‘People risked their lives to save my life’: Remembering the July 2005 terror attack

July 8, 2025 Keed

White petals fall from the ceiling of St Paul’s Cathedral as the names of the 52 victims from the July 7th 2005 bombings of London buses and tube trains were read aloud.

The suicide bombings, carried out by Islamist extremists, remain the worst attack London has seen since the second world war.

Four British men inspired by al-Qaida blew themselves up with devices on three tube carriages, one on a bus, all in the morning rush hour, timed to cause as much death and destruction as possible.

Graham Foulkes, the father of David Foulkes, who was killed in the attack at Edgware Road Station, told the congregation at the memorial service that London has remained a place of hope:

“For many people, nothing was the same again, and yet everything was the same again, because the good which is in Londoners, and the countless visitors who they host at any given moment is not erased by hatred or by threat or rather, it’s fostered to produce a harvest of hope for each generation.”

That day saw the worst… but also the best of humanity.

Australian expat Gill Hicks was on her way to work at the Design Council in London when the tube train she was in was blown up between Kings Cross and Russell Square.

She was rescued from the wreckage but was so severely injured the hospital was unable to identify her at first.

“People risked their lives to save my life, holding my broken body with unconditional love, that’s extraordinary. This is humanity, and I’m living proof of what happens when humanity comes together.”

Two decades on, the memories remain vivid for survivors.

Thelma Stober had been standing next to one of the bombers.

“I found myself on the train tracks, part of me under the train, part of me outside. And I had part of the train door on my thigh. I could see bodies lying around and I put my hand up and said, help me, help me, I’m alive. I don’t want to die.”

For those who lost loved ones – like Graham Foulkes – the anniversary remains a difficult day.

“I shouldn’t be having this conversation with you. I should be at home at this time, having dinner or going to the pub with David. And it’s not possible to describe the feeling of having your son murdered in such a pointless way.”The bombings remain seared into London’s collective memory and changed the way Britain conducts counter-terrorism investigations.

Mark Rowley is the Commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police.

“The first was the changes that brought policing and our security services, particularly MI5, much more close together so that we now have the closest joint operating arrangements anywhere in the world.”

There have been attacks in the capital since – in fact two weeks later, four other bombers attempted a similar attack, but their devices failed to explode and no one was hurt.

None have been on the same scale as 7/7.

At the Hyde Park memorial, the Prince of Wales paid his respects.

His father, King Charles, saying while the horrors will never be forgotten, it is a ‘spirit of unity’ that has helped London to heal.

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