The 7/7 candle bearer: how friendship was forged from the London bombings

A candle bearer at a service of commemoration to mark the 20^th anniversary of the London bombings is a medic from London Ambulance Service.

Tracy Russell – then an Emergency Medical Technician – and her crewmate Liam self-deployed to Russell Square Underground Station on 7 July 2005.

It was close to the site of the deadliest and the deepest of the four bombs that exploded that morning.

The pair were in the tunnel for more than three hours – only leaving when the last patient was rescued. One of the patients they cared for was Gill Hicks, a young Australian woman who went on to become one of Tracy’s closest friends.

Tracy said: “I could feel the adrenalin kicking in as we arrived and saw people coming out of Russell Square station covered in soot and smoke.

“We got our kit together and went onto the platform and jumped onto the track. We pulled our t-shirts up over our mouths because there was so much smoke and soot in the air and we started walking along the track.

“It seemed to go on forever so we had to time to think: what are we walking into? Then I saw a casualty on the track. They had a lower limb amputation but were still in good spirits and I remember thinking this is all a bit surreal.”

The crewmates climbed up into the train through the driver’s door and started assessing people, making their way down the carriage until eventually reaching the bomb blast site.

Tracy said: “There were a few people calling out but no one was screaming, just muttering and murmuring really. The emergency lighting was on but it was quite low and the air was still very smoky which you could taste.

“At that point I didn’t know this had been a deliberate attack. Then someone said to us that there had been intelligence that there might be a secondary device and did we want to leave or stay treating the injured.

“We made a decision to stay. I was scared but we couldn’t leave. That would never have been the right decision for me. There was no question of leaving when we had patients who needed us.

“I do remember thinking I might not get married – I was due to get married in 8 days’ time – but that was a fleeting thought – I was just focused on getting people out of the train.

“We heard and felt the vibrations of the bus bomb go off but we didn’t know where it was at that point. We wondered if that was the secondary device and whether there was going to be another one.”

All the London Ambulance Service crews in the tunnels had to be resourceful – tying together clothing to make tourniquets and stretchers.

Tracy said: “When the last patient was taken out, you could have heard a pin drop. We got outside the station at Russell Square and were relieved to breathe fresh air and see daylight. It was eerily quiet, like you imagine an apocalypse.”

Tracy recalls going to the pub that evening and then went back to work the next day.

She said: “It was in the days after that the horror hit me, it had been like a warzone, but I had to compartmentalise so I could function – I had my job to do and I was still getting married.”

A year later she heard that survivor Gill wanted to meet her and her crewmate to thank them for saving her life.

Tracy said: “I had been worried about meeting her but it was amazing – we have become very close friends. She moved back home to Australia and I have been there several times to visit.

“Even our daughters are friends. I sometimes can’t believe that something so positive could have come out of that terror attack.”

Tracy will be a candle bearer at the commemoration service for invited guests on Monday (7 July).

Tracy said: “I feel so honoured to be a candle bearer. I find the anniversaries very sad but despite the horror of that day, I’m glad I was there.

“I did my best for our patients and I’m glad I could help some of them – and it meant I met Gill. I think I always knew I had it in me. I still feel so proud of working for the London Ambulance Service – not just for what we did that day.”

Gill Hicks is returning to London for the 20^th anniversary and while she is here, she will be performing her show Still Alive (and Kicking) at the Wilton’s Music Hall on 9^th July for 1 night only.

The show is a celebration of being alive, masterfully told by this extraordinary survivor who hails her rescue and medical experience as the reason she is a global advocate for peace.