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On March 13, 1996, Thomas Watt Hamilton, aged 43, a disgruntled former scout leader, ousted by The Scout Association over twenty years previously, shot dead sixteen young children and their teacher, Gwen Mayor, in Dunblane Primary School's gymnasium. He used his legally licensed weapons and ammunition before killing himself by firing a .357 revolver into his mouth.
There is a memorial to the seventeen victims in the local cemetery and a cenotaph in the cathedral. The funds raised in the aftermath of the tragedy have been used to build a new community centre for the town. Following the incident, the government passed legislation banning ownership of all handguns (firearms under 60 centimetres in overall length) in Great Britain.
[edit] Famous residents
Dunblane has more than its fair share of sporting stars, including brothers Andrew and Jamie Murray, the UK's current number-one male tennis player and the current Wimbledon mixed doubles champion respectively, brothers Steven Caldwell and Gary Caldwell (Sunderland AFC and Celtic football players respectively) and Lynn Kenny, a rising star of the female golf circuit. Software developer Chris Sawyer lives in Dunblane: the man behind successful games such as RollerCoaster Tycoon and its sequel, Transport Tycoon and Locomotion. Solicitor General for Scotland, Elish Angiolini and former NATO General Secretary George Robertson also live in the town.
The local solicitor and historian, Alexander Barty lived and worked in Dunblane, and wrote the classic work 'The History of Dunblane.'
The hotel magnate Sir Reo Stakis is buried in Dunblane Cemetery..
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[edit] Sources
(Source: Wikipedia) |