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On the anniversary of the 7/7 terror attacks in London, Dr. Charlotte Heath-Kelly writes on how it changed the way Britain mourns victims of terrorism, for The Conversation.

Tucked into the south-east corner of Hyde Park in London, 52 stainless steel pillars have stood since July 7, 2009. These make up the official memorial for the victims of the London bombings of 2005 – an unobtrusive testament of which many people are unaware. Each pillar purposefully contains slight individual characteristics to symbolise the individuality of each life lost on the London transport network during 7/7.

Compared to the gaping wounds that tear into the earth at Ground Zero, in the form of Michael Arad’s Reflecting Absence design, the British might consider their memorial reaction to the London bombings as understated.

We might contemplate London’s memorial in the context of British historical familiarity with political violence and a steadfast determination to just get on with it, with little fuss. We might think the memorial represents a continuity of historical approach when dealing with bombings, while also remaining respectfully apolitical in its simple, victim-oriented design.

But on many of these points, we would be wrong. The 7/7 pillars actually represent a dramatic shift in British memorial culture.

You can read the rest of the article on The Conversation website.