03 · Remembrance
They were not a number. They were 270 lives.
Students, parents, children, crew and townsfolk — from 21 countries, brought together by a single flight home before Christmas.
The youngest was an infant; the oldest, in their eighties. Thirty-five were students of Syracuse University, returning from a semester abroad in London. Eleven were residents of Lockerbie, at home on an ordinary winter evening.
Behind each of the 270 was a life still unfolding — a career begun, a family raised, a first term at university, a homecoming planned. This page cannot hold all their stories, but it holds their memory.
Look Back, Act Forward. Motto of the Syracuse University Remembrance Scholars
Where they came from
The victims held the nationalities of 21 nations. The great majority were citizens of the United States and the United Kingdom; others came from across Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.
- United States ·
- United Kingdom ·
- India ·
- Canada ·
- Germany ·
- France ·
- Ireland ·
- Sweden ·
- Japan ·
- Italy ·
- Argentina ·
- South Africa ·
- Spain ·
- Israel ·
- Switzerland ·
- Jamaica ·
- Trinidad & Tobago ·
- Belgium ·
- Bolivia ·
- Hungary ·
- Philippines ·
Nationalities of the victims, drawn from the public historical record.
Places of memory
Where the world keeps the light burning.
Garden of Remembrance
At Dryfesdale Cemetery, on the edge of the town, a Garden of Remembrance and memorial stones record the names of all 270. It is the focal point of the annual service each December.
Remembrance Room
Across the lane from Tundergarth churchyard — where the aircraft's nose section came to rest — a small Remembrance Room holds a Book of Remembrance naming every person who died.
The Lockerbie Cairn
A memorial cairn built of 270 blocks of red Scottish sandstone — one for each life — stands at Arlington National Cemetery, a gift from the people of Scotland to the United States.
Wall of Remembrance
Syracuse University honours its 35 lost students at a Place and Wall of Remembrance, and each year names 35 Remembrance Scholars who carry their memory forward through service and study.
Further memorials stand elsewhere in Britain and the United States, including a memorial in Westminster Abbey. Together they gather families each December so that the names are spoken aloud and the 270 are never forgotten.
How to visit
Paying your respects.
The principal places of remembrance are open to the public and welcome quiet visitors year-round:
- In Scotland
- LockerbieGarden of Remembrance, Dryfesdale Cemetery, off the A709 — and the Remembrance Room at Tundergarth, a few miles east.
- In the USA
- Arlington & SyracuseThe Lockerbie Cairn at Arlington National Cemetery; the Wall of Remembrance at Syracuse University, New York.
- Each year
- 21 DecemberMemorial services are held in Lockerbie, at Syracuse and at Arlington on the anniversary.
If you are visiting, please treat these as the places of mourning they remain for many families. Before travelling, check current access and service details with the local authority, cemetery or university, as arrangements can change.