Atlantic Mortuary

For, out of the terrible events have come unbreakable bonds; friendships forged out of tragedy that prove good can emerge even from the most evil of acts. A group of cyclists have shone a light on that. Look back – act forward was their motto as they embarked on a mammoth memorial challenge to remember those lost in the atrocity, recognise emergency services and others who responded and all those who suffered in its aftermath. Four emergency service cyclists were joined by the headteacher of Lockerbie Academy to complete the journey that was never finished, that by the 35 students of Syracuse University who lost their lives. It was a 3,238-mile challenge and one which had special significance for Colin Dorrance, who spearheaded it. As an 18-year-old probationary police officer, he was one of those who found himself at the scene of the tragedy. Thirty years on, both of his children have studied at Syracuse on scholarships from Lockerbie Academy, experiences which have proven to have a profound effect. Off-duty officer Colin was heading to a Christmas party at Lockerbie’s Queens Hotel – meeting friends from Carlisle - from his home in Kirkpatrick Fleming, about 12 miles south of the town, when the Pan Am flight 103 came down on December 21, 1988. He recalled: “I remember leaving home at about 6.45-6.50pm. For the first time in my life, I was early. The event wasn’t starting until 7.30pm. I thought I’d go into the town, get some cash and go to the hotel. “As I drove along the A74 and approached Lockerbie, I could see the explosion from Sherwood Crescent, about half a mile away. “I got to Sherwood Crescent and there was a duty sergeant, Drew Young. He said there was a huge hole in the road and that I better go to the police station and sign on. I did that, grabbed a police anorak and that was me. “I spent that night going from place to place, doing whatever I could do.” As the scale of what happened became clear, police and other emergency services from across Scotland and...