7/7 - where were you?

[CuppaTeaAndAJammieDodger]

Just realised it's the 7th anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings tomorrow.

I haven't thought about that day for some time now, but for a long time after there wasn't much else I could think about. Here's my recollection of the day.

I was on my way to a primary school outside of London to do some user testing for a course my company had developed and was en route between Bethnal Green, where I lived, and Waterloo.

I walked in to Liverpool Street Station and down in to the ticket area of the tube and made my way on to the eastbound platform just as a circle line train was pulling in. I was running pretty early so decided to grab a can of coke to wake me up from the kiosk on the platform, and let that train go by without me. Not long after the train had fully left the station there was a whooshing sound, soon followed by (which really stayed with me) a smell of burning (plastic or something).

A kind of controlled panic ensued, nobody knew what had happened, we all started getting off the platform as quickly as possible and the staff were ushering everyone out of the station. by the time I managed to get outside the emergency services were arriving. I had no idea what to do so just started walking to Waterloo, desperately trying to get a news feed up on my phone to see what was going on (this was 2005 - no smart phones back then!) but couldn't. It wasn't until I arrived at Waterloo that I found out what had happened and was told that I could leave London, but I wouldn't be getting back in today, so I decided to cancel the testing, make my way home and work from there.

I started to make my way, again on foot (public transport had obviously completely shut down), but every street I walked down seem to be being cordoned off by the police and I found myself walking further and further trying to find a route, then it started raining. Finally I managed to get to Bethnal Green Road after walking for what felt like hours, my mum managed to get through to me on my mobile after hours of trying, as soon as I heard her voice I just sat down on the curb and started crying - the gravity of the situation just hit me.

Took me a while to realise that that decision to have a can of coke could have potentially saved my life (dependent on what carriage I'd got on of course) - the ironic thing is I don't drink the stuff any more as I can't have caffeine due to panic attacks/anxiety issues.

Wow - that was long, sorry if I've bored you to death! That was the first time I've written down in detail what happened that day, rather cathartic really.

Interested to hear your memories of the day.

.that's a deeply moving post
I hope you too are ok.I value your pov
it was a day of repugnant horror

TheyDeserve - that actually made me sob a little bit.

I was in New York with my now DH... I'm ridiculous and can't fall asleep without the TV on. We fell asleep to some 50 worst acts of celebrity shame, and with our backs to the TV, the first words I heard in the morning were "And the series of explosions across London have been confirmed as an act of terrorism'

We both sat up without speaking and watched TV. Turned to a more reputable news station than E!

I tried for three hours to get through to my family... We were flying home that afternoon but the flight was delayed. Every subway station had police. Every cab driver who heard we were English said sorry. It was surreal.

I managed to get through to everyone who were all concerned about my stepdad. He works as a chauffeur in London and no one at all could contact him.

I had to get on a (12 hours delayed) plane having still not heard from anyone about my stepdad. Who really has been my dad since age 4.

Landed in almost hysterics. Found my mum at arrivals saying he's fine. His car was 2 behind the bus in Tavistock Square. Helped people. No reception. Didn't check messages. I breathed again. Worst. Flight. Ever.

The thing about suicide bombers is... They're dead. You can never get revenge. I think of the poor families who didn't finally hear good news and ball my fists and just feel like I could punch someone.

The date seems very unnoticed.

I'd cycled to work that morning so had no problem getting back to our house on the zone 1/ zone 2 border in the afternoon. We sat outside and watched hordes and hordes of people walk past trying to get home. Occasionally groups of people were cheering and clapping. I remember thinking how proud I was to be a Londoner and how everyone was just getting on with it and taking it in their stride. We grew up with the IRA bombings and there was a real bringing together of the people, a statement of 'we're not going to let the fuckers get to us'. But it was also a surreal atmosphere, not dissimilar to the evening of the blackouts 2 years previously. Whenever I remember that night I always feel a glow of pride that we are a city that will get on with things, come up with a plan and after a bit of a grumble, will lift our head up high.

I'd cycled to work that morning so had no problem getting back to our house on the zone 1/ zone 2 border in the afternoon. We sat outside and watched hordes and hordes of people walk past trying to get home. Occasionally groups of people were cheering and clapping. I remember thinking how proud I was to be a Londoner and how everyone was just getting on with it and taking it in their stride. We grew up with the IRA bombings and there was a real bringing together of the people, a statement of 'we're not going to let the fuckers get to us'. But it was also a surreal atmosphere, it felt like we'd had a dress rehearsal the evening of the blackouts 2 years previously. Whenever I think back to the day of 7/7 I always feel a glow of pride that we are a city that will get on with things, come up with a plan and after a bit of a grumble, will lift our head up high.

I was at work ( provincial Force) and worked on the casualty bureau. Took calls from desperate and worried relatives for the following 18 hours logging description details for the missing. Went home for a few hours and continued fielding the calls for the next two days. Exhausting but necessary shift.

I would imagine the lack of attention as to the date is down to the Olympics, not wanting to remind the world of what happened so close to such a big event in London.

I went into work early to a meeting at Barts Hospital. I left with a colleague about 9am-9.30 to travel back to our office in Aldgate. It was chaos. She rang her dp, a copper, and though he couldn't explain what was going on he was clearly worried. We eventually got to our office to find it and the surrounding streets taped off. We were allowed through because we worked at the Royal London Hospital, where most of the casualties were taken during the course of the day.

Throughout the day we read the news reports online, listened to the helicopters overhead and planned how we could get home. We went in to A&E to see if we could help - patients were getting shipped out, operations cancelled. The staff were amazing - scared, excited but calm and full of compassion and desire to do the best job they could.

I decided to try to walk home to West London. I was heavily pregnant and a colleague told me not to be ridiculous - "You'll get as far as Trafalgar Square and you'll faint and they'll have to divert an ambulance to you and you'll be the most despised woman in London". Which made sense. So I got all my staff safely off, then walked to a friend in Hackney and slept in her dd's bunkbed.

The next morning I went home, answered all the emails from worried friends, logged onto Mumsnet. I felt numb. It was only later that I thought: shit, that was close.

Was at home, had moved to Wiltshire from London 1 year ago. DD (6) at school, DS (4) at nursery. DH had left 6am to catch train to London Bridge. He phoned (about 9? can't remember) from London Bridge to ask if there was a tube strike or anything had happened as there were no trains and they couldn't get any information. I switched on TV and 'major incident' was snaking across screen. I heard DH's boss swearing in the background. As the morning progressed, the bomb on the bus went off, I couldn't get hold of DH on phone, I just wanted him to come home but he and boss walked across London to go to various meetings. I wanted to go to get my kids and bring them home. I remember going to pick up DS from nursery and hugging another mother. We said - this is what it's like for mothers in Iraq, Afghanistan, places of conflict, every day - we felt ashamed. We thought this it what it might be like for us every day now. Later we felt relieved when we realised that there wasn't going to be a sustained attack on the UK. But I've felt empathy with the families who have to go through this constantly, ever since. Thank you for posting this thread and sharing. Peace.

I was in Wolverhampton, leaving the supermarket in the car with a friend (londoner who'd moved North) when the news came on saying there was a power surge. Drove home and watched TV.

I have to say I felt proud. Incredibly proud of how people just got on with helping other people, just the way people were rushed to hospital, other people being given fitst aid, the huge queues for the river bus - which I think was the only transport moving.

From reading the things those of you in London experienced I feel proud all over again.

and all the Brits on LiveJournal telling the Americans to calm down, bombs happen.

Typical London response - yeah we have been having the odd bomb for decades, calm down.

I remember thinking I would die and then thinking that there was no way I could die and I must do everything I could to survive. For me that meant trying to calm people in my part of the carriage as I was worried about mass hysteria.

Wow. I cannot tell you how much admiration I have for you. You were basically blown up (and I do know what you were covered in) and then kept people calm.

In Liverpool St station, when suddenly police came flying from all angles and piled into the Underground. Some remained above ground and ordered us to get out. One of those times you just didn't quibble.

A week after, all the people that worked in offices around Liverpool St went out and stood outside silently in the sunshine. There were hundreds and hundreds of people just standing silently, shoulder to shoulder to demonstrate the power of the human spirit will prevail.

BSJO, thank god for that 30ft xx

I was working at a school in central London. We were supposed to be going on a school trip - can't remember exactly where but remember afterwards realising we would have been near Tavistock Square. We had a message from the office at 9 that the tube networks were down due to a power surge and we were advised to not go in.
There was some confusion among the teachers and everyone was speculating as to what was going on but had no confirmation. We put a video on for the kids and got on with end of term jobs.
However when the video finished, the whiteboard showed the TV - news footage of the bus bomb. We were all faced with the image of the blown up bus and it was like time stood still. There was silence for what felt like an age and then some of the kids started screaming and crying whilst all the adults scrambled to turn it off. Awful.
The school was closed at midday, as we were in central London, so police were advising to evacuate all public buildings, but it took til 3pm to get all the kids picked up.
Lots of teachers were stranded, but I go picked up by my boyfriend and flatmate and it took us an hour to make the 15 minute journey home. I also remember that feeling of pride in our country for just getting on with it, pulling together and carrying on but also disgust at who could do such a thing to such a beautiful city full of so many different cultures, ehnicities and religions.

I was on the Northern line on my way to Southwark Crown Court, via my police station. The train stopped at Camden, juddered a bit later to a stop, then didn't stop again until London Bridge. I got out and caught a bus back to Shoreditch to my police station, there were carriers of Territorial Support Group officers flying around the city, people pouring out of Moorgate tube. I knew something like bombs had gone off. I got into work just after 9am, I was supposed to be going to court, but I got my uniform on and got posted to checking vehicles for secondary devices. Two weeks later I was going through Euston again on my way to work, I was one of three off duty officers initially at Euston when 21/7 happened, instructing people to clear the station. The buses halted immediately, so some white van men gave me a lift to Shoreditch once uniform were on scene at Euston. I reported for duty. We spent the night going to bomb call after bomb call. When I went to work the next Thursday morning we didn't know what the hell was going to happen. I know some officers who are still working on 7/7. They have done a brilliant job. There are no better counter terrorism officers in the whole world. My thoughts are with all those affected by 7/7.

can remember watcing it on telly and beng worried for db who works in London

came onto mn and asked anyone if they knew if his offices were near any of the bombs, can remember PrincessPeaHead telling me where they were

awful day for all inolved,

I had just dropped my 4yr old off at nursery and was walking home with my 6 month old listening to the radio on my iPod. The news came in that there was a problem on the tubes. I phoned dh who works in the city to let him know that his colleagues may be late even though he cycles to work. Back home I had the radio on as usual while I did my usual jobs and as the morning went on the events unfolded. By midday it was clear this was a terrorist attack and the watching he news it appeared that the whole of London was in shock. When I was picking up my ds1 at nursery the staff was discussing what to do if any parents hadn't turned up by 5 pm and they couldn't contact them. It was then I realised that they were making plans for the dc whose parents might have been victims of the bombings.

EnjoyResponsibly
We must have been at Liverpool Street at exactly the same time!

I was on a plane flying over France, on our way to Spain. Didn't hear anything about it until we got to the hotel & turned the telly on, recognised our fire officers coming out of a tube station then sat watching it for the rest of the afternoon. Once we turned our mobiles on we received loads of texts asking if we were ok as I would normally have been at work in Westminster.

Spent the rest of the week's holiday wondering if everyone I knew had made it out ok. Thankfully no one I knew was killed but colleagues had been caught up in it all & injured.

I was at home with 8 week old DS1. DH normally went in to Kings Cross very early, but that day travelled late. He rang from outside Kings Cross just after the Russell Square explosion and before the mobile networks shut down and said there was something v odd going on, tube being evacuated and he was off to find a bus. I thought nothing of it and went out, as I'd worked in London and tube disruption was v common. I think he knew there was more to it, but didn't want to scare me. At a baby group a bit later someone told me 4 buses had been blown up (as originally reported) and thankfully I failed to put 2 and 2 together and it didn't occur to me dh might have been involved. Later on when he rang me from work he told me he'd had to walk to work as buses all packed, and had been a couple of short streets away when the bus exploded v loudly, walking down a parallel street. He knew the walking routes well, and on another day might have walked down that street. I knew that too and felt physically sick at such a chance escape. I wanted him home immediately, but the advice was to stay put, so he followed it. In the evening he eventually walked to Finsbury Park and managed to get home from there. Since then he's cycled or run instead of using central London public transport.

A colleague of mine was on the Edgeward Rd train, but uninjured. It took me a while to check that everyone I knew was OK.

So many scary stories and near misses x

I was in France. I was working with 200+ children... from in & around London. Making things even more difficult was the fact we were miles away from the camp on a day trip, so co-ordinating the children, parents calling us & caling their kids mobiles, children trying to call their parents - it was horrific. 200+ kids aged 9-16 - terrified and far from home. All of us with family in/around London - trying to contact them whilst reassuring the children it would all be fine (fingers crossed) and not to worry (whilst inwardly terrified ourselves).

A nightmare I'll never forget, yet we were also lucky as many of us/the children could have been actually involved in the event/s if we had been at home.

I hope no-one minds if I ask that this be moved out of chat, so it doesn't disappear. So many moving stories.

@NormaStanleyFletcher

I hope no-one minds if I ask that this be moved out of chat, so it doesn't disappear. So many moving stories.

Hi there, we've moved this into In the News now so it doesn't automatically delete 90 days from the OP

Thank you