Shona Black has lived in Lockerbie with her husband for the last fifty years. Shona opened up a florist shop in the back of a small garage in Lockerbie town centre, just months before the attack. Her husband Norman had painted the floor black, a phone line was installed and Shona had four buckets of flowers to sell each day. Shona could never have envisaged that just a few months later, she would be creating bespoke wreaths for Royalty. 

Shona begins her story with describing what she remembers from the night of the attack:

Despite living in Lockerbie town centre, Shona was unaware of what had actually happened, or the fact that an aeroplane was in any way involved. Her own house had even suffered damage, but this wasn’t something she would find out until six months later.

Both Shona and her husband kept away from the major impact scenes around Lockerbie, out of respect for those who had perished. As a Church elder and a keen florist, Shona had been regularly creating floral arrangements for their Sunday services. Shortly after the night of the bombing, Shona made her way to the church to change the floral display.

Shona had always had a natural gift with flowers—often winning local shows and competitions. Despite having only had her florist business for a few months, she was soon being trusted with some high-profile jobs. 

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was one of the attendees at the first major service that Shona created the flowers for. She was hand chosen for the work over more experienced and established businesses, and believes her faith helped to guide her through this major challenge. 

A great deal of the official correspondence between Shona and the dignitaries was kept secret from the general public. Shona recalls being invited to a meeting by the former Lord-Lieutenant of Dumfries, Captain Ronnie Cunningham-Jardine.

She was kept waiting for longer than anticipated, and almost went home before the meeting had even started. However, she’s grateful she hung back a little longer, as this turned out to be well worth the wait.  

Despite the obvious pressure in creating a bespoke wreath for royalty, Shona never doubted that she was capable of the job.

Shona was asked to create wreaths and arrangements for a large number of organisations, diplomats, ambassadors and families. However, one customer’s visit to her shop stood out above all others.

It wasn’t until several months after the attack, that the sheer magnitude of what Shona had been tasked with, eventually took its toll.

A number of years after the terrorist attack, Shona was once again approached by Captain Ronnie Cunningham-Jardine, for what would be the highest profile job she’d ever be given. 

Using her years of experience and confidence in her own judgement, Shona opted for a slightly more abstract floral wreath than what may have been expected for Queen Elizabeth II. 

Shona has always enjoyed memorialising events and achievements, by collecting documents, photos and newspaper clippings. She decided to create a number of beautiful photo books which capture this significant moment in her life and her career. 

The photos within the books feature the huge volume of flowers that Shona created for organisations and families alike. Every single wreath, casket spray and floral arrangement was made with love and compassion. Each individual piece represented the person or organisation through bespoke colours and designs.

Despite being inundated with orders and creating flowers for some of the highest profile people in the world, Shona never profited financially from her work. In December 1988, she was still in the early stages of owning a business, and only ever charged for her materials.

She never charged for her time or shop overheads, and feels morally satisfied that she never benefitted from such a tragic event. 

Shona believes that her story, along with hundreds of others, should be captured and preserved for generations to come. She believes they provide a true, first-hand account of the events surrounding 21st December 1988 and the aftermath.