December

The Scottish year ends with two disasters, each of which caused significant loss of life. The first was the collapse of the Tay Bridge, on 28 December 1879. High winds, combined with the additional weight and drag of a train crossing the bridge, saw it collapse into the Firth of Tay. Nobody knows exactly how many lost their lives in the incident as there is no accurate record of how many passengers the train was carrying, but the number is reckoned to be around 75 in one of the worst ever incidents on the British rail network.

And, in the run-up to Christmas 1988, a bomb planted in a radio and placed in the hold of Pan Am flight 103, brought down the 747, called Clipper Maid of the Seas, as it flew over Lockerbie. All 243 passengers on the aircraft, plus 16 crew and 11 residents of Lockerbie, were killed as the debris rained down. The subsequent investigation, overseen by the FBI and Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, led to two Libyans standing trial for the bombing at a court in the Netherlands.

This was the month in which both Madonna and JK Rowling each got married in Scotland, and the man who would be the inspiration for the fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, was born. The first part of the Encyclopaedia Britannica was published, and author George MacDonald was born.

Being the depths of winter, it’s perhaps not surprising that Scotland has seen some rough weather in December. A storm washed away Wick harbour, Hurricane Bawbag struck, and Stotfield’s entire fishing fleet was sunk while at work.