The Day That Changed Gun Laws In The UK | Hungerford Massacre

The massacre of sixteen people that led to the government banning semi-automatic and pump-action rifles with the amendment of The Firearms Act.

Michael Robert Ryan was born to Alfred and Dorothy Ryan on May 18th, 1960, in Marlborough, Wiltshire. He was an only child and was raised in Hungerford his entire life. He didn’t have an overly notable upbringing and was described as a quiet and self-centred boy who showed a deep interest in action hero toys.

Ryan left schooling at 16 with an abysmal academic record. He started working short-term jobs as a handyman and gardener.

Alfred passed when Ryan was twenty-six in 1986, two years before the tragedy that this post is about.

Ryan returned to work in April 1987, working a labouring job on footpaths and fences near the River Thames, travelling around twenty miles from Hungerford for the job. He quit the job in July and went back on unemployment benefits.

Despite their financial situation, Ryan’s mother, Dorothy, was reportedly buying him a new car every couple of years. Both have been reported as sharing delusional thoughts; the most prominent is of an Army Colonel.

It’s said that Ryan began telling his mother that he had befriended the Colonel, who would give him flying lessons and planned to buy him a Ferrari. Dorothy would then tell her friends that she had stayed at the Colonel’s home, and he planned to buy her a house as a gift.

No parts of their stories are believed to be factual, but with both Ryan and Dorothy deceased, we will never know the extent of their beliefs.

Media outlets have created their own fantasies that they believe Ryan and/or Dorothy would have, but most lack any foundation.

Despite the fantasies, Ryan had no history of medical or mental problems and had no criminal record, so when he applied for a Shotgun Certificate in 1978, it was granted without problem. The application was co-signed by his doctor and verified by police, who described Ryan as well-dressed, polite, quiet and courteous.

He would next be granted a Firearms Certificate covering ownership of two pistols on the 11th of December 1986. This licence allowed Ryan to use his weapons at approved ranges. He purchased a Beretta 9mm and a Smith & Wesson .38 six days after being granted the certificate.

On April 2nd 1987, Ryan applied for an amendment to his Firearms Certificate; he wanted to expand it to cover a third pistol. It was approved on the 30th; Ryan soon after sold the Smith & Wesson before purchasing a Bernadelli .22 and a CZ ORSO self-loading .32 ACP pistol.

Not too long after, on July 14th, Ryan applied for a second amendment to cover two semi-automatic rifles; this was approved on the 30th. And just like before, Ryan spent little time fulfilling the now-authorised purchases. He bought a Norinco Type 56 7.62x39mm semi-automatic rifle and M1 Carbine .30 rifle.

Ryan had legally owned eight firearms in under a year and possessed six on August 19th.

• Beretta 9mm pistol (purchased on the 17th of December 1986)
• Zabala shotgun (purchased on the 20th of January 1987)
• Browning shotgun (purchased on the 29th of January 1987)
• CZ ORSO self-loading .32 ACP pistol (purchased on 2nd of May 1987)
• Norinco Type 56 7.62x39mm semi-automatic rifle (purchased on 6th of August 1987)
• M1 Carbine .30 (purchased on 8th of August 1987)

During the massacre, Ryan used the Beretta, Norinco and Carbine; the CZ ORSO was being repaired at a dealership.

On August 19th Dorothy left to run some basic errands in town, and Ryan drove his Vauxhall Astra GTE to Savernake Forest, Wiltshire, 7 miles west of Hungerford. This was where everything began.

Susan Godfrey (35) and her two young children, both reported under five years old at the time, had gone to Savenake Forest for a picnic, coming from Reading for their day out. At around 12:30 pm, Susan was loading her children into the car when Ryan approached, openly carrying one of three guns he had.

Ryan forced Susan to walk around 75 to 100 yards into the forest, holding her at gunpoint the whole time. He placed the groundsheet behind a thick bush, police believe that Ryan had intended to aping Susan, but when she tried to escape, he murdered her. Susan was shot 13 times in the back; an eyewitness recognised the sound as a semi-automatic weapon. Her autopsy revealed no sign of sexual assault.

A woman on a walk found her children unharmed later in the day.

Ryan left the forest shortly after, travelling east on the A4 before stopping at a Golden Arrow petrol station in Frozfield. He filled the car and a separate canister of petrol at around 12:35. After another customer left the station, Ryan fired at the woman working at the cash register, shooting at her through the glass window. She hid underneath the counter, and Ryan entered. He tried shooting her from point-blank range, but the gun jammed, and he left the station. The cashier survived the attack and called 999 once Ryan had left. Another call was made reporting a possible armed robbery at the petrol station.

Ryan returned to his home on South View in Hungerford; witnesses seeing him enter at around 12:45 pm said he seemed upset, slamming the door shut. Soon after they heard gunshots inside the home, Ryan had murdered the two family dogs. He left with further equipment to continue his attack, taking more ammo, a flak jacket and other odds and ends he thought would help him.

When his car failed to start, he returned with the can of petrol, tipping it out in the living room before setting the house on fire. The fire would destroy the Ryan family home and three adjacent properties throughout the attack.

He left the house and began on foot East on South View, going towards the school playing fields. En route, he shot and killed his neighbours Roland and Sheila Mason, who were sitting in the back garden at the time. Both died instantly.

(I was unable to find pictures of Sheila and Roland)

14-year-old Lisa Mildenhall, who lived nearby, heard the gunshots but didn’t recognise the sound, so she went outside to investigate the noise. Ryan shot her four times in the legs; Lisa sought out first aid from her mother and a neighbour and, thankfully, survived her injuries.

77-year-old Dorothy Smith then chastised Ryan for “scaring everybody to death” with all the noise. It’s unknown why but Ryan did not shoot Dorothy.

Marjorie Jackson was one of the people to witness Ryan return to his home; Ryan shot her in the back. She managed to call a friend, George White, for help, asking him to collect her husband Ivor from his job in Newbury. Marjorie does survive her injuries.

Ryan entered the town’s common past, the playing fields, shooting and killing Kenneth Clements (51). He was walking his dog with his family; the family were able to escape after Kenneth distracted Ryan.

At around 12:50 pm, police linked the petrol station attack in Froxfield to the many calls in Hungerford about shootings. They began focusing search efforts in South View.

Ryan returned from the common to South View as the first officers arrived, aiming to close both ends of the road to contain the shooter. These officers would go unharmed. Another first responder, PC Roger Brereton, was shot whilst driving his car; his patrol car crashed into a telegraph pole after he was shot in the chest. Ryan approached the car as Roger was radioing for help, killing him before he could finish the call for help.

On South View, Linda Chapman and her daughter Alison turned onto the lane in their Volvo, unaware of what was happening. Ryan fired at them as they entered, hitting and wounding them both. Linda could back out, and she and her daughter survived the attack.

Ryan then shot at Linda Bright and Hazel Haslett in an ambulance; they were responding to one of many 999 calls coming from South View. They both managed to escape without significant injury.

Two officers securing the east end of South View found Robert Clemments, who informed them that Ryan had gone west on South View. They went to investigate; Ryan shot at them, one hid in a house, and the other, with Robert, drove across the common to safety.

At 13:12, the officer with Robert radioed to request support from the Thames Valley Police’s Tactical Firearms Unit (TFU) after spotting Ryan’s weaponry. The TFU were on a training exercise around 38 miles from Hungerford and wouldn’t have all its members able to respond to the call for help until 14:20.

PC Jeremy Wood set up a makeshift command post on the common approximately 500 yards from South View.

Ryan shot George White as he returned to South View with Marjorie Jackson’s husband, Ivor. He was driving his Toyota onto the lane when he was shot and killed instantly while Ivor was severely injured. He Feigned death to survive when Ryan came to ensure they were both dead. Ivor, along with his wife, survived their injuries.

Ryan walked to the junction between South View and Fairview Road, where he killed 84-year-old Abdul Khan while tending to his garden.

While returning to the common, Ryan shot and injured a pedestrian on Fairview Road. The pedestrian survived their wound.

PC Bernard Maggs made another 999 call, but the telephone network had reached capacity, and the call wouldn’t go through.

Back on South View, Ryan’s mother had returned from running errands when she saw Ryan in the middle of the road. She slowly approached him, pleading with him to stop, but Ryan shot her four times, twice at point-blank range.

Walking towards the common, a resident on a parallel street shouted at Ryan to “kindly stop that racket” Ryan shot her in the groin. She survived her wounds.

At 13:18, PC Wood was joined by two armed officers at the command post on the common; two minutes later, they saw Ryan at the War Memorial Recreation Grounds on the edge of the common.

In that area, Ryan shot and killed Francis Butler, who was walking his dog. At this point, he had discharged the Carbine as it had been jamming since Froxfield. Once Ryan left, a witness approached Francis to give him first aid until an ambulance arrived, but Francis died before professional medical aid could reach him.

(Sadly, I was unable to find a picture of Francis Butler)

Ryan shot at a teen riding his bike, but he missed.

On Bulpit Lane, Ryan killed taxi driver Marcus Barnard who was heading home to see his family between fares.

Heading north on Priory Avenue, Ryan shot and injured John Storms, who was sitting inside his parked van. At this point, police had set up diversions to go up Priory Avenue, unaware that was where Ryan had gone.

Douglas and Kathleen Wainwright were on Priory Avenue to visit their son, approximately 100 yards from their destination. Ryan shot and killed Douglas and injured Kathleen.

He went on to shoot two others that entered the road from the diversion. Eric Vardy and Stephen Ball had just driven onto the road when Ryan shot at them, killing Eric.

At 13:30, Ryan began heading southwest toward Priory Road, shooting at houses as he walked by. He also shot at a passing car, killing the driver Sandra Hill.

Ryan shot his way into a house on Priory Road, shooting the occupants, Jack Gibbs and Myrtle Gibbs. Jack died trying to protect Myrtle with his body. Myrtle died two days later in Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon.

From the Gibbs’ home, Ryan shot at neighbouring houses, causing injuries to the occupants. Nobody died from these wounds, and Ryan soon began walking south on Priory Road. He shot Ian Playle as he drove a car. Ian’s wife and two children survived the attack, escaping without physical injury. Ian was the last person to die at the hands of Ryan, passing due to his injuries in Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford two days later.

At 13:45, a police helicopter arrived and began broadcasting warnings to the public not to enter South View. Residents of Hungerford heard the warning and ran to Priory Road to check on his grandchildren; he managed to take them indoors to safety before being nonfatally shot in the shoulder and eye.

Ryan continued south-east on Priory Road, firing at a house before reaching John O’Gaunt School. It’s unclear what he did after 13:50, as police couldn’t see inside the school building.

TFU secured the area by 16:00, but forty minutes later, they heard a gunshot from within the building. It was silent until 17:26 when officers spotted Ryan through a window after throwing his Norinco out the third-floor window.

Ryan began conversing with a sergeant within the TFU, claiming he had a grenade and Beretta in his possession. Ryan claimed he wouldn’t leave the building, but after police revealed his mother’s fate, he began acting differently. He yelled out the window, “It’s funny. I killed all those people, but I haven’t the guts to blow my own brains out,”. This was followed by complete silence.

18:52, a lone gunshot rang out, and Ryan was completely unresponsive afterwards. He had done; Michael Ryan had committed suicide inside his former school. TFU entered a barricaded room an hour later, finding Ryan’s body underneath the window.

The tragedy was so much worse as the police response time was hindered for reasons that Ryan couldn’t have known about.

• Thames Valley Firearms squad were training forty miles away.
• The police helicopter was in for repairs but was deployed after repairs were cancelled.
• Only two phone lines in the local station were operating as the station was undergoing renovations.

Ryan’s mental state was analysed after the massacre and his suicide.

John Hamilton, medical director of Broadmoor Hospital, stated, “Ryan was most likely to be suffering from acute schizophrenia. He might have had a reason for doing what he did, but it was likely to be bizarre and peculiar to him.”

Jim Higgins, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, said he believed Ryan was psychotic, claiming “matricide is the schizophrenic crime.”.

Following the massacre, The Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 was passed, which bans the ownership of semi-automatic centre-fire rifles and restricts the use of shotguns with a capacity of more than three cartridges in the magazine plus the breech.

That’s all for the Hungerford Massacre. Thank you for reading about this tragedy that changed how guns were legally managed in the UK.