A MEMORIAL service for people infected and affected by the contaminated-blood scandal was held on Tuesday in St Paul’s Cathedral — a place “where the spirit to sing, to shout, to scream it out is so highly valued”, the chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry, Sir Brian Langstaff, said.
The service was led by the Dean of St Paul’s, the Very Revd Andrew Tremlett, who offered a prayer and words of recognition: “We gather today, in this Cathedral Church, to hold before God all who have been impacted by the decades-long contaminated blood scandal. We publicly recognise and remember the devastation wrought on thousands of lives and the untimely deaths of loved ones.”
In the 1970s and 1980s, about 6000 people with haemophilia and other bleeding disorders were treated with contaminated clotting factors containing HIV and hepatitis viruses, the Haemophilia Society says. Some of those unintentionally infected their partners, often because they were unaware of their own infection. Since then, more than 3000 people have died. About 1250 people were infected with HIV, including 380 children.
Giving the address, Sir Brian said: “For the nation to acknowledge human failures, to recommit to making amends, and to speak out about the truth, there are few places fitter than here at St Paul’s where the spirit to sing, to shout, to scream it out is so highly valued. It is here where we can each, in our own way, but also powerfully together, remember.”
He continued: “This tragedy alone would be catastrophic enough; however, it has been exacerbated by the public lack of recognition and acknowledgement. We pay tribute to those who have carried us to this stage and to those who continue to fight to ensure justice is delivered for all. We owe them all a debt that can never be repaid.”
Empty seats, reserved throughout the cathedral, served as a physical representation of those who had lost their lives, “and remind us that they sit alongside us in our journey”, Dean Tremlett said.
Before the service, the bells of St Paul’s were rung half-muffled in memory of those who had died. Members of the congregation were invited to collect a plain envelope that contained the first name of someone affected by the scandal. Among those in attendance were the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
After a prayer, read by the chair of the Infected Blood Memorial Committee, Clive Smith, people were invited to open the envelope and read aloud the names. A moment of silence was then observed, during which petals fell from the whispering gallery in the community’s colours: red for HIV, yellow for hepatitis, black for death.
The song “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”, from the musical Les Misérables, was sung by Michael Ball, who played Marius Pontmercy in the original 1985 West End production.
Hymns included “Guide me, O thou great Redeemer”, “Lord of all hopefulness”, and “Abide with me”. During the latter, community members carried candles forward to be lit under the cathedral’s dome.
The London Contemporary Voices Choir, led by Meg Ella Brookes and accompanied by Barny Jones, sang Emeli Sandé’s “Read All About It”, which included a striking a cappella section.
The St Paul’s Cathedral Consort sang In Paradisum from Fauré’s Requiem, and “Set me as a seal upon thine heart” by William Walton. The choir was conducted by the organist James Orford, and, during the service, the organ was played by the sub-organist, George Inscoe.
The prayers of intercession were led by the Succentor, the Revd Timothy Miller, and readings included Matthew 10.26-31.
Elisabeth Buggins, a granddaughter of an infected-blood victim, read a remembrance poem, “Not numbers on a ledger”. It includes the lines: “They came for healing hands, for hope in careful veins, and left with something silent that carried years of pain. A trust was placed in strangers, in science, white and clean — yet hidden in the lifeblood were truths left unforeseen.”
A member of the Haemophilia Society, Mark Ward, read words by “Joan”: “I attended the launch of our inquiry and there you were. You who knew my story, understood my pain. You who had campaigned for years to expose the harm done. . . At last we were believed, vindicated. We are joined now forever by our blood line. It’s our story line, our truth. May this line be drawn so no one has to face this kind of battle again.”
The service concluded Bach’s Fantasia in C Minor, as the bells were rung unmuffled.