William Wise, 54
“William Wise, 54,” is all it ever says. I know because I check CNN daily to see if a biographical sketch has appeared next to the man with the scruffy beard and glasses. I mean the man sandwiched between Philip Stuart Russell, 28, from Kennington and Gladys Wundowa, 51.
According to CNN, Gladys Wundowa, mother of two sons, “had finished a morning shift as a cleaner in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in University College London, part of the University of London, and was on her way to a course in Shoreditch, east London.”
“William Wise, 54, was thought to have been travelling on the Number 30 to King's Cross,” reports say. King's Cross Station, notes its brochure, is “the London terminus for the east coast main line.” Network Rail adds, “The station was opened in 1852 and the station roof, the largest at the time, was supposedly modeled on the riding school of the Czars of Moscow.”
Here’s another bit of trivia for the curious traveler looking up the schedules for trains leaving from King’s Cross, a station through which over forty million pass annually: “It is also rumoured that Queen Boudicaa is buried beneath platform 8.” Before Queen Boudicaa committed suicide around 60 AD to avoid defeat by the Romans, this widow of Prasutagus, King of the Iceni, rallied native Celts against the Roman interlopers after they beat her and raped her daughters.
More is known about Queen Boudicaa than William Wise, who died in an explosion in Tavistock Square in London on the Number 30 bus Thursday, July 7. The Scotsman reports initially that his address is not known. Matthew Beard of The Belfast Telegraph says, “He was last heard from at 9:30 AM on the day of the bombing, travelling on a bus from Euston towards King's Cross station.”
Who heard from William Wise at 9:30? Somebody knows that he got on a bus, black briefcase in hand. A tall, bespectacled man, he wore a beige suit and black shoes the day of the bombing. Reports say that he was also wearing a watch and an Aries ram medallion on a silver chain.
What the newspapers cannot tell me, I find in an online forum called “Liberty Unites.” A few people have posted reminiscences regarding William Wise, 54. Tony, who knew him through work, writes, “He was a dignified, sensitive, and supremely intelligent man. I remember he was kind to me when I lost my father.” Jonathan Stanford, who also knew William Wise through work, says, “He was an ever cheerful member of the team who was always ready to help out. I am so sorry to hear he has gone.” The Faulkners remark that he was “a very good neighbour.”
The name “William” has a rich tradition in England. Derived from the Germanic “Wilhelm,” it combines words that signify “will” and “protection.” Without the Norman Invasion, which happened some years after the Romans had their turn, the name would have never made it to Great Britain.
From commentator Peter Faris, I learn that there is a reason CNN shows only a photograph with a name. “Police say,” Faris writes, “his family asked that no other details about him should be released.” It’s appropriate to seek privacy in the face of a very public tragedy. What can one paragraph say to capture the life of one man?
Queen Boudicaa is remembered as a great motivational speaker. Two thousand years from now, she will still epitomize nationalist fervor. I wonder if any history books will mention that William Surtees Wise, 54, was intelligent and kind.
Felicia Mitchell. First published in Washington County News (Abingdon, VA), 20 July 2005, p. A4. WCN is a publication of Media General Operations. Copyright 2005.
According to CNN, Gladys Wundowa, mother of two sons, “had finished a morning shift as a cleaner in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in University College London, part of the University of London, and was on her way to a course in Shoreditch, east London.”
“William Wise, 54, was thought to have been travelling on the Number 30 to King's Cross,” reports say. King's Cross Station, notes its brochure, is “the London terminus for the east coast main line.” Network Rail adds, “The station was opened in 1852 and the station roof, the largest at the time, was supposedly modeled on the riding school of the Czars of Moscow.”
Here’s another bit of trivia for the curious traveler looking up the schedules for trains leaving from King’s Cross, a station through which over forty million pass annually: “It is also rumoured that Queen Boudicaa is buried beneath platform 8.” Before Queen Boudicaa committed suicide around 60 AD to avoid defeat by the Romans, this widow of Prasutagus, King of the Iceni, rallied native Celts against the Roman interlopers after they beat her and raped her daughters.
More is known about Queen Boudicaa than William Wise, who died in an explosion in Tavistock Square in London on the Number 30 bus Thursday, July 7. The Scotsman reports initially that his address is not known. Matthew Beard of The Belfast Telegraph says, “He was last heard from at 9:30 AM on the day of the bombing, travelling on a bus from Euston towards King's Cross station.”
Who heard from William Wise at 9:30? Somebody knows that he got on a bus, black briefcase in hand. A tall, bespectacled man, he wore a beige suit and black shoes the day of the bombing. Reports say that he was also wearing a watch and an Aries ram medallion on a silver chain.
What the newspapers cannot tell me, I find in an online forum called “Liberty Unites.” A few people have posted reminiscences regarding William Wise, 54. Tony, who knew him through work, writes, “He was a dignified, sensitive, and supremely intelligent man. I remember he was kind to me when I lost my father.” Jonathan Stanford, who also knew William Wise through work, says, “He was an ever cheerful member of the team who was always ready to help out. I am so sorry to hear he has gone.” The Faulkners remark that he was “a very good neighbour.”
The name “William” has a rich tradition in England. Derived from the Germanic “Wilhelm,” it combines words that signify “will” and “protection.” Without the Norman Invasion, which happened some years after the Romans had their turn, the name would have never made it to Great Britain.
From commentator Peter Faris, I learn that there is a reason CNN shows only a photograph with a name. “Police say,” Faris writes, “his family asked that no other details about him should be released.” It’s appropriate to seek privacy in the face of a very public tragedy. What can one paragraph say to capture the life of one man?
Queen Boudicaa is remembered as a great motivational speaker. Two thousand years from now, she will still epitomize nationalist fervor. I wonder if any history books will mention that William Surtees Wise, 54, was intelligent and kind.
Felicia Mitchell. First published in Washington County News (Abingdon, VA), 20 July 2005, p. A4. WCN is a publication of Media General Operations. Copyright 2005.
posted by Felicia Mitchell | 8:12 PM
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