Lloyd’s Tiernan reflects on 9/11 25 years on

We remember where we were when we first saw those images on September 11th, a quarter of a century ago.

We remember the first person we worried about, a colleague, a friend, a relative, a partner, a brother, a sister, or a child.

We remember the first call we made to check on their safety.

We remember the wait to hear from loved ones.

Many never heard back and many never came back.

We remember too the extraordinary courage of those who ran towards danger.

We remember those who placed their lives beneath those who they saved. But is it enough to remember?

Should we ask what these memories require of us? We should honour those we lost.

We should cherish those we love. We should retell the stories of bravery and resilience.

We should thank those who serve as first responders in our emergency services and always pray for their safe return.

And we should preserve our memories for future generations.

At Lloyd’s, memory is enshrined in the tradition of the loss book. For centuries, we’ve recorded the sinking of every ship insured by the market.

Putting quill to paper is a deliberately, even defiantly human act.

It reminds us that behind every disaster are human stories and that while some losses can be measured, others are fathomless.

So to remember the fallen and those who answered the call, the Lloyd’s waiters have handwritten the name of every person whose life was taken from us on September 11, 2001 in two specially commissioned loss books.

One will remain on permanent display here at Lloyd’s and we are honoured to present the other to the people of the United States of America. 

We are extremely grateful to [US] Ambassador [Warren] Stephens for joining us today and receiving this book on behalf of the American people.

From here, it will travel across the Atlantic to New York. And there we will present it to the city as a symbol of solidarity.

The two books will bear witness to that unbreakable bond of friendship and kinship.

One in London, one in New York, each inscribed with the same 2,977 names.

Mr Ambassador, 25 years ago, our nations stood together and united in grief. We stood with you then, we stand with you now, separated by an ocean, joined in remembrance.