THIRTY years after the Dunblane school shooting shocked the world, Islanders gathered in St Brelade yesterday to remember the victims – and reflect on the special link Jersey forged with the Scottish community in the aftermath of the tragedy 30 years ago.
Organised by George and Jean Baird, both of whom were both originally from Scotland before they moved to the Island, yesterday’s gathering at Sir Winston Churchill Memorial Park saw a small group come together to pay their respects to those who lost their lives and others who were affected.
The tragedy unfolded just after 9.30am on Wednesday 13 March 1996. Pupils were preparing to begin class when a gunman entered the gymnasium.
In less than four minutes, Thomas Hamilton – armed with more than 700 rounds of ammunition – killed 16 children, most aged just five and six, and their teacher.
A further 12 children and three adults were shot or injured during the attack before the assailant shot himself dead.
The horror of the tragedy is something etched into the memories of all those affected in the community, and beyond.
Islanders who wished to pay tribute came together at 11am yesterday under an overcast sky with heavy downpour, with several describing it as “fitting” Scottish weather.
Initially everyone gathered around a Mongolia tree, which had been planted as a memorial for the tragedy.
There were also two benches installed nearby those many years ago in memory of the lives lost, and snowdrops had also been planted in the park.
The gathering began with a speech by Rev Carolann Birnie, a member of The Church of Scotland who is an ordained minister currently in St Columba’s, Jersey.
During it, she said: “We gather here today in memory of 16 dear little children and their teacher.
“Four awful minutes of tragedy ended the lives of little children with many more injured. Then there was silence.”
In previous testimonies given by survivors, they described this silence after the shooting stopped.
She added: “We remember that there are parents who can no longer remember the voices of their little children.”
Following a prayer, Mr Baird read out The End by Winnie the Pooh author A. A. Milne – a poem he recalled seeing on a headstone while visiting Dunblane after the tragedy.
Recalling the moment they found out about what happened, Mrs Baird told the JEP: “We heard about it on the news, like many people did. It was absolutely shocking.”
With memories of the Lockerbie disaster – which saw a plane crash into a Scottish town killing 259 on board and 11 residents – still in mind, she remembered thinking, “not something else”.
The pair had previously invited families impacted by the Lockerbie disaster to the Island for a holiday to get some respite, away from the press.
Wanting to help those affected by the tragedy – and in particular the children – in some way, Mr and Mrs Baird got together with the Jersey Scottish Society to fundraise nearly £100,000.
As they had done in the wake of Lockerbie, they decided to put the money raised towards flying more than 100 people affected by the shooting to Jersey, and putting them up in hotels.
Working with the Dunblane Community Centre, they organised who would go. Among the attendees were the headteacher of the school, children who had survived being shot, and many grieving.
“It was brilliant for them to get away from what was happening – not to forget, but to given them recovery to gather their emotions,” Mrs Baird recalled.
She added that they approached it with discretion to give them privacy during the trip, so they could “just be tourists during their stay”.
“The hotel managers knew who they were but no body else did,” she said.
The poem
When I was One,
I had just begun.
When I was Two,
I was nearly new.
When I was Three,
I was hardly me.
When I was Four,
I was not much more.
When I was Five,
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I’m as clever as clever
So I think I’ll be six now
Forever and ever.
