Event Security

Manchester Survivors Choir

Alison Aitken, Manchester Survivors’ Choir chair explains how the choir came about and the impact it has had.

The Manchester Survivors Choir was established in 2018, following the Manchester Arena Bombing. The choir is comprised of bereaved, survivors and those affected by the tragic events of the 22nd May 2017.

The choir was the idea of Andrea Bradbury, who retired in March 2017 after serving for thirty years in the police as a Detective Inspector in the counter terrorism branch. Andrea’s daughter and her friend, being keen musical theatre performers themselves, had booked tickets for the Ariana Grande concert. They were both fifteen at the time.

Andrea and her friend Barbara were waiting for their daughters in the city room when the bomb detonated. They were the closest people to the bomber to survive. They both suffered shrapnel wounds and later had to undergo surgery for their injuries. Despite being in counter terrorism, it was an extremely traumatic experience both mentally and physically for Andrea and also for her friend Barbara (a teaching assistant).

They both suffered from survivors’ guilt, knowing that twenty-two people had been killed and that number included children.

Whilst their daughters escaped physically uninjured, they had also experienced and witnessed the devasting events.

Therapeutic singing

Having already been part of a church choir, and because of her daughter’s love of musical theatre, singing was a source of comfort and safety for them. Andrea wondered if young people, who had an obvious love of music being at a concert, might also find singing therapeutic. Her idea was to bring them together to not only sing but also to share a drink, cake and be able to talk to other people who had shared experiences to try and make sense of what had happened.

Following the attack, the police set up an online support group on which Andrea posted her idea and was contacted by another lady and a young person and the three of them together formed the choir group, with the first meeting taking place in a small church in Manchester in February 2018.

Not long after its launch, Songs of Praise and the media heard about the group and it expanded much quicker than anyone imagined. The choir were asked to perform at the first anniversary of the attack. Despite the first meeting being one of tears and hugs and not really saying a great deal to each other and indeed many of us have never revealed the full stories of our experiences of that night, we felt that the common bond of music and a sense of trying to establish a new normal was easier when you had a friend who understood. Many of our families did not understand what we had experienced and it was simply easier to hug someone who knew what you were feeling.

The first meeting was attended by just 18 people. Andrea remembers how difficult it was to even drive into the city again and experiencing feeling lost but through the common bond that brought us together we have managed to do amazing things. The choir members were also supported by others such as the Christie Hospital and the Peace Centre in Warrington and through their support the choir has helped people get back into the city, to attend concerts again and take part in holistic therapies.

Performances

At its peak, the choir had around ninety members who have sung at many events in the UK and in Nice, France. These include televised events, for the Mayor Andy Burnham, The National Emergencies Trust launch and the Westminster Bridge Memorial Service attended by the Prime Minister, in support of those affected by trauma, the public who have helped us and for charitable purposes.

Whilst our members are lower now as our youngsters have happily moved on to university and work, we still continue to meet regularly to support one another, to practice and to perform. Most recently we have sung at the Spinal Injuries Annual Dinner in support of Martin Hibbert who was paralysed in the arena bombing and is now the Vice President of the charity and at the Rock, Bury for Liv’s Trust, one of the bereaved family’s charities.

In September this year, members of the choir attended the 9/11 family memorial event in New York having been invited by an ex-Fire Chief Malcolm Dean whose brother was killed in the attack and who himself was a responder at the World Trade Centre on that fateful day. Malcom’s family hails from Manchester and he has travelled home to see them and met up with the choir whilst he was here.

Choir members also met with him during a United Nations event in Nice. He currently is a senior lead for the Emergency Medical Services and lectures for the US Homeland Security on Counter Terrorism. Also on the trip was Aaron Palmer who was a serving police officer at the time of the Manchester Arena attack and is now a fire fighter who organises an annual charity football match, Manchester Remembers, in aid of the family’s charities.

The choir continues to be a great source of comfort and support for its members and over the years we have become more of a family. Our mission is to continue to spread love (not hate) through our shared interest in music and in support of those suffering trauma following acts of terrorism.