20th Anniversary of 7/7 Bombings: IIAI Executive Committee Chairman Attends St. Paul’s Cathedral, London

Posted on Monday, July 7th, 2025

Since those indiscriminate acts of terror in 2005, July 7^th has been, and always will be, a day on which I reflect and remember. July 7^th 2025 was especially significant, because, following invitation from the Office of the Mayor of London, I attended the 20^th anniversary commemorative service at St Paul’s Cathedral, London. For me, the focus of any such day must be on those who were lost, those who were injured, those who suffered life changing disability, those who will carry the mental scars to their graves, their loved ones, families, friends and colleagues. The focus must also be on the first responders (e.g. Police, Fire, Ambulance), the risks they took, and the horrific scenes that confronted them.

For my part, I joined London Transport in 1982 (moving on from there in October 2018), and, having worked through various positions, moved to London Buses Command and Control Centre (CentreComm) in 1994. I later became Assistant CentreComm Manager, and was also Network Liaison Manager. On the morning of 7/7, my friend, Andy King (pictured below outside of St. Paul’s 7/7/25), was in the Duty Manager’s seat at CentreComm, but, as events began to unfold, it was decided I would take over as Duty Manager, with Andy as my assistant.

The events of that day, as they unfolded for us in CentreComm, were recounted at the 2010 IIAI Executive Committee Fellowship Lectures (see an edit of that presentation here). In short, we managed ‘business as usual’, and the London Buses Resilience and Emergency Plans, and ensured our fleets remained available to the hundreds of thousands who normally relied on them, plus the hundreds of thousands who could no longer use the underground. In addition to keeping Londoners and visitors to London moving safely, we ensured that none of our 8500 buses were the source of any congestion on the roads, and that none impeded the movement of ‘blue light’ traffic.

Such days should, of course, also drive home to organisations the importance of properly designed, business recovery, continuity, crisis, or emergency plans. Senior executives must know the plan will be effective; that it is tried, tested, up to date, and ready. The mantra of the prepared is when, not if. Reviews must be undertaken with the same mind-set cold debriefings require, because you never know when you will need to implement the plan, or when you might need to implement it again (is July 21^st 2005 ringing any bells?).

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