Vicar 'proud' of 7 July memorial

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Vicar still coping with 7/7 grief

A vicar whose daughter was among 52 people killed in the July 2005 London bombings said helping create a memorial to the dead had been life-giving.

The Reverend Julie Nicholson, from Bristol, stood down as a parish priest saying she could not forgive the bomber who murdered her daughter Jennifer, 24.

She has worked with representatives from other bereaved families, officials and designers on the new memorial.

The installation in London's Hyde Park has 52 columns made from cast steel.

"I think one of the great powerful aspects of the memorial is that it has this wonderful ability to reflect the light but also to cast huge shadows," said Mrs Nicholson.

'Tall and strong'

When you're standing in the midst of it I think there will be a really profound sense of 'well this could have been me' The Reverend Julie Nicholson

It will be officially opened with a ceremony on Tuesday - the fourth anniversary of the bombings.

The names of all the people who were killed when four suicide bombers attacked London's transport network will be read out.

Mrs Nicholson said: "For me that moment is about gathering up the dead and celebrating this memorial with its shadows. After that it will belong to the world.

"The columns will stand tall and strong and proud that's how my daughter was before she and the others were chopped down.

Relatives of 7/7 victims on the new memorial

"It's a memorial to those killed in the July 7th bombings but I hope it will speak to a much wider spec than that - to the survivors and to people who live and work in London.

"I hope it'll be a place where they can experience something quite profound.

"Names are not on the columns but branded onto them is the date, the time and the place where the bombings took place."

Mrs Nicholson, who now works for the Church in a new role developing theatre arts, said the day would be poignant for everyone affected by the bombings.

"I will carry the grief with me to my grave. I have spent a lot of time trying to understand how we came to July the 7th," she said.

"When you're standing in the midst of it I think there will be a really profound sense of 'well this could have been me'."