Student survivor who helped shape UK’s national terrorism memorial day – BBC News
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My life was changed by a terror attack – now survivors like me won’t be forgotten
Image source: PA Media
Image caption: Travis Frain was visiting Westminster as an undergraduate at Edge Hill University when he was caught up in an attack.
By Ewan Somerville
Published 7 hours ago
Travis Frain was texting his mates a photo of Big Ben on a university trip to London when his day turned from normal to anything but.
"One of the guys in my group shouted ‘look out’ and as I looked up from my phone, the terrorist’s car was in front of me," he recalls.
"It was a split second really before the car hit me. I went over the bonnet, into the air, before landing back on the ground."
This was 22 March 2017, when attacker Khalid Masood drove his car into crowds, killing four, before stabbing a police officer to death outside Parliament. Frain, then 19, was left with multiple injuries, including a fractured leg that took two years to heal.
"There will always be a part of you affected by that attack."
Now 28, he spoke to BBC News as the UK’s first national day for victims and survivors of terrorism is set to take place on Friday.
‘Morally correct to remember’
Mirroring similar fixtures in European countries, the UK government has said the day aims to recognise those impacted by terrorism including victims and their families, witnesses and the emergency services.
At its centre is an event in London on Friday afternoon with a two-minute silence for those lost to terrorism and readings from people affected by it. The event will be staged in locations around the UK in future years.
Frain, who has campaigned for this day for nearly five years, said he feels recognition and memorials for terror victims "often go under the radar".
"As a society, it is right and morally correct that we should be remembering those lost to terrorism," he said. "Victims were often not targeted as individuals but as representatives of something far greater – the nation, the nation’s values; the values we’re all meant to hold."
At the same time, the day will be about encouraging people to "keep an eye on each other" as "we all have a role to play" in stopping terrorism, he added.
In May, the UK’s terror threat was raised to "severe," meaning an attack is highly likely. A record nearly 10,000 people were referred to Prevent, the government’s anti-terrorism scheme, in the year to September 2025.
The idea for a national day for terror victims and survivors came about after a Home Office review found many needed more support.
But many who have campaigned for the day still feel more needs to be done to help survivors.
A report released on Friday by Survivors Against Terror (SAT) said while psychological support for victims had improved, no progress had been made to the state compensation scheme for terror victims, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
SAT’s co-founder Brendan Cox, whose wife MP Jo Cox was murdered by a neo-Nazi in 2016, welcomed the national day but warned "survivors also want it to be a moment of accountability".
"We’re not talking large sums of money," he said. "What we need is the political will to make sure victims feel valued and heard."
