How the Dunblane massacre changed Judy Murray's attitude towards life

On 13 March, 1996, Thomas Hamilton broke into Dunblane primary school and began shooting at a class of five- and six-year-olds. Sadly, 16 pupils and one teacher died. Understandably, it was a tragedy that shattered the small town of Dunblane in Scotland.

Two pupils who survived the tragedy were tennis players Andy Murray, then eight, and older brother Jamie, who was ten at the time. It’s a moment in the Murray’s life that had a huge impact on the whole family, but in particularly mum Judy.

Speaking on White Wine Question Time, she told Kate Thornton that it changed her outlook on life.

“It definitely changed the way that I thought – maybe not immediately, but certainly in the weeks afterwards,” she said.

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In a previous interview with the Radio Times, the tennis coach recalled the moment she heard the news.

She said: "I was driving there, thinking I might not see my children again. There were too many cars on the road – everyone was trying to get there. I got angry, shouting 'Get out of the way!' About a quarter of a mile away I just got out and ran.”

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Murray told Thornton that a tragedy like that happening in their small town was a huge shock, yet it’s taught her how important it is to live life fully and grab any opportunities.

“That was of course a hugely significant moment in my life - and all of our family's life and everybody who lived in the town, of course,” she recalled

“I think it really, for me, opened my eyes to the fact that we don't know what's around the corner - we have no idea what might happen from day to day.

Read more: Andy Murray opens up on Dunblane massacre and describes tennis as an ‘escape’

“I think realising that my kids survived it, the town, of course, everything needs to go on. Life needs to go on. It definitely gave me that kind of ‘carpe d

iem’ moment I suppose. Let's make things happen. Let's not just wait.”

While Andy has since discussed the massacre in his documentary, Andy Murray: Resurfacing, released last year, his mum says she was glad he and his brother didn’t really understand what happened at the time.

“I think I've said many times that I was always been grateful that Jamie and Andy were really too young to understand the enormity of what's happened,” she said.

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She continued: “I think as they got older… that they have become, especially now Andy has his own children, much more aware of that which they weren't at the time because they were too small.”

Murray, who coached Andy and Jamie in their early tennis careers, said the tragedy bought the town of Dunblane together and she found that the tennis club she ran was even more important to her.

“Creating opportunities for the kids in the town, through the stuff that I did at the tennis club, became an even bigger focus for me because it's was a safe place for them to be,” she explained to Thornton.

Andy has also spoken about how tennis became a release for him and his feelings towards that event.

He said: “My feeling towards tennis is that it’s an escape for me in some ways. Because all of these things are stuff that I have bottled up. Tennis allows me to be that child, that has all of these questions and that’s why tennis is important to me.”

Hear Judy Murray talk about how she – and Andy – have faced sexism in the world of tennis on the latest episode of White Wine Question Time. Listen now on iTunes and Spotify.