseless act of violence 35 years ago," he said as the first of four candles was lit.
"We remember also the outpouring of love that continues today from the people of Lockerbie and the surrounding area, to those in Syracuse and all the other countries."
Wreaths were also being laid at Rosebank Crescent, which became the site of a huge crater, and Sherwood Crescent, where houses were also destroyed.
Later, a minute's silence was held at the Garden of Remembrance at Dryfesdale cemetery just outside Lockerbie.
Wreaths were laid by organisations including the police and fire service, and local dignitaries including Dumfriesshire MP David Mundell and Fiona Armstrong, Lord Lieutenant of Dumfries.
A floral display in the shape of a plane was laid on behalf of a group representing Pan Am stewardesses.
Mr Mundell, a former Scottish secretary said:
"I think it's very important for everyone that we mark such a significant event. 259 people in the air, 11 people here on the ground here in Lockerbie perished, it's still the worst terrorist undertaking on British soil.
"Our thoughts today are with those people's family and friends 35 years on, it's important they know that their loved ones are not forgotten, and of course it's particularly poignant the 35th anniversary because 35 students from Syracuse university died in the bombing, and one of the only positive things to come from those events have been the close ties that have been established between Syracuse University, Lockerbie Academy and the Lockerbie community more generally, and it's right that we honour that today."
Mr Mundell, who grew up in the area, said the mood was "sombre" as the town marked the anniversary.
He said:
"I wasn't in the town that night but obviously I remember it very, very well as news unfolded as to what had happened, I think everybody can remember where they were, obviously I had lots of friends and family still here.
"I remember vividly the days afterwards. But it's always been about the stoicism people here displayed when that event happened, the way they stepped up to the mark and helped not just the victims but the armed forces, police, the emergency services who were involved afterwards, it was a remarkable effort by the community."
Pupils from Lockerbie Academy gave readings and a piper played as the wreaths were laid.
Josh Halliday, one of the Lockerbie Academy Syracuse scholars for 2023-24, gave one of the readings.
He said:
"Lockerbie, a quiet and peaceful town, my home, was forever changed on that fateful night on 21st December 1988 through an act of terrorism. The loss of 11 innocent lives in my community is a wound that will never fully heal.
"Today we remember those we lost, not as mere statistics but as individuals with dreams and inspirations. This applies not only to the Lockerbie residents but to all 270 people who passed away that night."
Services are also being held in the US.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf paid tribute to the "incredible courage" shown by the local community and emergency service workers.
"Can I also add my thoughts and indeed my prayers to all of those who continue to feel the impact of the tragic, terrible terrorist attack in Lockerbie on December 21, 1988," he said.
Tributes were also paid by other Scottish party leaders.
Organisers of the permanent memorial in Lockerbie said the impact of the bombing has been lifelong for survivors, and they are working to create a facility similar to the 9/11 museum in New York so the tragedy can be understood.
Lori Carnochan, 35, from the Tundergarth Kirks Trust, said some people who remember the Lockerbie bombing are still trying to get in touch with victims' families to pass on messages about their loved ones.
Ms Carnochan said:
"We speak about 'our survivors', the people who weren't killed in Lockerbie.
"There's people in Lockerbie who are only now speaking about it. There are people who were five, six, seven years old when it happened, who were still having nightmares or bed-wetting into their teens because of trauma they suffered that night.
"Lockerbie has a population of only 4,000 and a huge amount of people have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). It's such a small, close-knit community, lots of the victims were well known. Rural communities look after each other.
"Despite the terror which was rained down on them, people in Lockerbie were so welcoming to people from all over the world."
A permanent exhibition in the Pan Am 103 Memorial Room in Tundergarth Church documents the lives of the victims and recognises "hometown heroes" who helped in the aftermath of the terror attack.
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.
His family, and some relatives of the bombing victims, believe he suffered a miscarriage of justice but repeated appeals against his conviction have been rejected.
Fellow Libyan Abu Agila Masud, 72, who is alleged to have helped make the bomb, is to go on trial in the US in May 2025 facing three charges which he denies.