Remembering 7/7: the Hyde Park memorial to the fallen

Commemorating the terrible events of the 7th July, 2005,  this permanent memorial in Hyde Park honours the 52 victims of the London Bombings.

Unveiled exactly four years after 7/7 on 7th July, 2009, the memorial stands between Lover’s Walk (at the eastern edge of the park) and Park Lane in central London.

The memorial is made up of  52 stainless steel pillars, collectively representing the 52 victims, with the pillars grouped together in four inter-linking clusters to echo the four different geographical locations of the bombs (King’s Cross, Aldgate, Edgware Road, and Tavistock Square).

All the pillars are 3.5 metres high and cast from solid stainless steel by Sheffield foundry, Norton Cast Products, using a casting process that gives each one a unique finish.

Produced by a design team including architects Carmody Groarke and engineering team Arup, the memorial’s design process was overseen by representatives of the bereaved families.

Visitors are encouraged to walk around and through the memorial, reading the inscriptions that mark the date, time and locations of the bombings. There’s no individual names on the pillars.

Photographed  on a chilly December afternoon, the stainless steel plaque at the eastern end of the memorial  lists the names of the victims.

The memorial is a fitting tribute, honouring the 52 lives lost on 7 July 2005, ensuring that the world will never forget them. It represents the enormity of our loss, both on a personal and public level.

We hope this memorial will speak to visitors so they can understand the impact of these horrific events.

Knowing that each pillar represents a lost life, the memorial is a sobering and rather humbling experience.

[Location map] – [Royal Parks page]

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