London 7/7 bombings: 'I will tell the story for those who cannot'

BBC News

9 hours ago

Thelma Stober was one of the hundreds of people affected by the London bombings of 7 July 2005, in which she lost a leg.But standing by the memorial in Hyde Park, her thoughts are not on her losses but the 52 people who did not survive.Ms Stober was on the Tube at Aldgate station when one of four coordinated suicide bombs detonated during the morning rush hour. She lost her lower left leg among other life-changing injuries.Now, 20 years later, she said: "Although I lost parts of my body, I am still here to tell the story, to represent those who are not".
"I'm reflecting on my life before 7/7 and my life after."I was on the train later than usual because I had taken my son to nursery as I had promised him."Then as I was walking towards the platform [at Moorgate station], I saw a train and I ran for it. So I went into the carriage that I would not normally go into."Consequently, I was on the wrong train the wrong time."The day before the attacks, Ms Stober remembered as "momentous" and "incredibly happy", as London celebrated winning the bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. As a senior lawyer, she had worked on the bid.She had originally planned to take the next day off, but changed her mind due to the workload.
Ms Stober was "completely unaware" she was standing next to a man with a rucksack who would turn out to be one of the four bombers, Shehzad Tanweer.When the bomb detonated, she was thrown onto the tracks, partly underneath the train with a piece of the train door impaled in her right thigh and left foot twisted backwards. When she began seeing rescuers in yellow and orange jackets approaching, she shouted: "Help me, help me. I'm alive. I don't want to die.""I was thinking of my son, my mother, my husband."And I worked so hard on the Olympics - I wanted to get back to continue my work on the Olympics."
'Mother wrote to Pope'
Ms Stober said the memory of that day is still "vividly clear"."If I could have amnesia permanently to eliminate everything about the incidents, I would."She suffered significant injuries, internally to her liver and stomach and externally her lower left leg - and nearly lost her right arm.She has complete loss in her left ear and a percentage loss in her right.After years of suffering from persistent headaches that she put down to migraines, Ms Stober discovered at a scan in 2019 that she had shrapnel in her brain, which now requires annual monitoring. "I remember being in the hospital and they were not sure whether I would be alive and my mother, who was deeply religious, wrote to every Bishop in the country, including the Pope," she said.
Ms Stober said the ordeal brought out her "inner resilience"."The whole idea of the attack was to destroy individuals and communities. I wasn't going to let that happen."She channelled her experience into supporting survivors and shaping policy. She co-chairs the Grenfell Memorial Commission and advises governments and the United Nations on survivor-led disaster preparedness.
Ms Stober said there is a "mixed feelings" as she looks back on the attack and the 20 years since. "There is anxiety. There is sadness because 52 people lost their lives," she says. "It's not something I would've wished on anyone but looking back now, I have been involved with so many positive things that I would not have been involved in if it wasn't for 7/7.""I'm glad I'm alive to do what I do."