A shop worker from Southampton, Richard Ellery, was in London on July 7, 2005, where he was due to attend a training course, having recently been made a full-time member of staff at the photography shop chain Jessops.
Sadly, Richard and 51 other victims were killed after bombs exploded on three tube trains and one double-decker bus, leaving several hundred others injured in the worst terror attack on British soil.
This morning, the Prime Minister joined the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh in St Paul’s Cathedral at a commemorative ceremony to honour the victims of the attack, alongside survivors, bereaved relatives, and emergency responders.
Richard, who attended Bellemoor school and Taunton college, was confirmed as one of the dead several days after the bombing.
Speaking to the Echo in the aftermath of the incident, Richard’s parents Trevor and Beverley Ellery said they had clung on to any hope that Richard could still be alive following the bombings.
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They had reported Richard missing after he failed to make contact with them after travelling to Liverpool Street Station on the morning of the attack.
The last they heard was when Richard exchanged text messages with his mum at 8.30am. The bomb exploded minutes after his train arrived at the station.
Paying tribute to their son, who had not long before moved to Ipswich, the Ellery’s said in a statement: “Richard was a fun-loving boy and full of enthusiasm for life.
“He will be sorely missed by all of his family and close friends.”
Immediately after the bombings Richard’s dad, Trevor, made a desperate journey to London to appeal to passers-by and rail staff for information.
An inquest into Richard’s death also heard tributes paid to him by those who knew him.
Reading a written statement from one of his flatmates who saw him the night before he died, Hugo Keith QC told the coroner’s court: “Richard was his normal self – a funny, lively guy – and looking forward to his course in London.
“He had a great sense of humour and was quick-witted. The only time he was grumpy was in the morning,” the statement said.
