Thirty-four years ago today, at just after 7pm, all communications ceased between PanAm flight 103 and ground stations. Its radar blip split into pieces which quickly fell out of range. The wreckage of the plane slammed into the town of Lockerbie, 70 miles southeast of Glasgow and 26 miles northwest of Carlisle. Eleven people were killed in the town, 259 died on the plane. A bomb had exploded on board. Culpability was lain with Gadaffi's Libya, one man was convicted (of a relatively minor role), one was acquitted and another has recently been accused of complicity - building the bomb. The chain of command has never really been cleared up.
We remember the victims of this, the worst terrorist atrocity on British soil.
On a personal note. In late July 1981, I was travelling up the A74 (which passes Lockerbie) by car. I was struck by something not unlike a premonition after passing the Scottish border near Carlisle. When it passed, I looked out of the window and saw this roadsign. It features in many of the photographs, taken in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. Nowadays, the A74 has been upgraded to the M74 motorway, and the intersection shown is now junction 18 on that road.
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