One Bloody Afternoon: What really happened during the Hungerford Massacre

by Jeremy Josephs

One Bloody Afternoon tells the true story of the Hungerford Massacre of 1987, in which 17 people died.

On 19 August 1987, 27-year-old Michael Ryan went on a killing spree in and around the quiet market town of Hungerford, Berkshire. By the end of that day 17 people were dead, including Ryan and his mother, and more than 15 had been injured. It was one of the most dreadful tragedies involving firearms ever to occur in the United Kingdom.

Ryan was an outwardly unremarkable, introverted man and while he was known to have an interest in weapons, his actions horrified and astonished all who knew him – and indeed, the entire nation. In One Bloody Afternoon, trained barrister Jeremy Josephs traces the events of that day and tells Hungerford’s story in a detailed but dignified manner, with contributions from those affected by the tragedy.

One Bloody Afternoon will be of interest to true crime fans and anyone curious about what lay behind one of Britain’s most notorious killings.

Praise for One Bloody Afternoon:
'An interesting, well researched book that was written with dignity whilst covering the horrid events of the needless killings that affected a nation’ - Goodreads review

Jeremy Josephs is a British author who originally trained as a barrister. He has written several books including Murder in the Family and Inside the Alliance. He lives in Montpellier, France.

Genres: Crime

206 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 10, 2021

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't heard of these events so this was quite an eye opening read that takes the reader through every step of that Ryan took on the day he took 16 lives and destroyed many others. Josephs explains the events in a pretty objective way while weaving in the humanity of each with eye witness statements and inputs from family and friends. He also gives a pretty well balanced account of events and the aftermath including the debate around the police response and how various aspects were handled (hindsight is a wonderful thing). This is a tragic tale and one that has very few answers in the end and even so many years afterwards.

[Boadicea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember this very clearly and I came away from this book feeling that I didn't learn very much.
Possibly not the author's fault but this is a descriptive book - this happened, then that happened, with no actual insight to any of it. It also feels both very short (204 pages) and like a newspaper article dragged out ad infinitum.
I sort of lost all interest when the author seems to be victim blaming -'Lisa had been shot because...curiosity had got the better of her.' First of all I think arguably it's reasonable to wonder what all that noise is, but also the author himself says she was transfixed. I would say that being in shock when you see a man walking down your street with machine guns isn't an odd way to behave and nothing to do with curiosity
Finally the word usage is very overblown and repetitive. A lot of it feels like padding, and he never uses one word when 10 will do.
Honestly I found this book slightly irritating. Possibly only for people who have not heard of the Hungerford Massacre and want a reasonably quick overview. This would have been much better as a chapter in a book.

[Bobby24 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, i have a slight connection to these events when i was around 12 years old me my mother and my sister found ourselves homeless thanks to my father selling the roof over our heads and leaving us, anyway we turned up at my grandfathers one bed flat and clearly we weren't very welcome but the day we turned up this happened or was happening on the tele...so i'v always remembered this tragic event with our own turmoil.
The book is very well written and is likely the first word last word due to the fact it was written fairly shortly after it happened, its strange to think that many of those involved now would be dead now to to the natural passage of time, 38 years ago a(lthough to me and those that lived seems like yesterday) is a long time.

The thing i think most stuck with me in this book was his poor mums fate whom he killed, she was a good women but due to his selfish actions was essentially buried alone, unnoticed and unmourned by the local community.

[Philip Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harassing but compelling narrative

I must admit that I knew little about the details of this event. The author provides a well presented and clear narrative. I was equally horrified and intrigued by the tale as it unfolded. Not for everyone but serves to keep the event in the public eye in the form of a warning. Certainly worth reading.

[Mrs Patricia Payton- Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most telling read

I remember this happening and remember it well. It was a deep insight on how the town of Hungerford came together for all the victims and their families . A sad read but very informative. 2 questions comes to mind how did one man manage to get all those guns ? And why would you need them???

[Christine Cazeneuve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tragic

History just keeps repeating itself. An event that should never have happened and without any rhyme or reason to comprehend. I was unfamiliar with this story and most of the book was interesting but I did find myself skipping through mostly near the end.

[Royanne Schmitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never knew this happened

A very well written book about a tragedy that happened around the world.

Written with a lot of grace I believe in my heart, history is history good or bad