IIf you find yourself at Embankment station at London Undergroundpay particular attention to the tannoy: the station’s announcement “Mind the Gap” is spoken in rich, theatrical tones, a sound you won’t hear anywhere else on the network.
The reason for this is touching – a story of love and loss that went viral recently when it was retweeted on Twitter. dizziness by John Bull, AKA @gariusformer contributor to this site and editor of the London Reconnections blog that covers transportation in impressively entertaining detail, and is worth following if you’re a fan of the kind of stories we tell at Guardian Cities.
Bull wrote: “Just before Christmas 2012, staff at Embankment Tube station were approached by a very angry woman. He kept asking them where the sound was coming from. They weren’t sure what he meant. The Voice? The voice, he said. The man who said ‘Mind the Gap’.”
The staff assured him that the announcement was recently updated with a new digital system and new voices.
“That voice,” she explained, “is my husband.”
Just before Christmas in 2012, staff at Embankment Tube station were approached by a very angry woman.
He kept asking them where the sound was coming from. They weren’t sure what he meant.
The Voice?
The voice, he said. The man who said ‘Mind the Gap’
— John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019
Don’t worry, Embankment staff said. The notification still happens, but they are all updated. New digital system. New sounds. More variety.
The staff asked him if he was okay.
“That voice,” she explained, “is my husband.”
— John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019
Sure enough, the voice belongs to Oswald Laurence, a Rada graduate and theater actor who died in 2007. more than 45 years – and at some point can be heard along the length of the north to north line before finally disappearing – out of the Embankment.
In his grief, his grieving widow, Margaret McCollum, was comforted by traveling through the station and hearing the voice of her beloved husband.
Oswald’s death left a hole in Margaret’s heart. But one thing helped. Every day, on his way to work, he hears her voice.
Sometimes, when it was too painful, he explained, he would just sit on the Embankment stage and listen to the announcements for a long time.
— John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019
For five years, this was his routine. He knew she wasn’t there but his voice – the memory of her – was.
For others, it’s just another announcement. For HER is the ghost of the man she still loves.
And now even that is gone.
— John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019
Saddened by the fact that he could no longer listen to Oswald’s voice, he asked transportation for London if he can get a copy of the recording. Staff were able to track it down and worked to get the notification back to Embankment station.
Searched archives, found old tapes and restored them. Many people are working to digitize them. Some go through the notification system code to change it while many others sort through the paperwork and get exceptions.
And together they made Oswald speak.
— John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019
“And that’s why now, even in 2019, if you go to Embankment station in Londonand sit on the northern platform of the Northern Line, here you have a COMPLETELY different voice saying Mind the Gap to ANYWHERE else on the Underground. This is Oswald,” said Bull.
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2024-12-21 09:07:45
