Lockerbie History and Pan Am 103

Site of the Lockerbie Plane Crash – Home to a Community

Sep 2, 2009

History writes of the Lockerbie crash but not of the town or its community. Not only is Lockerbie a destination, it's a community that many call home.

Tragedy thrust Lockerbie onto the world stage in 1988 and the small town has since come to welcome the world. The town's history opened a new chapter on December 21, 1988 when an act of terrorism brought down Pan Am flight 103 in residential Lockerbie killing 259 passengers and crew, along with 11 people on the ground. With memorials put in place during the years that followed, Lockerbie paid honorable tribute to the plane crash victims.

During the past two weeks, Lockerbie is once again making headlines with the Scottish Minister's decision to release the convicted bomber due to terminal illness. The guardian.co.uk website reported British Prime Minister Gordon Brown supported the Scottish Minister's decision, adding further fuel to the unpopular decision.

This controversial and emotion-filled issue resurrects the Pan Am tragedy and once again brings Lockerbie in to view. Aside from the tragic event and subsequent years of mourning, little information is published about the town of Lockerbie. Unlocking Lockerbie history exposes a small, but strong community dating back to the time of Roman occupation.

Pan Am Flight 103 and Lockerbie Community

No one could have predicted the tragedy which unfolded in the town of Lockerbie. In the hours and days which followed the tragic plane crash, the Lockerbie community went from obscurity to the focus of the world. Besieged by the media and crime investigators, it took many years to return to normalcy.

Grieving families visited and became friends with the locals, some returning each year. Families have made their own makeshift memorials, either by planting trees or leaving crosses where loved ones fell to earth.

In an article from Scotland on Sunday, a victim's family noted visiting to meet June and Jim Wilson on whose farm their son Alexander was found. "Jimmy found Alexander, and therefore could tell us exactly where he fell. The indentation that his body had made in the meadow was still there. So that is where we decided to build a cairn."

Lockerbie History

Located twenty-six miles north of the border, Lockerbie is a quiet and peaceful town on most days. Farming has long been the main occupation but over the past 20 years a wood-buring electricity plant has become the town's main employer. The town offers a summer recreational destination with its 18-hole golf course, while the local ice rink is popular for curling and skating.

According to the Dryfesdale Lodge Visitor's Centre, the origin of the town's name is veiled in mystery but may be attributed to local land owners named Locard and Locart dating back to 1150AD. It is likely the town became known as Lockerbie after one of these early families.

Historic struggles were not uncommon to Lockerbie. A variety of encampments discovered during the eighteenth century reveal signs of Roman occupation throughout the Lockerbie area. Based on the Ravenna Cosmography, a seventh century document depicting Roman outposts, a mix of marching camps and forts existed in Torwood Moor, Ladyward, Birrens, and Burnswark.

Of particular pride is a bog oak goblet on display at the Dryfesdale Lodge Visitor's Centre. Bog wood or bog oak is the term given to trees submerged in peat bogs for thousands of years. The wood is preserved as the peat extrudes oxygen, preserving and staining the wood. Bog wood can be used to create dagger handles, goblets, furniture, and even bowling balls. The bog oak goblet at the visitor center is approximately 2,000 years old.

Dryfesdale Lodge Visitor's Centre and Lockerbie Memorial

The Dryfesdale Lodge Visitor's Centre became a reality when the local community lobbied for a former cemetery caretaker's cottage to be renovated into a visitors center. The center serves as a community center for educating visitors on the history and recreational facilities within the area. In October 2003, the Dryfesdale Lodge Visitor's Centre opened its doors and now welcomes over 3,000 visitors from around the world each year.

The visitor center houses a history room with information depicting Lockerbie history while an exhibition room displays local art. A third room, the Dryfesdale Room, is a quiet room of contemplation from which to reflect on the Lockerbie Pan Am flight bombing. Within a short walk from the visitor's center is the Lockerbie Memorial Gardens paying homage to the bombing victims.

Steeped in history dating back many hundreds of years, Lockerbie and the surrounding area offer a friendly and charming view into a community, which just so happens to have experienced a great tragedy. In Edd McCracken's article Lockerbie: 20 Years On, he notes that although the spotlight is periodically shown upon Lockerbie, "when residents unknot the town from its history, Lockerbie will continue to be what it always has been: a home."

The copyright of the article Lockerbie History and Pan Am 103 in Scottish History is owned by Allen Williams. Permission to republish Lockerbie History and Pan Am 103 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.