Lockerbie: Our Story will air this coming week on BBC Two and BBC Scotland channel…
On 21st December 1988, passenger jet Pan Am 103 was blown up over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 259 on board and 11 on the ground. It was the UK’s largest crime scene and to this day it remains the deadliest terrorist attack on British soil. In Lockerbie: Our Story families and loved ones – most of whom are speaking for the first time – tell the deeply personal story of six victims, each with their own hopes and dreams.
Between them they build a profoundly moving film about the power of love, hope and the unbreakable bonds of family and friendship. Yet, never far from the surface, grief and the eternal ‘what if’ hangs in the air, unanswered and unanswerable.
Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning BBC Scotland:
“The impact of the tragic events of the Lockerbie disaster in December 1988 continue to be felt today. It was an atrocity which shocked the world and changed lives forever. Our documentary will honour the memory of those lost, and tell the stories of those left behind, with the greatest of care.”
For nearly forty years, as last year told in the Sky drama production Lockerbie, the bombing has been mired in criminal investigations, controversy and conspiracy theory – overshadowing the stories of the people who lost their lives. Instead, this powerful and emotional documentary focuses on the passengers.
The BBC documentary tells the personal stories of six people who boarded the plane that day, never to come home. For the first time, family and friends describe their lost loved ones in intimate detail – who they were, what they were like in life, their hopes and dreams for a future that never came. They tell the programme why they were on the plane that day and wonder whether they should have been warned not to be.
Remembering…
• Olive Gordon (25), Hairdresser – Seat 45G
In Birmingham, Olive’s sister, Donna recalls how she bought a last-minute ticket so that she could go Christmas shopping in New York. Colyn, Olive’s younger brother says: “I have always asked why her? Why my sister?” and later in the documentary, he attempts to find closure by visiting his sisters former flat in Clapham, London.
• Minas Kulukundis (38), Shipping Broker – Seat 51K
In Kensington, Minas’ son John remembers his father was originally booked on an earlier Concorde flight to New York to attend his brother’s funeral in New York, before changing plans so he could be home for the family Christmas Party. Says John: “My father has to be much more than the event that killed him. His memory is almost tainted by the way that he died.”
• Tim Burman (24), Banker – Seat 38G
In Glasgow, sisters Fiona, Rachel and Tanya remember their brother, Tim Burman. Says Tanya: “He’s both the brother we had, but also a victim of Pan Am 103.” Together, they watch the only remaining video footage of their brother which neither Rachel nor Fiona have seen before. Rose, Tim’s girlfriend whom he met in Australia during a university gap year, recounts how they fell in love. Rose poignantly reveals how Tim bought a ticket so he could spend Christmas in Manhattan with her.
• Helga Mosey (19), Au Pair – Seat 22K
In Lancaster, Reverend John Mosey and his wife Lisa remember their daughter, Helga who was working in New Jersey as an au pair and about to study music at university. The documentary also hears from Helga’s brother, Marcus, who recalls how his sister wanted to discover who she was beyond being just the vicar’s daughter. Months after the disaster, Lisa was given her daughter’s watch that survived the explosion, she says: “It’s still somehow working and our daughter is dead.”
• William ‘Billy’ MacAllister (26), Pro Golfer & Theresa ‘Terri’ Saunders (28), Marketing Executive – Seat 14E & Seat 14F
Friends on the Isle of Mull, St Andrews and Surrey, remember couple Billy MacAllister and Terri Saunders who were heading to New York for Christmas for a romantic break. Alison, who worked with Terri in Barclays in London, reveals her friend’s reluctance to travel on that fateful day while, Billy’s friend Stewart recalls: “He genuinely hated flying so it was really ironic, and horrible, that he died the way he died and the circumstances.” Meanwhile, on the Isle of Mull, family friends John and Olive talk about Billy’s enduring legacy.
Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries, BBC:
“Nearly forty years on from the bombing of Pan Am 103, this film shines a long overdue light on some of the people and personal stories behind the bombing.”
Lockerbie: Our Story, airs on June 2nd at 9pm on BBC Two and BBC Scotland.
