Reflecting on the 20th anniversary of 7/7

On the 7 July 2005, four bombs exploded across London at Aldgate Station, Edgware Road, King’s Cross/Russell Square and Tavistock Square, killing 52 people and injuring over 770 others. Now referred to as 7/7, it’s been 20 years since this tragic incident and its impact is still felt today. 

Many of us will recall exactly where we were on 7/7/2005. I was working in Central London, near Westminster. As news started to spread around the office, we all tried to contact loved ones by phone. The phone networks were overloaded and most of us could not get through. There was a real sense of shock, and we were all working with limited information – social media and use of WhatsApp were very different back then. A decision was promptly made to close the office and for staff to make their way home, or to wherever they could stay. Our journeys all started and most ended on foot – we were not using buses or tubes. Our thoughts were with those impacted, and we did not know if our loved ones were safe, or what our journeys home would end up like. 

Even if you weren’t personally affected by the 7/7 bombings, events like this can have a lasting impact. We can experience ‘collective grief’, which is when a group of people (usually a nation, community or local area) experience the fallout from a death or multiple deaths. Seeing or hearing about people’s pain and loss is upsetting, and we can be impacted by death even if we don’t know the people involved. It’s also understandable if we’re reminded of our own grief and bereavements, particularly those which were traumatic. 

Several months later, I met someone who had been caught in the blast on the tube on 7/7. She had barely survived, and a tourniquet was made with a scarf to prevent loss of blood. She lost part of a limb, and her life was changed following that day.   As I heard her story, I also thought of a previous work colleague and good friend who died in 9/11. She was in her early thirties and I found out about her death on the TV news. Looking back, it would have been helpful to understand or read about the impact of grief in sudden circumstances. I hope by Cruse sharing information with others, we can provide some help. 

This day of remembrance will mean different things to each of us, and we will mark it in our own way.  My thoughts are with all those today who lost a loved one in sudden circumstances, whether it was a family member, friend or colleague.