(Photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis)Personnel from the British Medical Association pause for a two-minute silence in central London's Tavistock Square, site of the bombed No. 30 bus one year ago, Friday July 7, 2006. Friday marks the first anniversary of the day four suicide bombers attacked London's transit system killing 52 commuters and themselves by detonating explosive-laden backpacks on three subway trains and a London bus.
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LONDON – London today marks the one year anniversary of the 7/7 terrorist bombings that send shock waves through the nation’s capital. The nation fell silent at midday for a two-minute silence to remember the 52 people that died in the devastating bombings last year. To commemorate the occasion various memorial services have been scheduled across London.
One of the core services will be held at St Botolph’s Church, Aldgate in the City of London at 1 p.m., with prayers also scheduled to be given in Regent’s Park, St Paul’s Cathedral and St Pancras Church, close to Tavistock Square, the site of the bus blast. The day will be a time of silence and services.
Flowers were laid at the sites where bombs went off on three Tube trains and a bus at the times of the blasts. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the anniversary of the 7/7 attacks was an opportunity for "the whole nation to come together".
There will be 6,000 extra policemen, mostly armed, on the streets and in Tube trains to “provide reassurance.” On Thursday, a video of one of the bombers, Shehzad Tanweer, was aired on al-Jazeera television. It showed the 22-year-old, from Leeds, warning of further attacks; a move designed by terrorists to further intensify the pain of those remembering their loved ones today.
Last November, the Queen led a national memorial service dedicated to the victims at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. At that time, bereaved families and survivors of the four blasts were also joined in tribute by Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor led the prayers of remembrance at that time for all who were affected by the tragedy, including emergency workers who helped in the aftermath, as well as offerings of thanksgiving, reported the BBC.
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Dr Rowan Williams had delivered a sermon in which he said: “We are here grieving, after all, because those who so pointlessly and terribly died were, each one of them, precious, non-replaceable.
“God does not forget the smallest of his creatures. And He calls us all to share that loving, sometimes painful, remembering by which we honor the gifts given us through the lives of our dear friends, parents and children, sisters and brothers.”
The bells at London's St Paul's Cathedral tolled at 8:50 a.m. BST to mark a year since the bombs went off on trains near Aldgate and Edgware Road stations, and on another traveling between King's Cross and Russell Square.
In addition, they also tolled an hour later to mark the fourth blast on the number 30 bus at the junction of Tavistock Square and Upper Woburn place.
Other events on Friday will be held in private for victims' families and survivors, including the unveiling of memorial plaques at King's Cross, Russell Square, Edgware Road, Aldgate and Tavistock Square.
A Book of Tributes, with a foreword from the Prince of Wales and tributes from the bereaved, will also be unveiled in a private event.
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