7/7:The London Bombings

[Appalonia]

Anyone watching? This is going to be a hard watch, especially for those of us who were in London at the time. Can't believe it was 20 years ago...

The bus bomber had intended to blow up the Northern Line but it was out of action that morning; had it not been, I’d almost certainly have been on it as I was going to a meeting near London Bridge. I came out of that meeting to see everywhere in chaos; people were reporting power surges until we phoned my boss who had heard it was a bomb and just told us to go home. One of my colleagues lived a long way away and he came back with me until he could get a train home; I remember watching the news in horror all afternoon. And then all the “have you seen….?” flyers around London, many of which turned out to be people who had been killed. So sad; must have been agonising for those families. I thought the documentary was very sensitively done, with an astonishing range of people able to yell
their version of events.

I'd gone through central London earlier that day to get to a meeting in Coventry - I had no idea what had happened until the calls started to come in asking everyone there were they ok. There wasn't much of a meeting as we all had to work out how we were getting home, and I ended up squished in the back of a car going the long way back to a station which I could get a connecting train from. The other people in the car were all grandparents and talking about how could anyone bring a child into this world and I had to say I was 10 weeks pregnant.

Then there were police with machine guns (or at least very big ones) on the train platform, looking into every carriage. Same at Clapham the next day - so many guns.

Watched all four parts. Definitely not misery porn. Really sensitive and brilliantly insightful - from the point of view of the victims, the first responders, the investigators and the politicians/senior police/security services. One of the best documentaries I've seen.

I also remember footage of Ken Livingstone travelling the next day on the tube going for work. The carriage was empty, it was just pretty much him.
Probably just a way of showing Londoners how the bombers won’t win - like of thing.

I haven’t seen all four parts and I’m surprised if Ken Livingstone wasnt on it as he was London Mayor at the time and quite a good one I thought.

Ken Livingston's got Alzheimer's & is not really in public life these days.

I can remember trying to contact a close friend who worked in London that day and the mobile phone lines were down.

I managed to speak to her that evening.

I can remember trying to contact a close friend who worked in London that day and the mobile phone lines were down.
I managed to speak to her that evening.

Cool

After new york in 2001 and Madrid the year before, i think Londoners were half expecting something

Agree with this. I live in London, my parents called to make sure we were ok, had very young ds so hadn't even had the TV on yet. I remember watching it and feeling scared and sad but not surprised at all, almost like I had been waiting for it to happen.

I know we expected and had lived through the IRA bombings, but i was on a train arriving in Liverpool Street. We were told to get out of the station immediately, i walked to my office in The Minories with the police cordon closing behind as we walked and our mobiles were not working. It was really quiet with everybody walking faster and faster, so creepy.
I finally arrived in the office which was inside the cordon. We didnt know really what was going on
We were stuck in the office until lunch time. Police would only allow us to go to the shop underneath us. Even when we were allowed to leave then couldnt go home as Liverpool street was closed, thankfully i managed to get to my Mum who lived south of the river.
One of my colleagues lost her friend Miriam Hyman in the bombings.

I think what people forget is that, whilst it is not talked about, the mobile networks were closed down during these incidents and much like it used to happen on NYE back then, texts were also slow to send and arrive. Also, because of the somewhat fetid atmosphere, the Police were closing the bridges across the river both on 7/7 but also on the following days.

I would also agree it is a well put together documentary, with considerable empathy shown to the people it features.

About a month before, Alastair one of the Consultants in A&E at the London was at a training session which ended early and the doctors had a discussion about their worst nightmare around significant incidents happening in London... He said it would be a Policeman being helpful and bussing walking wounded to a designated Gold hospital and flooding out A&E... unfortunately this happened at Aldgate, but the were moved pretty swiftly onto Guys.

Some of my colleagues were first into one of the tubes, just young kids most of them really not even been in the police that long
None of them were ever the same after

I'd agree with @Timeforatincture that it's one of the best documentaries I've seen. No arty filming, just factual reporting of people's harrowing experiences.

I was working in Whitehall and we went into lockdown until the evening. Some of us had homes within reasonable walking distance so offered accommodation to those whose normal commute was not really feasible. Ken Livingston was completely statesmanlike in his speech afterwards pulling us all together to fight against terrorism and ignorance. In my workplace, there were a few 'covered' people and they were noticeable by the their absence over the next few days. It's awful to think how they must have been scared of any abuse they might have faced. I noticed that one of the Hijab covered ladies had managed to source a transparent tote bag when she returned. She must have been so scared of perceived backlash. When you think of the communal euphoria the day before in Trafalgar Square upon hearing we'd been awarded the Olympics . . .

We had just moved out of London to the South West when this happened, but DH was in London that day for a meeting. He was close to the bus when the bomb went off, he wasn't injured but he went and helped a number of people injured on the bus, including the driver.
I couldn't get hold of him for a lot of the day, the mobile phones weren't connecting. I rang his office and they couldn't get hold of him either. It was a relief when he came home that evening, and very sobering when I saw the blood on his shirt.

I think it’s natural that people will share their own memories of a terrible day like that on a thread like this. I was working in central London and my memories of the news coming through (even at the time I thought ‘power surges’ on different tube lines sounded odd and the exploding bus rather put paid to that theory), the quiet streets with no buses running, worried calls from friends and family are still very clear. And the headlines on all the papers were about London winning the Olympics and it seemed like such a contrast.

I am another that didn’t really feel surprised though. After the Madrid bombings the year before it was a feeling of ‘our turn now’.

I must watch the documentary although it sounds upsetting.

I watched the first 2 episodes so far and found it very harrowing. I remember getting a call at work that morning from a quite distressed wife who's DH had gone into London for a meeting and wanted to get a number for the office he'd gone too as she couldn't get hold of him. I was a bit bemused as we hadn't yet heard the news. I hope he was OK. It very much brought back the Brussels bombing later where I had just come out of the metro and into the office to a room of shocked people who had just heard about the bomb at the airport, closely followed by streams of people evacuated from the station. There was no mobile coverage then either and we were not allowed to leave the building til much later that day. There was much scrabbling about to find ways home. I was letting people know via FB that I was fine, but I never thought to contact the primary school, so poor dd spent the day thinking I was dead.

What is it with the sniping? Not being able to get in touch with a loved one (and yes that includes friends) when something dreadful has happened must have been awful. No need for the 'cool' comment. This has affected people in all sorts of ways. Some more than others of course. But all very valid

Also, out of all the comments on here, it was yours that annoyed me the most. You didn't 'nearly die'. You were not even on the same train. You had a lucky escape yes. But the nearly died comment then the outrage about others sharing their own experiences is very hypocritical

Also, out of all the comments on here, it was yours that annoyed me the most. You didn't 'nearly die'. You were not even on the same train.

cool

I think the poster saying it was horrific flying back from Egypt meant the fear of not knowing of their plane would be safe or seeing the airport security ramped right up. I too would be anxious in that situation. It was a horrific time for many many involved not just those at the actual place (which obviously would have been so traumatic for them) but loved ones seeing the news and not knowing if their relative or friend was safe. We can't keep diminishing peoples own personal experiences.

"Ken Livingston's got Alzheimer's & is not really in public life these days."

That's sad. I thought Ken was a great Mayor. He did a lot of work for the Olympics and then Johnson swooped in and took all the credit.

I was flying to Montreal from Gatwick that day. Got kicked off the transport network at Hackney Downs and got a minicab eventually through a shut down city. Gatwick was completely normal. I was sure they'd ground all the planes as a precaustion.

Hear hear 👏

I remember seeing a news report late that night which ended with a view of a motorway sign that just said 'London closed'. That was so incredibly heartbreaking and horrific. I think it's standard practice to take down Mobile signals because could be used to remotely detonate devices.

I can't believe it's been 20 years. I have such clear memories of that day.

I remember trying to phone my mum and boyfriend (now DH) to let them know that something bad was going on. I couldn't get through because there was no mobile signal.

I remember watching the ambulances and police cars speeding past me. So many of them. The siren noise was constant. I could actuallystill hear sirens the next day but it was apparently in my head as everyone was telling me there wasn't any siren noise any more. I could hear it really clearly though. My brain couldn't let it go.

I remember walking so far to get to Waterloo when it reopened and being scared in the station waiting for my train to get in. Scared another bomber would come and target Waterloo.

I don't think I'll watch but I'm glad the victims and heros of that day are remembered.

We can’t ignore the truth of history so as not to offend anybody. The programme is factual. I am not sure that there will ever be a time when some people would think it appropriate to be shown.
The current focus on grooming gangs is stirring by Musk for his own ends which is deplorable but there are many younger people who do not remember 7/7 who need to understand the horror of what happened.
I hope that it actually helps by making the murders involved in terrorism more personal and real to anyone who is considering taking part. We know that some young British muslims are being radicalised and the government is working to try to prevent this.
Whilst I would never condone prejudice against an entire group of people we cannot and should not pretend that islamic extremism did not murder all these innocent passengers who were simply going about their daily business and trying to get to work.