Wreaths have been laid and a silence observed at a memorial service to remember the 270 people killed in the Lockerbie bombing 30 years ago.

A representative of the Queen laid the first tribute during the service at Dryfesdale cemetery in the town. The event was attended by families of the victims, politicians and local community groups.

Eleven people died in Lockerbie along with the 259 passengers and crew on board the New York-bound Pan Am flight 103 when it came down on the night of 21 December 1988.

Jeff Browne, the moderator of the Presbytery of Annandale and Eskdale, led the service. “Whether you have come from the local community or from afar, whether you come with no faith, little faith or belong to a community of faith, know that the Lockerbie community welcomes you in love and peace today and every day,” he said.

Prayers were read and a series of silences held before wreaths were laid at the base of a memorial containing the names of all those killed. The Queen’s representative, the lord lieutenant for Dumfriesshire, Fiona Armstrong, laid the first tribute as a piper played. She was followed by Scotland’s lord dvocate, James Wolffe QC, and the Scottish secretary, David Mundell.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest One of the floral tributes laid at the memorial service. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA

Pupils from local schools, scouts and guides groups and representatives of the emergency services laid flowers before the families of victims approached the memorial.

Mundell, who is from the town, said before the service: “On this 30th anniversary of the bombing of flight 103 over Lockerbie, my thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the 270 men, women and children who perished on that terrible night, and everyone else whose life has been touched by the event.

“Lockerbie lost its anonymity that night. We went from a quiet small town to a centre of global attention in a few seconds. That was the scale of the challenge local people have faced, aside from the horrors of the air disaster itself. It has not been easy, nor have we been able to achieve the closure we would have wanted, even after 30 years.

“However, throughout, the people in Lockerbie have retained their dignity and stoicism, and offered friendship and support to those who lost loved ones.”

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, tweeted:

Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) Thinking today of Lockerbie and all those whose lives were lost or deeply affected by what happened on this day 30 years ago. We will never forget. https://t.co/gaHpJzKATv

The majority of those on board the jet were US citizens, including 35 students of Syracuse University in New York State. A memorial will be held at the university, and about 500 people are expected to gather at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia where a cairn made from Lockerbie stone stands in memory of those who died.

Pam Am flight 103 was blown up by the detonation of explosives hidden in a suitcase in the plane hold. Many believe the bombing was in revenge for the downing of an Iran Air passenger flight by a US missile earlier in 1988.

The only person ever convicted of the bombing, the former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, died in 2012 after being released from Greenock prison on compassionate grounds. His family and some relatives of those killed believe he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice and have been fighting to clear his name.

Scotland’s criminal cases review commission is determining whether a fresh appeal against the conviction should proceed to the courts.