Emotional Story Behind 'Mind The Gap' Announcement At One London Tube Station
Dec 23, 2019
There's a heartbreaking story behind why the Embankment Underground station in the UK has a different voice saying 'mind the gap' than any other stations in the network. The man who recorded the voice over for the station passed away and his wife goes to the station to hear it over and over again.
This emotional story has been shared on many social media platforms and proves how much effect one act of kindness can have.
Every station within the massive London Underground network has a voice that plays over loudspeakers requesting passengers to watch their step when getting off and on the Tube. However, the voice that says 'mind the gap' at the Embankment Station is quite different than any voice heard at other stops - and the reason is very impactful.
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According to MyLondon, the editor of London Reconnections John Bull took to Twitter to tell the sad story. Seven years ago, during the Christmas season, an upset passenger approached the Embankment station staff. She kept asking about where the voice was. At first, the question didn't make sense, but the staff eventually realized she was referring to the voice that tells passengers to 'mind the gap'.
The kind staff told the woman that the system had received an update and that the old voice had been replaced. The woman responded that the prior voice was that of her late husband.
The woman, named Dr. Margarte McCollum, said that her husband was formally an actor. His name was Oswald Laurence. Although he had never hit the big time, he was the man whose voice was played all over the stations in the Northern Line, according to MyLondon.
Tragically, Oswald passed away in 2007. Although his wife was heartbroken, she still had his voice to give her solace every time she rode the Tube. She would even sit at the platform longer just to hear her husband's voice over and over again.
The workers at Embarkment Station felt terrible for the woman. However, the update in the system wasn't something that they had much control over. They told the woman that they'd look to see if any of the old recordings were still intact.
After the New Year, the woman had the surprise of a lifetime when she heard her husband's voice play over the loudspeaker once again. The old tapes with her husband's voice on it were found and placed on a CD. They even found a way to make Embarkment Station the only stop along the Tube that plays Oswald's voice.
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