At 8.50 am, on Thursday 7th July 2005, a co-ordinated attack on London's transport system left 52 civilians and 4 suicide bombers dead and over 700 injured.
The day before I remember being in the office and listening to the announcement that London had just been named as the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games. Apart from a few naysayers, there was a great feeling of excitement and optimism following the announcement and the opportunity this presented to London. Many people went out that night to celebrate the news and to enjoy the early Olympic feel-good factor.
The following morning, I was up as normal at 5.00 am, washed and showered. Having had my pills, a banana and a cup of tea, I was in my car and on my way into London to work, by 6.00 am.
It was a normal uneventful journey into work, and I knew that by leaving just on 6.00 am, that I'd have a pretty clear run, up to London, over Tower Bridge, and be parked by the office, just before 7.00 am. From the car, which I could park in a disabled bay in Portsoken Street, I had less that 50 metres to walk to the office and on the way pick up a bacon and brown sauce roll and a carton of orange juice, from the deli below the office.
I was working at this time for a company called CMGL, as a Business Analyst/Project Manager. We were based in Ibex House, which is at the southern end of the Minories. Ibex House is an Art Deco design office block built in the 1930's and is a real gem, one of the reasons why when you walk round London, its always worth looking upwards.
The story goes, and I don't know how true this is, that during WWII, Hitler instructed the Luftwaffe not to bomb Tower Bridge or the Tower of London, but also not to bomb Tower Hill, as he liked Ibex House and wanted it as his command centre in London after the German army invaded. (Not sure if that's a claim to fame or not).
Ibex House
The entrance to Ibex House
I was at my desk by 7.00 am with a cup of tea, and after eating my roll and drinking my orange juice, I started to prepare for my day. I looked on the internet for news and comment on the Olympic announcement as I ate my breakfast.
I remember that I had to prepare a pricing model for a new business proposal that was being worked on, ready for a meeting that I had with one of the Business Development team at 9.00 am.
I remember that I had to prepare a pricing model for a new business proposal that was being worked on, ready for a meeting that I had with one of the Business Development team at 9.00 am.
For the next hour or so nothing much happened. A few people drifted in, but mainly the office was nice and quiet, which allowed me some peace and quiet to get on building my computer pricing model. It was something I'd done many times before, and this proposal didn't include anything particularly complicated or unusual, so I was able to get it done with time to spare. I always said that between 7.00 and 8.30 was my most productive part of the day, as most people weren't in, the phones weren't ringing and my energy levels were at their highest.
I started to get my papers together for the meeting, but did notice that by 9.00 am, the office didn't seem as busy as usual.
And then the news started to break.
At 8.50 am, three bombs had been detonated within 50 seconds of each other on London's Underground System.
The first had been detonated on a train between Liverpool Street and Aldgate.
The second was on a train that had just left Edgeware Road, travelling to Paddington.
The third occurred on a southbound train from Kings Cross-St Pancreas to Russell Square.
Initial reports had suggested that there were 6 explosions, but this was caused by the fact that the explosions had happened in the tunnels between stations and that passengers had evacuated the trains and emerged from both stations.
Aldgate Station was within 500 metres of the office, and was the route many staff took, if they could not walk from their mainline station. As news came in, people looked round to see who wasn't there, and the natural worry for peoples safety began.
Almost an hour after the first explosions, another bomb was detonated on board a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square.
Over the next hour or so, people turned up having found ways into work, round the disaster sites. All the mobile phone systems in London were shut down, over fears that these may have been used to trigger devises, so it was difficult to make contact with people, to find out where they were.
I phoned my mother, in Dorset, early to let her know what had happened and that I was OK.
Police advised companies to keep staff in the offices until they were sure that the threat was over. I rang my friend, Paul, and offered him a lift home, once we were able to get out of the office. I then contacted a couple of guys who lived near me, to see if they wanted lifts home. I anticipated that once the all clear was given, public transport out of London would be swamped.
By about 10.30 am, it was clear that everyone from the company had arrived safely.
I met with the guy from Business Development, who was clearly very shaken by what had happened that morning. He usually travelled into London from the Midlands, and would normally have been on a tube to Aldgate, about the time the bomb had gone off there. The evening before he had been to an Insurance Institute Dinner in London, so had stayed in a hotel and on that morning had taken a different route into work. Within days he handed in his notice, and worked from our Birmingham office, until he left.
Work didn't seem very important that day. People were more concerned with making contact with friends and family, and ensuring they where alright. Some work was done, but it wasn't a priority.
About 3.30 pm, the police gave the all clear, and people started to leave and make their way home. I filled up my car, and began the journey south. The roads just outside of central London, were packed as police had restricted entry into central London.
After dropping everyone else off, I went to Paul's and sat and had a cup of tea with his wife and family.
It was a strange day, an unusual day. It had started with joy and excitement about the Olympics, that turned to horror as the news of the bombings broke, and then to concern over the safety of friends and colleagues. There wasn't a sense of relief at being home, at the end of the day, but it did start to put lives into perspective, to make you look at your priorities.
The emergency services responded brilliantly that day, as did the staff in hospitals were the injured were taken. London was lucky that they did, and also lucky that the bombed bus in Tavistock Square was so close to the headquarters of the British Medical Association, from were doctors and medical staff rushed to the scene to provide emergency medical assistance. Without this and many other acts of selfless heroism, the death toll could have been much higher.
The 52 victims of the attacks were mainly London residents from a wide range of backgrounds, and aged between 20 and 60. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I phoned my mother, in Dorset, early to let her know what had happened and that I was OK.
Police advised companies to keep staff in the offices until they were sure that the threat was over. I rang my friend, Paul, and offered him a lift home, once we were able to get out of the office. I then contacted a couple of guys who lived near me, to see if they wanted lifts home. I anticipated that once the all clear was given, public transport out of London would be swamped.
By about 10.30 am, it was clear that everyone from the company had arrived safely.
I met with the guy from Business Development, who was clearly very shaken by what had happened that morning. He usually travelled into London from the Midlands, and would normally have been on a tube to Aldgate, about the time the bomb had gone off there. The evening before he had been to an Insurance Institute Dinner in London, so had stayed in a hotel and on that morning had taken a different route into work. Within days he handed in his notice, and worked from our Birmingham office, until he left.
Work didn't seem very important that day. People were more concerned with making contact with friends and family, and ensuring they where alright. Some work was done, but it wasn't a priority.
About 3.30 pm, the police gave the all clear, and people started to leave and make their way home. I filled up my car, and began the journey south. The roads just outside of central London, were packed as police had restricted entry into central London.
After dropping everyone else off, I went to Paul's and sat and had a cup of tea with his wife and family.
It was a strange day, an unusual day. It had started with joy and excitement about the Olympics, that turned to horror as the news of the bombings broke, and then to concern over the safety of friends and colleagues. There wasn't a sense of relief at being home, at the end of the day, but it did start to put lives into perspective, to make you look at your priorities.
The emergency services responded brilliantly that day, as did the staff in hospitals were the injured were taken. London was lucky that they did, and also lucky that the bombed bus in Tavistock Square was so close to the headquarters of the British Medical Association, from were doctors and medical staff rushed to the scene to provide emergency medical assistance. Without this and many other acts of selfless heroism, the death toll could have been much higher.
The 52 victims of the attacks were mainly London residents from a wide range of backgrounds, and aged between 20 and 60. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
So as we enjoy a hot summers day here in the UK, spare a minute to remember what happened 8 years ago, and those people who lost their lives and the countless others, whose lives were ripped apart through loss or injury.
Aldgate:
Edgware Road:
Russell Square:
Tavistock Square:
Aldgate:
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