Ambulance Worker Recalls 'Shellshocked' Emergency Response to Dunblane Shooting
March 13 marks the 30th anniversary of the Dunblane tragedy, a sombre milestone that has prompted reflections from those who witnessed its immediate aftermath. John Pritchard, an ambulance technician at the time, has shared his harrowing memories of responding to the scene, describing an atmosphere of eerie calm and profound shock among emergency personnel.
The Drive to Dunblane: Unaware of the Gravity
In 1996, John Pritchard was based in Crieff when he received a call about a shooting at a primary school. With limited information and outdated VHF radio systems, he and his colleague speculated it might involve something minor like an air rifle. "We didn't think anything more than that," he recalled. The reality only dawned as they approached Dunblane, encountering police checkpoints and seeing the grave expressions on officers' faces. "Then it started to drop that something more serious was going on," he said, highlighting the lack of real-time intelligence available then compared to modern protocols.
Inside the School: An Eerie Calm and Shellshock
Upon entering Dunblane Primary School, Pritchard and his Scottish Ambulance Service colleague were directed to a room to collect a child, one of the last needing hospital transfer. He noted the scene was "quite eerily calm," with medical teams working quietly and efficiently. Despite his background as a medic in the RAF, Pritchard was unprepared for the trauma. "You could see in everybody's face how shocked they were, I think it was almost what I would call shellshock," he described, emphasising that even his military experience had not equipped him for such an incident.
Aftermath and Career Reflections
After transporting the child to Stirling Royal Infirmary, Pritchard assisted in transferring another injured child to Glasgow's Yorkhill hospital. Now 57 and serving as area service manager for the south air ambulance division, he considers Dunblane the worst incident of his career. Each year, he takes time to reflect privately, pondering the lives lost and affected. "I just think about the age those children would be now, how those families have been affected," he shared, acknowledging the lasting impact on survivors and the community.
Lessons from Tragedy: Remembering to Prevent Future Horrors
Pritchard, speaking publicly for the first time, stressed the importance of remembrance and learning. He pointed to the UK's tightened gun laws as a positive outcome but warned against complacency, citing ongoing issues like knife crime. "If we don't learn from our past, then we can't go on, it just could easily happen again," he cautioned, referencing similar school shootings in America and globally. His message underscores the need for vigilance and societal reflection to prevent such tragedies from fading into obscurity and recurring.
