The Hungerford Massacre

19^th August 1987 started out as any normal sunny day at the height of the school holidays in the Berkshire market town of Hungerford, UK. At home in her semi-detached house was primary school dinner lady Dorothy Ryan who lived with her 27-year-old son Michael on South View. Unbeknown to her, the son she adored would soon become one of the most talked about killers in British history.

Just after midday Michael Ryan drove his Vauxhall Astra to Savernake Forest where a woman was having a picnic with her two children. He shot her dead and calmly walked away. The two children managed to escape and raise the alarm when they found a passer by and told her that a man had shot their mummy.

Stopping at a petrol station he opened fire again while he was filling his car up, this time missing and giving the people around him chance to ring the police thinking it was an attempted armed robbery.

Now Ryan drove back to his street and began shooting at whoever he saw, entering houses where he could and murdering the occupants, killing those walking by and even turning the gun on his own mother. After setting his house on fire and shooting at his own car, he then aimed at a police officer in his own vehicle who had been sent to investigate the reports of multiple shootings. PC Roger Brereton died in his patrol car but not before he was able to radio that he had been shot.

By now it was clear that the events unfolding were too big for the local police to deal with and specialist firearms teams were dispatched. The injured were being rushed to hospital and the death toll was rising with every sound of a gunshot.

By the time Michael Ryan was located he had locked himself in a school close to his house where he had attended as a child. Negotiations started taking place to try and allow Ryan to surrender without any more bloodshed.

After several hours of getting nowhere with him the sound of a single gunshot echoed from the classroom where he had barricaded himself in. When the police were content that it was safe they managed to gain entry and confirmed that Ryan had committed suicide.

The investigation into the massacre at Hungerford could find no reason for Ryan’s sudden murderous rampage that ended up leaving 16 dead and 15 others injured. The weapons he used ranged from automatic rifles to a 9mm pistol. The fires at South View were extinguished and the town returned to normal, but not without the name Hungerford forever being tainted with the memory of Britain’s worst mass shooting (at the time).

Today the streets show no evidence of what happened, the houses were rebuilt and the school carried on as normal. A memorial plaque honours the victims in a quiet corner of the town as well as a bench where those who wish to reflect on memories can sit a while out of the way.

But the one question that was never answered was why Michael Ryan felt the need to commit an act of multiple homicides that included his own mother, cementing his name in the list of the UK’s worst mass killers and into the annals of criminal history.

The Bombing of Pan Am flight 103

Christmas is usually a festive time where families are brought together and the winter nights mean cosy times in front of a fire away from the outside cold and wind. For the residents of the small Scottish border town of Lockerbie tonight was the night when it would be officially the longest night as the gap between sunrise and sunset would then start to close up again.

It was Wednesday 21^st December 1988 and with just four days to go until Christmas the flights home were already making the journeys around the world to deliver their excited human cargo to their waiting families. For Pan American World Airways flight 103 this was no exception. There were 243 passengers and 16 crew on board the Boeing 747 and the journey from London Heathrow to New York’s JFK Airport was going to be the usual long trip where most people would take the opportunity to sleep in the overnight Atlantic crossing.

Named Clipper Maid of the Seas, the jet left the gate at 1800 that evening and headed north on the scheduled flight plan. What nobody realised was that deep in the cargo hold, a bomb had been placed within a cassette player and it was timed to go off when the aircraft was well into it’s journey.

At 1902 that evening the bomb detonated with devastating results. The huge aircraft immediately broke into large pieces that showed up on RADAR as five separate targets. Control had no response on the radio and soon the targets vanished again.

Meanwhile on the ground in Lockerbie, huge pieces of flaming wreckage hit the residential areas with an impact that wiped out entire streets. The wings connected to a piece of fuselage left a massive crater surrounded by burning houses. The cockpit lay on a hill next to a church. A woman found dozens of bodies now littered where her house used to be. An engine embedded itself into a road. Fires raged as the occupants of the houses were left searching for their loved ones amid the chaos. One young boy who had gone to a friends house could only watch in horror as his house and his entire family vanished in the blink of an eye.

By the following morning the fires had been extinguished. The smell of aviation fuel was hanging in the air as police, fire crews, ambulances and the army swarmed the site as well as the press and visiting dignitaries. The death toll was shocking – all 259 on the aircraft plus 11 on the ground.

What was more shocking was the news just days later that it was a bomb that had brought the plane down. After a long and controversial investigation it was Libya that was blamed for the attack with two of it’s countrymen singled out. The two men were handed over for trial in 1999 and one was found guilty in 2001 following a lengthy court case on a neutral ground, in this case the Netherlands. He served just eight years when a court granted his release on compassionate grounds in 2009 due to him being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He died in Libya three years later.

Today the town of Lockerbie is remembered for all the wrong reasons – Britains worst air disaster and worst terrorist attack – but embraces the remembrance of all that was lost that day. A memorial garden was set up with each name engraved on a large stone monument, a book of remembrance in the chapel where the cockpit fell and several other plaques marking where some of the larger pieces of wreckage fell.

Other memorials honour the victims at Syracuse University where they lost 35 students on the flight and another at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia (right). While there are several others including a huge sculpture around the world, the world will never forget the bombing of this aircraft and the shock it created. Because of this new security rules were enforced at airports and greater vigilance was encouraged within the aviation community.

Despite the passage of time, the memories of those events that night 31 years ago will never fade.

Paris DC-10 Disaster 1974

On 3rd March 1974 a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft owned by Turkish Airlines took off from Orly Airport, Paris, on a journey that originated in Istanbul and was now bound for London Heathrow. On board were 346 people including the 11 crew and there was nothing to suggest that this flight would be any different from the rest. Designated as flight 981, the plane was less than two years old and had so far worked well for her owners.

Some of the more notable people on board were an amateur rugby team from England and Olympic hurdle silver medal winner John Cooper.

What nobody was aware of and could have never imagined was the serious design flaw of the aft cargo door which when in use swings outwards. As the aircraft climbed the pressure increased internally causing enormous strain on the locking pins which had previously been filed down to prevent difficulties for the ground crews.

Just minutes after the aircraft had left the runway the cargo door suffered a catastrophic failure and the resulting pressure release ripped the surrounding area off which included part of the fuselage and several passengers still strapped to their seats.

The airliner was doomed from that moment on. It lost control and nose-dived into the Forest d'Ermenonville outside of the French capital at just under 500 miles per hour.

Rescuers were faced with a horrific task of locating wreckage over a wide area covered in forestry. Body parts were left hanging from the trees and the task of trying to gather together all the wreckage for the forensic investigation was proved extremely hard work. It very soon became apparent that this was not a rescue operation but that of recovery. There were no survivors, making this (at the time) the worlds worst air disaster.

Most of the plane had smashed into small pieces leaving only a few fires which were easily dealt with, but the answer to the cause of the crash came two days later when reports came through that the cargo door and the dead row of passengers in their seats were found in a field. This led investigators straight to the cause, although initial theories had suggested terrorism could have played a part. This was discounted almost straight away.

As the inquiries blamed the cargo door failure, the families of the victims did what they could to remember their loved ones. So many bodies were not identified and many more were just body parts gathered together. The wreckage was removed as best as it could be but the forest would never return to normal after that amount of damage.

Following the cargo door failure, it was redesigned to swing inwards so that any internal pressure would force the door closed instead of force it open. What had started as a space-saving initiative had led to a huge investigation and the deaths of hundreds of people for it to be changed.

The crash has since been the subject of several books and was also featured on the popular TV documentary series Air Crash Investigation.

Today a huge stone memorial stands at the spot where the airliner crashed, it is on a nature trail and visited by people passing through on a daily basis. Looking around you could never dream that something so tragic would have taken place here as the only noise breaking the silence is that of the wind and the nature.


I took a trip to the forest and visited this memorial in August 2019 and found that although 45 years have now passed, pieces of wreckage are still being found and placed at the foot of the memorial. Most of them are unrecognisable but one piece in particular was a broken sign in both English and Turkish from the toilet cubicle. Whoever had found this had placed it separate from the rest as a reminder that these nondescript pieces of metal and wires were once a proud aircraft full of real people. The DC-10 has continued to fly and has proved to be one of the most popular aircraft for carrying both passengers and cargo. But the legacy of the Paris crash will always be the lessons learned from the cargo door failure.

Relatives have left tributes here for the victims of this terrible disaster and with the crash today still being the fifth worst air crash, this will continue to be one of those incidents that will be studied and written about for a very long time.

Explosion on the USS Iowa

At the crucial stages of the Second World War the United States Navy was relying more and more on heavy artillery warships like the battleship as beach landings in the Pacific and aerial bombardment became vital to retaking the islands from the Japanese. The Iowa class battleship was some of the largest warships in the navy and consisted of the Iowa, Missouri, New Jersey and Wisconsin. The building of two more were cancelled.

After serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets, the Iowa was in Tokyo Bay for the official Japanese surrender on 2^nd September 1945. She was decommissioned in 1949 but brought back into service to serve in the Korean War just two years later. Serving for another 7 years she was once again decommissioned and entered the reserve fleet in Philadelphia where she would be left alone.

In 1984 it was decided to once again place her into active service and despite being mothballed for 26 years she was upgraded and brought into the modern day combat initiative.

On 19^th April 1989 she was in the Caribbean sea off the island of Puerto Rico and, after training with the drill rounds had taken place, it was scheduled in for the ship to conduct a live firing of her main turrets.

At 0953 that morning turret number two suffered a massive explosion. At first they were unsure of how bad the damage was, until they managed to enter the area and found that a fireball had ripped through several decks and set off further explosions several minutes later.

All 47 members of the gun crew of Turret Two were dead. Fire teams entered the damaged area cooling the turret and extinguished the fire inside.

In what became a scandalous investigation, the US Navy lay the blame on a suicidal crew member deliberately sabotaging the exercise using a chemical or electronic detonator on the explosives and killing his shipmates. The first reports suggested it was because he was in a homosexual relationship with another crew member that had gone sour, although they could find no evidence of any of this.

The relatives of the deceased piled pressure on the government to reopen the investigation and after further inquiries it was finally agreed that it was NOT the result of a suicidal killer but in fact accidental detonation caused by an over ram of the powder bags in the gun. The US Navy disagreed with the findings and stated that the cause was in fact a mystery. They have never apologised to the relatives of the men blamed.

The USS Iowa was finally decommissioned for the final time in 1990 and struck off the navy register in 2006. So began a campaign to have her preserved as a museum by enthusiasts and ship lovers. After several years of legal wrangling she was towed to San Pedro in California to be opened as a museum ship in 2011 where she is berthed to this day. She is a work in progress and continues to gather funding, maintenance, volunteers and work to keep her looking pristine. Together they make sure that this fine battleship is preserved for everybody to see and enjoy.

I came to visit the Iowa in February 2016 with my wife and found the ship spellbinding. She has a fascinating history which is told by the veterans and volunteers that are still on board to tell the visitors of her glory days gone by. Shiny new paintwork and the original equipment makes this ship a marvel for anybody who takes the time to look around her decks and imagine what life was like when she was brand new over 75 years ago.

Walking over to Turret Two there was a memorial plaque to the 47 crew who died in the explosion and wreaths to remember them most likely laid by the families of the victims. This ensures that this disaster is also part of her history and that despite the tragedy of it, nobody can turn a blind eye to what happened here.

It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of those passionate about the Iowa that make sure this ship is around for a long time to come.

Sinking of the USS Maine

The United States Navy has always maintained a presence around the world and the Caribbean islands are in particular of interest for both law enforcement reasons and for keeping the peace. Cuba was always one of the islands that came with issues and the modern day shows that this has never abated.

But in 1898 the battleship Maine found itself here during the Cuban War of Independence, a fight against the Spanish to take the island for the Cuban people once and for all. The USA was deployed on the side of Cuba to render whatever assistance was deemed necessary following accusations of brutality against the civilians.

The capital city, Havana, was home to a large harbour and it was here that the Maine was at anchor on the night of 15^th February 1898 with her crew sleeping soundly. Suddenly a massive explosion ripped into the night air and caused the forward end of the ship to tear apart. The aft section sank slowly into the harbour and rested on the bed of the harbour.

266 people died that night with only 89 survivors. The fallout from this disaster resulted in all suspicion falling on the Spanish. Investigations concluded that it was a magazine explosion caused by a torpedo or a mine and heated tensions between Spain and the USA led to the Spanish-America War just two months after the sinking with the cry Remember the Maine!

Although the war was over by August the Maine was still wrapped in controversy as nobody could decide the cause of the sinking. Whether it was accidental detonation of her own explosives or an act of aggression by a foreign power, the mystery cause of the sinking of the Maine has never truly been solved.

The wreck of the Maine was eventually raised from Havana harbour in 1912 and following the removal of bodies she was towed out to sea and scuttled. Her wreck was rediscovered in 2000 further away than where it was said to have gone down and explored by ROV.

Today the bodies of 229 of the Maine’s crew are at rest in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, the mast of the ship, recovered from the wreck, towering above them (below). Another 19 are buried at Key West Cemetery under a statue of a sailor holding an oar (above and left).

The Death of Diana Princess of Wales 1997

Lady Diana Spencer made world headlines in 1981 when she married into the British Royal Family in a blaze of publicity. Prince Charles had won the heart of the young Diana from when she was just 16 years old and just a few years later was to became the Princess of Wales, being immediately adored by the public. Despite what looked like a fairy tale romance, things didn't go well for the couple though, in private their marriage was already having problems. The media, constantly following the couple around wherever they went, documented every part of their life. The birth of their sons William and Harry, the holidays, private lives and even spying on Diana in a gym.

In 1992 it was announced that the Prince and Princess would be separating and four years later were officially divorced. While the Prince had his usual duties to attend to, Diana used the title Princess of Wales to forward her causes that would generate a host of publicity for the good. Running a campaign to ban landmines she was photographed walking through a minefield to highlight this blight on the worlds stage and the injuries to children caught up in the horrors of war.

But it was her love life that became the focus of the press from the moment she split from Charles and they lapped up every morsel of gossip. Links to a heart surgeon, celebrities and members of high ranking military were the usual front pages but when she was seen to be taking a holiday in the summer of 1997 on a yacht with Harrods owner Mohammed al-Fayed the cameras were zooming in to catch every moment. This is where it was confirmed that there was something romantic going on between Diana and al-Fayed's son Dodi.

By now every newspaper was hungry for anything relating to Diana. Unfortunately she was being publicised for her love life instead of the countless charity campaigns she was running and although she was getting good results these stories were put on the shelf so that the scandal-sniffing papers could put gossip on the front pages. Photos of her would fetch a very good price, even more so if they were to catch her doing something romantic with Dodi. A photograph of them both sharing an intimate moment together on the yacht had already gone worldwide.

On 30th August 1997 the couple were in France and were having dinner at the Ritz Hotel in the capital Paris. Still being hounded by the press, they decided just before midnight to head to the apartment where they would be staying. The staff at the Ritz organised for the pair to be let out of the back entrance away from the waiting photographers and a Mercedes was arranged to take them away. A bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones would accompany them sat in the front, driven by chauffeur Henri Paul.

Setting off from the Ritz at around 20 past midnight on 31st August the car sped off with paparazzi already giving chase, cameras at the ready. After just a few minutes it became a high speed chase through the streets of Paris. As the car entered the tunnel at the Pont de l'Alma the driver lost control and the car slammed into a concrete pillar causing the entire front of the vehicle to crumple. Within a second the car had spun around and come to rest.

The chasing motorcyclists stopped to help the occupants, but some carried on taking photographs. A severely injured Diana was snapped in the back of the wrecked car, her life in the balance. Emergency services were called and were there within minutes.

She was removed from the car along with the bodyguard who were both still alive, Dodi and the driver Henri Paul were dead. As the ambulances raced to hospital, the first news broke that Diana was seriously injured in a Paris car crash.

By 0400 the fight to save Diana was over, she had succumbed to her injuries. The world soon reeled in shock at the news that this famous, kind, loving Princess, a woman who had dominated the newspapers for years, was now dead.

A replica of the American liberty flame above the tunnel soon became an unofficial memorial to the "peoples princess" and remains so to this day.

The funeral of Diana was a worldwide headline-hitting event, one in which everybody who read about it wanted to know more. TV newsreaders in black ties fought back tears as they read the latest developments. Images of the wrecked car became known almost as much as the woman herself. Public outpourings of grief led to thousands of flowers being laid outside the Royal palaces in London.

As the shock of her death gave way to anger, questions were asked as to how this could have happened. She was only 36 years old and doing great things in the world. Conspiracy theories suggested she was murdered, stories of her being pregnant, engaged and even converting to Islam were rife. Although nobody can stop people believing what they want to believe, there were calls for an inquiry as well as an inquest and both were launched.

A French inquiry in 1999 concluded that the car had been in collision with a Fiat Uno which was never officially located and identified. They went on to say that the cause of the collision was the Mercedes driver being over the legal alcohol limit and losing control of the car.

In 2007 a British inquest opened after a long investigation by the Metropolitan Police and in April 2008 the jury agreed that the three victims were killed as a result of the pursuing vehicles and returned a verdict of unlawful killing. They stated gross negligence of both the paparazzi and driver Henri Paul.

The irony in this tragic event is that the sole survivor, bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones was sat in the front passenger seat. Despite the negligence of all parties involved, it was down to Diana and Dodi's personal actions that dealt the final blow:

Both died simply because they didn't wear their seat belts.

(Below) Messages are still left at the liberty flame above the tunnel 22 years after her death.

Whitby Lifeboat Disaster 1861

On 9th February 1861 a storm struck the East Yorkshire coast that would leave the town of Whitby grieving for their sons in a disaster that highlighted the bravery of their townsfolk like never before. From around 0830 that morning the town lifeboat, manned by local volunteers, was sent out on several occasions to assist the crews of vessels that had started to wallow in the heavy seas and come aground.

Time after time the lifeboat struggled in the biting cold and freezing seas to rescue the crews and no sooner had they landed back ashore another ship was seen to be in distress. Each time the crews could not simply stand by and let fellow sailors drown and so they gathered themselves together and headed out again despite the weather being appalling. Crowds of onlookers gathered on the seafront to witness the drama and cheer the lifeboat crew as they came ashore with another human cargo of wet but thankful survivors.

By 1400 that afternoon the cargo vessel Merchant went aground and the lifeboat was once again sent out to rescue the crew. But tragically on this occasion their luck ran out. The Whitby Lifeboat was attempting to rescue the Merchant's crew when waves took hold of the boat and threw her 13 occupants into the sea. One of the men, Henry Freeman, was wearing a new design of cork lifejacket and it is thought that this saved his life. When he was rescued it was then found that he was the only survivor.

The deaths of the 12 lifeboatmen left a staggering 46 children without a father and 10 wives without a husband. The town was shocked and immediately went into deep mourning for the heroes of the town. This became an event that would be remembered for decades to come and is still remembered today.

A memorial was placed in The Church of St Mary the Virgin on top of the cliffs overlooking the sea next to the ruins of Whitby Abbey (bottom right). The gravestones of some of the lifeboatmen, in danger of being damaged by weathering and land erosion, were carefully moved and placed up against the church walls in order to save them (below).

The sole survivor Henry Freeman was not put off by this disaster and vowed to continue to head out to sea. In fact he carried on manning the lifeboat and was the coxswain for 22 years, participating in many more rescues which not only earned him medals for bravery but which also led to him being one of the most celebrated and renowned lifeboat members in the history of the RNLI.

Freeman died in 1904 and was buried in Whitby Cemetery, his heroic career etched on his gravestone for all to see. An exhibition of the disaster and the exploits of it's most famous hero can be seen at the Whitby Lifeboat Museum in the town along with a life size statue of him (above).