Achi news desk-
Pan Am flight 103 was on its way from London Heathrow to New York’s JFK airport when a bomb exploded in the hold.
The explosion killed all 259 people on the plane, many of them Americans going home for Christmas, as well as 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie.
Former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the only man to date found guilty in connection with the bombing, after being found guilty of 270 counts of murder by a panel of three Scottish judges , sitting in a special court in The Hague in 2001.
READ MORE: The dire horrors shattered but united a town in grief
He was sent to prison in Scotland, but was controversially given a compassionate release in 2009 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, returning home to Libya where he died in 2012.
Another man, Abu Agila Mas’ud, who is alleged to have helped make the bomb, faces trial in America in May 2025.
Mas’ud, who was born in Libya, faces three charges, including two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death, and a further count of destruction of a vehicle resulting in death.
Mr Boyd, who served as Chief Inspector of HM Constabulary between 1993 and 1996, led an emergency response as Scotland’s smallest police chief that night.
In an interview with Journalist Frank Ryan in 1990, Mr Boyd recalled the moment he found out about the disaster at his house in Dumfries and the consequences that followed.
He said: “The relatives’ grief manifested itself in different ways from shock and horror to frustration and anger and increasing pressure for the early release of bodies.
“I knew the investigation would be massive.”
Boyd said he had laid down five principles – accuracy, coordination between the different agencies, gathering evidence in detail with no shortcuts, correct timing of information released to the media, and establishing well-managed diplomatic channels for foreign inquiries.
In 1989, Mr Boyd was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his handling of the criminal investigation into what remains the UK’s worst terrorist attack.
He was also a former Assistant Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police. He joined HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in 1989 and became Chief Inspector of Constabulary four years later.
READ MORE: Lockerbie bombing arrest adds more questions to tangled web of 34 years
Current HM Constabulary Chief Inspector Craig Naylor paid tribute to his predecessor.
He said: “John Boyd, CBE QPM, exemplified the epitome of leadership, dedication and service throughout his career.
“He dedicated himself to maintaining the highest standards of law enforcement and community safety at a time of tremendous tragedy following the bombing of a plane over Lockerbie.
“His legacy is an inspiration, embodying the virtues of integrity, compassion and courage.
“His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary is holding his wife, sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in our thoughts at this time.”
Mr Boyd was also a keen shinty player in his youth and retained a strong connection with the sport in the following decades.
Cymdeithas y Camdiaddieh paid tribute to the Oban native, writing: “The community is shaken in Oban, Glasgow and much further afield, saddened to hear of the death of John M Boyd who played shinty with credit to Camanachd Oban and Glasgow Mid Argyll in the fifties and sixties and went on to have a distinguished police career in Scotland.
“He will be remembered by those who knew him as being extremely humble, approachable, extremely knowledgeable and genuinely interested in the welfare of others. In the words of John MacKenzie, Head of the Society, “John was a gentleman special met you. with a smile and willingness to talk about anything, especially shinty”.
