07/07/2009

7th July Bomb Memorial Unveiled

A £1 million memorial dedicated to the 52 victims of the 7th July bombings in London in 2005 has today been unveiled in Hyde Park.

On the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attacks, survivors and relatives of the victims joined the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Minister for London Tessa Jowell and the Prince of Wales at the unveiling of the 52 three-metre-high steel pillars - one for each victim.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, Conservative leader David Cameron, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone and senior figures from the emergency services were also among those present.

Broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald, who hosted the ceremony, read out the name of the victims before a minute's silence was held in their memory.

Prince Charles then laid a wreath on behalf of the nation while the Duchess of Cornwall left a floral tribute for the families.

The pillars are grouped in four clusters, to mark he four locations of the attacks: Tavistock Square, Edgeware Road, King's Cross and Aldgate.

A plaque with the victims' names has also been placed in the grass banks at the eastern end of the memorial.

Tessa Jowell, the humanitarian assistance minister, told the relatives of those who died in the atrocity that their loved ones were "immortal in your hearts and now immortalised in this place".

She added: "It shows us in gleaming steel and soft earth our communal loss. So also we reaffirm the defiance of London in the face of terrorist outrage. We will never forget this affront to our self-confident, diverse and tolerant community."

Mrs Jowell described the columns as each representing a "unique person and a unique grief".

"Each one casts a shadow just as they do - each one standing tall and proud just as they did, and each one will in an individual way absorb and reflect light just as they did."

Architect Kevin Carmody, of Carmody Groarke, worked closely with the families, the government and the royal parks to create the memorial.

"It took a long time to get to the strong ideas like symbolising the single and collective loss of life," he said.

(JM/BMcC)

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