Mind The Gap, Please: Old Recording Gets Reinstated After Widow Makes A Heart-Breaking Plea

A London tube station has decided to bring back an old ‘mind the gap, please’ recording after a widow contacted them and said that she missed hearing her late husband’s voice at the train station.

The Huffington Post reports that Oswald Laurence’s voice was used to record the warning (as well as ‘stand clear of the doors please’) back in the 1960s. Mr Laurence’s recording was used from 1969 onwards.

The sounds were used for decades until they were phased out in favour of newer, more modern recordings. Before long, Embankment Station was the only place where Mr Laurence’s voice could be heard. Eventually this recording was replaced too.

However, Mrs Laurence contacted Transport for London asking for a copy of the recording. She revealed that whenever she felt lonely she made a trip to Embankment Station so she could hear her late husband’s voice.

Mrs Laurence would travel to Embankment Station to hear the recording

Officials at Transport for London were so touched by Mrs Laurence’s story that they decided to reinstate the recording at the train station.

“Transport for London were approached by the widow of Oswald Laurence to see whether she could get a copy of the iconic ‘mind the gap’ announcement her husband made over 40 years ago,” said Nigel Holness, the director of the London Underground.

“We were very touched by her story, so staff tracked down the recording and not only were they able to get a copy of the announcement on CD for her to keep but are also working to restore the announcement at Embankment station,” he added.

There are now plans to use the recording more widely on the underground network, according to reports.