Communications Officer
To mark the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 attacks in London, we are sharing a reflection of FANY Kate Eastwood, who was deployed to support the Casualty Bureau in the aftermath. As part of the commemoration events taking place today, Kate supported the 7/7 London Bombings service at St Paul’s Cathedral.
On 7 July 2005, four bombs exploded across London at Edgware Road, Tavistock Square, Kings Cross/Russell Square, and at Aldgate Station. Fifty two people lost their lives, and many more were injured. Today’s event is a service of commemoration at St Paul’s Cathedral for those directly affected by these tragic events.
On 7/7 I was working for HRH The Prince of Wales, now HM The King, at Clarence House and when the call came from FANY HQ to deploy to the Casualty Bureau, like many other FANYs, I knew I needed to get there. We had trained from this and we could do something useful. Public transport was down, roads were closed, but who better to bend the rules and drive me there through cordons than a member of the Household recently returned from Basra and who was absolutely determined to get me to there? And he did!
Attending the event today is hugely important to me. There are names of those, who no doubt I will hear again today, who tragically lost their lives that day and who will be forever etched in my memory. Today we remember them, their families and friends, and those that did their very best to assist in whatever way they could on the day. And as FANYs that includes us. We played a part in helping and providing that friendly but efficient voice at the end of the phone gathering information to support the police and ultimately by extension the families.
Helping is what FANYs do. We are women who give up our time to support others and service underpins our Corps values and that is what motivated me to join the Corps in the first place some 23 years ago. I am an Army daughter; I was born at 14 Staff College Quarters in Sandhurst; my Grandmother and Great Aunt were WRNS number 3 & 6 and service, helping, getting involved - it’s in my DNA. For me being a FANY is truly fulfilling, and being able to provide a practical and useful support when it is needed, and in whatever way that might be, is why I joined the Corps.
The FANYs is a unique institution. We are so diverse as a community of women with different personalities and skillsets but the common bond is a need to serve and that purpose unites members in a way that I don’t believe has changed since the Corps was founded in 1907. The methods may have modernised and the style of support may have changed but we are still what we always were - Women with a Purpose to Serve and I am immensely proud to still be an active part of this incredible institution.