On March 13th 1996, a resident from Dunblane, called Thomas Hamilton, entered the gymnasium of the local Primary school and shot dead 16 pupils and then himself. In the school at the time were the Murray brothers of tennis fame as well as a full compliment of teachers and students. The gymnasium has been demolished and replaced by a memorial garden.
Dunblane is a sleepy commuter town, near Stirling in central Scotland, with a population of around 10,000. Close by was another primary school, a co-ed boarding school supporting children from the Armed Forces and a co-ed High School with 800 pupils. They were the lucky ones.
The gymnasium at the primary school, where the murders took place, has been demolished and replaced by a memorial garden.
Dunblane FC was re-formed in 2000 and has over 300 members, supporting an amateur club including juniors up to 18 years old, an adult team of over 35 years old and a flourishing girls' section. The Heather, the club's nickname, is known as Scotland's largest community club.
Nothing about football, but about the terrible massacre. I have a friend (he was a Cambridge boy) who is Scottish & a rifle shooter. He tells me there is something very suspicious about what was discovered in the investigation into the shooting. Normally something like that would have full records released after 25 years. In this case it's 100, which is the kind of thing you get if someone very important is involved.
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