Kindness of strangers that the terrorists cannot defeat

There’s a famous photograph taken during the height of the London Blitz of a woman sitting on top of a pile of rubble – wearing an overall and with her hair covered – drinking tea out of a china cup.

She’s surrounded by a litter of everyday objects – a suitcase, articles of clothing, a wastepaper basket – the remnants of a life. It could easily be a picture of despair but it isn’t.

Similar scenes could be found in bombed out places like Hull and Sheffield where special constables and fire wardens were joined by ordinary men and women to help rescue people from the rubble despite the danger it posed to themselves.

From such simple acts of bravery the indomitable Blitz spirit was born, becoming a byword for British stoicism during the Second World War.

The sight of a housewife drinking tea amid the rubble grew into a symbol of defiance that not even the might of the Luftwaffe could break.

The appalling events of recent weeks have put our communities to the test once again. And while we have seen the worst of humanity we have also witnessed humanity at its best.

Outside Manchester Arena in the aftermath of last month’s horrific suicide bombing, a homeless beggar held the head of a fatally wounded concert-goer as they took their last breath. Strangers helped one another, along with the injured, the frightened and the scared.

There were stories, too, of taxi drivers taking people home for free, local residents offering up their homes to stranded strangers without a second thought, while off-duty medical staff poured into work to help their hard-working colleagues.

The following day queues formed at blood banks, crowdfunding sites were set to help the victims and vigils were hastily arranged as a city, buoyed by messages of solidarity from around the world, rallied to do their bit.

This spirit of selflessness was in evidence once again during Saturday night’s attack on London Bridge and Borough Market, as people from all walks of life put their own safety at risk in order to help others.

They included individuals from around the world who have chosen to make our capital their home and who, in the face of knife-wielding terrorists, refused to be cowed.

Florin Morariu, a Romanian baker, saw a commotion outside the bakery where he works and ushered a group of women inside and gave them a glass of water. When they told him that three men were stabbing people in the market, he headed outside with two crates to confront the attackers.

Then there’s the Spanish man who was seen valiantly using his skateboard to try to defend a woman who was being stabbed by one of the terrorists.

Others like Dr Malik Ramadhan, a consultant at the Royal London Hospital, went the extra mile. He was cycling home after his shift in the A&E department when he sensed something was wrong. He noticed emergency vehicles speeding towards the London Bridge area and headed back to work.

Elsewhere, there were tales of generosity as people did what they could to support the emergency services. Supermarket workers were seen offering food and drink to police officers the following morning, while one man cycled around the area handing out water to police.

We are constantly being told that we’re too self-centred, that we live in isolation in our own online bubbles, that the old community spirit which used to exist in towns and cities up and down the land has disappeared, that as a nation we’ve lost our way.

However, the dreadful events of the past couple of weeks have shown that nothing could be further from the truth.

Most people do care and the bravery and kindness of strangers will always triumph over anger and hatred.