Silence for London victims

Crowds pay tribute at Trafalgar Square
13 April 2012

The victims of the July 7 terror bombings were remembered across the globe today in a dignified and defiant two-minute silence.

As Big Ben chimed noon, remarkable scenes were repeated across the continents.
The Queen stood in silence in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace as the capital and the whole of Britain came to a standstill.

Cities in the 25 European Union countries marked the two minutes, while on the other side of the Atlantic the three US states affected by the September 11 atrocities offered their respect and support to Britain.

On London Underground, many staff wore black armbands to commemorate the pain and tragedy inflicted on the city and its people.

In the capital's mainline stations, shops and offices, work ceased as the carnage of a week ago was recalled.

Airports came to a standstill, taxis pulled over to the side of roads and many heeded the appeal for people to leave their workplace to stand on the street in silent tribute to the 52 victims of the bombings.

Prime Minister Tony Blair observed the two minutes in the garden of 10 Downing Street, where he had been presenting bravery awards to police officers.

At Scotland Yard, Home Secretary Charles Clarke stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, flanked by armed officers.

Hundreds of Scotland Yard staff lined the street outside the Met's headquarters for the silence, the start and end of which was heralded by a police siren.

At BUCKINGHAM PALACE, the Queen emerged a few moments before noon and stood in the Palace's central arch.

As the Last Post sounded, the monarch stood motionless, watched by thousands of sightseers crowding around the palace gates.

In TRAFALGAR SQUARE, beneath the column of a hero who fell in battle, thousands paid tribute to those killed in an entirely different kind of war.

In the shadow of Nelson's Column, office workers and tourists joined dignitaries including Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Olympic hero Lord Coe.

The 200-strong official party also included members of the emergency services, political and religious leaders and schoolchildren, as well as Bob Geldof, actress Keira Knightley and Olympic champions David Hemery, Daley Thompson and Denise Lewis.

Together they formed a human wall of defiance while behind them builders working on the National Gallery stood with their hard hats in their hands.

Following the silence, Mr Livingstone said: "The remarkable unity showed by Londoners today is not only the best way to commemorate those who died, and to express our determination that we will never change our life under the threat of terror, but is also our best defence against those who would attack us."

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall observed the silence during their summer tour of WALES.

Charles and Camilla gazed solemnly across the picturesque village green at Pendoylan in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, led the observation of the two minutes silence while attending a degree ceremony at the University of Wales, ABERYSTWYTH.

Dr Williams said: "As we look into the darkness of violence, we commit ourselves afresh to respond not with fear, not with hate, but with new resolution and with hope."

In the UNITED STATES, the three states struck on September 11 2001 - New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia - also joined together to observe the silence.

New York governor George Pataki said the London attacks were a reminder of the "very real and serious threat" that terrorism posed worldwide.

"The people of Great Britain were there for New Yorkers and Americans in the days and weeks after September 11 and we proudly come together with our friends and neighbours in Virginia and Pennsylvania in this show of support of our friends in Great Britain," he said.

"Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones last week."

Ceremonies at EUROPEAN UNION buildings in all 25 EU member states were timed to coincide with London's midday silence.

European Commission staff stopped work and many left their offices to stand in streets to mark the occasion.

Golfers competing in the Open Championship at ST ANDREWS suspended play for two minutes at noon and spectators paused to pay their respects.

US star Tiger Woods, whose father Earl served in the military, stood with his head bowed as silence fell over the course.

Hundreds of people gathered in London's PARLIAMENT SQUARE, where normally-deafening traffic came to a halt, and quiet descended.

Proceedings in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords were suspended, as MPs and peers stood with heads bowed.

KING'S CROSS - a focal point for the nation's mourning - staged a low-key ceremony to remember the dead.

Charity worker Stuart Tattersall, 37, from London, said: "It's all a little awe-inspiring. Everybody is thinking about people in this city being an 'us' instead of a 'them'.

"We are all aware that this could quite easily have been us."

In LIVERPOOL, thousands of people took to the streets and a special service was held in the city's St John's Gardens led by the Rev Steven Brookes and Muslim leader Mohammad Akbar Ali.

A crowd of more than 500 people fell silent in central BELFAST as traffic was brought to a standstill.

In SCOTLAND, shopping centres, mainline railway stations, airports and workplace came to a halt.

Trains stopped at Strathclyde Passenger Transport's 15 Underground stations in GLASGOW as travellers paused to remember the suicide attacks that brought carnage to London's Tube.

At Buchanan Street station, trains stood still on the platform at noon with their doors open while passengers sat in silence in the carriages.

One of those who took part, Beth Dynowski, 20, said: "Sitting in silence in the carriage made me think of how quiet it must have been in the London Tube last week after the bombs went off and everyone had fled. It's so horrible and it was so important for us to remember the dead."

MSPs, staff and visitors to the Scottish Parliament also paused as the clock struck noon.

People of all faiths paid their respects in a brief service led by civic and religious leaders at Millennium Square in LEEDS before the silence.

As the city came to a standstill, some Asians in the crowd held home-made banners proclaiming "Islam does not commit murder" and "Islam is against suicide bombing".

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who had urged the entire Irish nation to join him in the silence, stood in the courtyard of DUBLIN CASTLE as the bells of Christ Church Cathedral rang out.

Guards outside the United States Air Force base at LAKENHEATH, Suffolk, stood to attention to observe the silence.

Traffic entering the base came to a standstill for two minutes. Lakenheath and its sister base at nearby Mildenhall are one of the largest American military communities in Europe.

Earlier this week commanders at the bases were criticised for advising staff not to travel into London in the wake of the bombings.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in