Bill Mann was one of more than 770 people who were injured when four suicide bombers struck London’s transport network on July 7, 2005.
He was commuting from Upminster, where he lived at the time, to his corporate job in Paddington via the Circle line when the bomb went off.
Bill, now 61, said that up until that point it was “just a normal working day”.
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“Edgware Road was the penultimate stop before Paddington and I remember the train pulled out of the station into the tunnel,” Bill told this paper.
“We weren’t too far into the tunnel before the bomb exploded.
“I was in the first seat next to the doors, and my first memory was flying through the air across the doorway to the other side of the carriage as the explosion unfolded around me.”
Out of the 52 people who were killed in the attacks, six of them were on the same carriage as Bill.
A photo of Bill and his children shared with the BBC documentary 7/7: The London Bombings (Image: BBC)
The father-of-four happened to get on the carriage at the first set of doors, while the bomber was at the other end.
“I always say to people that if I had got on at the next set of doors, I probably wouldn’t be here today,” he said.
Bill escaped with minor injuries – hearing damage from the blast and cuts from the shattered glass – but the psychological impact was much more long-lasting.
“It fundamentally shifted my outlook and gave me absolute clarity on what’s important and what’s not important.
“If you’ve got your health and you’ve got your family around you, there’s not much more you need.
“One of the things I learnt from the experience of the bomb is just how precious life is, but also how precious every single day is.
“I’m acutely aware of the value of the time we have, because for all of us it’s our most precious resource.”
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Bill has written a book about his experience called How to Keep Calm and Carry On, where he also talks about the loss of his wife to cancer only a few years later.
He hopes that this, as well as his work as a life coach and speaker, will help others who have faced traumatic events in their lives.
Bill said: “For me it’s very rewarding to be able to help people that way, and I guess that’s one of the good things that have come out of the whole experience.”
He was one of a number of survivors who also retold their experiences on recent BBC documentary 7/7: The London Bombings.
Find out more about Bill’s work on his website www.thekeepcalmguy.com.
7/7: The London Bombings is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
