For those who might not know, on 7 July 2005, London was bombed

Referred to as 7/7, it was a series of four coordinated suicide attacks that targeted commuters during the morning rush hour

Three terrorists detonated homemade bombs in quick succession on London Underground trains

Later, a fourth bomb exploded on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square

52 innocent people of 18 different nationalities were killed. Nearly 800 were injured

Like many others, my day started just like any other

I was working for CapGemini at their Woking office

Around the office, flat-screen TVs broadcast what unfolded, hour by hour

A friend of mine had gone into London for a conference that day

As soon as there were whispers on the news of a “serious incident,” I texted them: “Go home. Forget the conference.”

They called me back. “The conference is really important,” they said. “I’ll stay.”

When the first bomb was confirmed, I rang again to plead with them to leave

But their phone was dead

It didn’t even ring, as though their mobile didn’t exist

You can imagine I feared the worst, had my friend been in that tube when it was bombed?

What I didn’t know at the time was that the police, fearing the bombers were using mobile phones as triggers, had shut down the entire London mobile network

All day, the horrors played out on those flat screens

Images of smoke-filled tunnels

People being carried out of the Underground

And then the photo of the mangled red bus, torn open like a can

At one point, Canary Wharf was shut down amid unverified reports of more attackers

Maybe even terrorist snipers in canary wharf

Fear rippled through the city

I kept trying my friend’s phone. Still nothing

Hours later, an unknown number flashed up on my mobile

I hesitated, then answered

It was my friend

A shopkeeper had let people use their landline to call home because the mobile network was down

My friend said they were OK

But then they said: “I have to go, the police are telling us to run.”

The line went dead

Again I was left hanging not know what was going on

That day, London ground to a halt

Trains, tubes, buses, all stopped

Over a million commuters had to find a way home on foot

My friend later described how sports shops turned into frenzies, as people grabbed trainers to walk home in

Bike shops sold out as commuters bought whatever had wheels

I live 19 miles from central London

That distance feels trivial when the trains are running

But on 7/7, nothing felt trivial

That day is etched in my memory — the fear, the silence on the mobile networks, the not knowing

It was a reminder of how fragile normality is, and how in moments of crisis, we cling to connection, to texts, calls, and the voices of people we care about