30 years ago today I couldn't have been happier. The next day that all changed as the whole world watched.

[dunblanemum]

30 years ago today i had two beautiful children, a new job i loved and we were thinking about moving house. Then the next day my eldest daughter went to school and did not return. On that snowy morning in the quiet town of Dunblane she was one of the children shot and killed as she had fun in her gym class.

I still remember that day like it was yesterday and it still hurts, but life has gone on and i have a lot to be grateful for. In my own life things have mostly been good. We had an another child and both my children are now adults living fulfilling, happy lives. My husband and I are retired and enjoying a life of leisure and travel. Our successful campaign at the time to ban handguns means there has never been another shooting in a British school. That we have made the lives of innumerable children safer, makes me content.

I wanted to post as i think people often wonder how parents who have lost children in terrible circumstances manage to go on. I think the only thing i can say is that you get through it, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. Then those days turn into months then years and before you know here we are 30 year on. So the short answer probably is that time gets you through it. Plus greta friends and a lot of wine! Tears and laughter is how i survived.

I am not expecting anything from this post. I just wanted to write it down as i find myself alone this afternoon and pondering on it all.

I didnt want to read and run. You must be so much stronger than me, how you and your loved ones coped I hope I never get to find out. Your daughter, her classmates and teachers will never be forgotten by the generations who sat crying while listening to this tragedy unfold. Bless you. I am so sorry for what you have gone through and the loss of your beautiful daughter. Thank you for sharing

Thank you for posting @dunblanemum

I remember it so vividly.

I am so sorry for your unimaginable loss and trauma. It is wonderful that you and your family have gone on to live the lives you’ve written about so movingly. And I would like to thank you for everything you did to get the gun laws changed; that was incredibly courageous of you

I remember this happening, it was so shocking. I’m glad you have managed to have a good life, it must be so hard to get passed that kind of loss.

I watched the doc on tv recently.
The story of Sophie North stuck with me, and the loss her dad had been through.

Your daughter and her class mates will never be forgotten. Sending you a hug xx

Thank you so much for posting and on behalf of all of us who have had children since, thank you so much for your amazingly effective campaign in achieving the ban on handguns. I was reading about the campaign this week on the BBC news site. The writer seemed astonished still at the fact that you achieved the complete ban.

I am so sorry for your loss, and glad to hear that your life has given you laughter as well as tears.

Your little girl, her classmates and teachers will not be forgotten in the UK in our lifetimes. x

I’m so sorry for your loss. I am another who remembers that day - I was at university and remember my friends and I jus being in shock at such a terrible crime at a British school.

Thank you to you and all the families for the campaigning that keeps all of us safer and has undoubtedly saved lives.

It is funny think about her because obviously she is stuck at age 5 whilst my other two have grown up and changed so much.

She was a lovely girl. Fairly quiet, placid and very particular. She wasn't keen on getting dirty or having things out of place. My friends always joked that she was the only child they knew who could go out to play in white shorts and keep them clean! Her best friend ( who also died and whose mum is my best friend) was very adventurous and would persuade her to do more daredevil things whereas my DD brought the calm and sensibleness. They were a great team.

It is making me smile to remember her.

I remember op.
Thoughts are with you..
The training that followed at schools was sad but necessary.. Ds has had annual practice Plans Of Action... One of which he used last week when we were on holiday.. A very large ddog escaped it's harness and attacked our dpuppy.. Quite a scene. Ds 11 took himself off to find a safe place to hide.. Hadn't even noticed tbh such was the goings on. Thankfully a member of staff from a nearby shop helped the woman contain her ddog and ended what could have been horrific.. We were all unharmed.

I remember that day even though I was only young.

Your strength to carry on and to fight for a change in the law is unbelievably admirable.

I’m so sorry that you had to go through such a loss x

I remember. I was a fairly naive teenager at the time. I remember my mum crying, and I remember watching the news unfold. It is hard to believe 30 years have passed. I am so sorry for the decades you have endured your loss and the huge impact on your community. I am so glad to hear that out of such an incomprehensible, devastating tragedy, you have salvaged a life for yourself and your family

I’ve been thinking about Dunblane all this week. It’s a date that sticks in my mind, I remember vividly hearing the news from a friend who had been home for lunch. Not forgotten xxx

Thank you so much for taking the time to post. My thoughts are very much with you and all the other families , as the anniversary approaches .

I am glad that you have been able to experience times of happiness too and it is also lovely to hear how well your family are doing .

As a parent , I would also wish to express my extreme gratitude for the campaigning that you , the other families and others did that has meant that my children and others have been kept safe .

I remember. I was a newly qualified teacher at the time teaching children the same age as your wonderful daughter and her friends. I remember the grief and terror, and the way that parents in my own school found it so hard to hand their children over to my care the next day. You have achieved so much with the banning of handguns and also the increased security measures which happened in schools immediately after this tragedy. My condolences to you x

I remember that day well. I worked in a school as a nursery nurse. Thank you for the campaign which has undoubtedly saved many many lives.

Like so many others I remember that day and the shock of such violence. I'm so sorry for the loss of your daughter. Your campaign will have saved many lives.

Wishing you and your family so much love, you have my deepest respect for the work that you put in to banning handguns.

I was 12 at the time and can remember the news and being utterly saddened and frightened. It was beyond comprehension then, as it still is now.

remembering your dear daughter and all of the lives lost in this.

Thank you for all your kind words.

Gosh, you poor thing. It’s unimaginable. I was a teen when this happened and remember watching the news with DM, who was an infant school teacher, in floods of tears. She could not comprehend what had happened and how someone could be so cruel. I remember going into school the next morning and where we gathered before lessons, and everyone normally messed about, there was an eery silence. We all knew it was huge but probably couldn’t express how/why at that age. Then we had a special assembly and the deputy head was crying as she explained what had happened. Dreadful.

I do remember talking to DM about it years later and she said that up until that point, her classroom door (to the playground outside) had always been kept unlocked. I don’t think the main door of the school was even locked during the school day. So much has changed since then.

Best wishes to you. Your campaign has made a lasting impact.

Thank you for posting. And for the campaigning which has meant that other children are safer and this hasn't become the norm like in the USA.

I'm glad you can now smile when you remember your girl.

I remember being at work and hearing on the radio about what happened . I am so very sorry for your loss xx

I'm so sorry for your unimaginable loss. Huge respect for the campaigning you did.

Love and a hug coming to you from Ireland @dunblanemum
I think of Dunblane from time to time and all those affected by what happened on that fateful day.
Those beautiful children and their teacher.
Words failed me at the time and still do.
💕💙💕

Oh gosh op. I’m so sorry💐 she sounds lovely.

Thank you and all the parents for the campaign that kept so many parents from going through that devastation. X

I’m so so sorry. I was in first year at uni, and remember it well. My dad did his GP training in Dunblane and remembers it fondly. Thank you for your campaigning which means that British children are much safer.

Thoughts are with you and your family op. I remember this when it happened.

there was very nearly another U.K. school shooting last year which was luckily stopped before escalation but only just. It’s a very scary world we live in