7/7 bombing memorial ‘incredible’

VICTIM David Foulkes

A STRIKING monument to the 52 people killed in the July 7 bombings has been described as “truly incredible”.

The memorial, which cost nearly £1 million, was unveiled today on the fourth anniversary of the London terrorist attacks.

Those killed included 22-year-old David Foulkes, from Austerlands. The former Hulme Grammar School for Boys pupil was caught up in the bomb blast in the Edgware Road Tube station.

His father, Graham Foulkes, said: “This was a planned attack against Britain — it was the biggest attack and loss of life that this country has suffered. I think it is important that the memorial marks that.”

He added: “I think it reminds everybody in the country what happened on that day. To me, it sends out a clear message to bombers and terrorists — that no matter what they do, they just cannot win because we value every single life.”

The victims have been commemorated by 52 stainless steel columns which stand three–and–a–half metres tall in London’s Hyde Park.

Each one is unique and they have been grouped together in four clusters reflecting the separate locations of the bombings: Tavistock Square, Edgware Road, King’s Cross and Aldgate. A stainless steel plaque naming those who died has also been erected at the site between Lovers Walk and Park Lane.

Hundreds more people were injured when four suicide bombers detonated bombs hidden in rucksacks on the capital’s transport system.

Saba Mozakka (28) was one of one of six relatives on the memorial project board that created the monument.

Her mother Behnaz Mozakka (47), a biomedical officer, was killed on a Piccadilly line tube train near King’s Cross station while commuting to work.

Ms Mozakka said: “We think it is truly incredible and reflects the importance of the people commemorated. I think and hope people will feel passionately about the memorial. For me it’s very important my mum is never forgotten I don’t want anyone ever to forget her.”

Architectural studio Carmody Groarke won the commission to help design the monument. Angel of the North creator Antony Gormley acted as an independent adviser.

Molten stainless–steel was poured into sand moulds giving each column a unique finish complete with pits, lines, rough areas and smooth surfaces. Each one bears an inscription of the time, place and date of the four bombings.

Architect Kevin Carmody worked closely with the families and said: “It emerged that the memorial should represent the singular and the collective and the loss of each family member. Hopefully people will have an almost magnetic propulsion towards it.”