Taking Time to Remember

Experience has taught me ...

                                                 

On 7th July 2005  20 years ago,  I was injured in the 7/7 London Bombings. At the time I was employed by The Order Of St John as a National Training & Operations Manager. I was aged 46, I'd worked hard the previous 20 years combining family life with work that involved a lot of commuting and travel. Like everyone else that day I simply went to work and unknowingly happened to board an underground train that a suicide bomber had decided to blow up. The explosion occurred close to Edgware Road Station. Initially I thought the train had crashed. I later found out it was  one of 4 co-ordinated suicide attacks carried out by terrorists. They chose to target commuters travelling on London's public transport during the morning rush hour. The actions of the perpetrators resulted in  52 deaths and over 700 people with  injuries.

            

I was just one of many people injured or otherwise affected. People say interesting things afterwards. I was often told I was lucky. I never felt very lucky as recovery took me nearly 5 years. I lost my career, confidence, ambitions and income. That said I  feel gratitude in that I gained new values and a different  perspective on life and death. Thanks to my family, a very close friend, other survivors and various organisations, I picked up the pieces and started again. Some experiences never leave us and some wrongs can never be put right. 

The week of the anniversary is always tricky for me. I use it to respectfully commemorate  those who died and lost their health and give thanks that I'm here . I see other people who were on that train with me. The 7/7 community of survivors have all been amazing. we have all supported each other and shared our strength in so many positive ways for a long time now. This incident was an important turning point in the history of England. Many individuals and organisations such as Strength to Strength and  Survivors Against Terror (SAT) have worked tirelessly in a positive way, trying improve processes, services and  support networks in place. Despite the security services doing their utmost it is a sad fact that such incidents will still occur from time to time. 

It's also reassuring to know there is far more good than evil. On 7th July 2005, 4 terrorists chose to do the worst possible thing. In contrast,  that same act bought out the absolute best in hundreds of commuters on the trains, staff in the hospitals, the citizens of London and the general public across UK and overseas.