This is an unusual memorial but very touching. The two articles, below, give an insight into how the memorial was conceived and laid out.
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A permanent memorial to honour the victims of the 7 July 2005 London Bombings was unveiled in Hyde Park by Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, in a ceremony attended by senior political figures and the families of the 52 killed, on the fourth anniversary of the disaster, Tuesday 7 July 2009.
Located in the south east corner of Hyde Park, the memorial is just north of Achilles to the east of Lovers Walk. The memorial comprises 52 stainless steel pillars (stelae), collectively representing each of the 52 victims, grouped together in four inter-linking clusters reflecting the four locations of the incidents. Constructed from solid-cast, long-lasting stainless steel, each stelae measures 3.5 metres high and is unique, with individual characteristic finishes brought about by the casting process.
Visitors can walk around and through the memorial, reading inscriptions marking the date, time and locations of the bombings placed on each of the stelae as they pass. A stainless steel plaque listing the names of the victims is sited on a grass bank at the far eastern end of the memorial.
The memorial was produced by a design team including architects Carmody Groarke and engineering team Arup, who worked in close consultation with representatives of the bereaved families and advisors from The Royal Parks and the DCMS, and was cast by Sheffield foundry Norton Cast Products.
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This memorial for the 52 victims of the 7 July bombings will be unveiled in Hyde Park today by Prince Charles on the fourth anniversary of the attacks
Carmody Groarke has collaborated with the families of the 52 victims over the last two years, to produce a ‘dignified and tranquil space’. Anthony Gormley, who designed the Angel of the North, was a consultant on the project.
The construction sits in the south-east corner of the park, and consists of 52 roughly textured stainless steel pillars, one for each victim. The pillars are grouped together in bunches of six, seven, 13 and 26 to symbolise the lives lost in the four attacks.
Each of these columns - known as stele from the Greek word for an inscribed memorial stone - is inscribed with the date, location and time of the attack. A plaque on a nearby embankment will hold the names of all the victims.
Andrew Groarke said on the project, ‘there are 52 individual lives being remembered and there is also the sense of radiating collective loss across London and beyond.’
The ceremony on Tuesday (7 July) will be attended by several survivors of the attacks, relatives of the victims, representatives of the emergency services and government ministers. After plans to site the tribute in Tavistock Square, scene of one of the attacks, Hyde Park was selected due to its ‘prominence, history and central location.’
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