Situational awareness and situational heroism: a close reading of testimonies from the London Bridge terror attack 2019

Abstract

ABSTRACT Based on an-in depth analysis of two testimonies, this article explores how ordinary people can become ‘situational heroes’. On 29 November 2019, Darryn Frost and Steve Gallant were caught up in a terrorist attack in central London. In that situation, Frost and Gallant demonstrated a high degree of situational awareness and took bold and swift action to stop the attacker. Using the literary method of close reading, I analyse their testimonies with a particular eye towards two questions: how did the two men perceive the dangerous situation? Can and should they be seen as heroes? As a convicted murderer and long-serving prisoner, Gallant was certainly no hero in the conventional sense. Yet, in 2023 he received The Queen’s Gallantry Medal for ‘for acts of exemplary bravery’ alongside with Frost and a few others. This, I argue, is symptomatic of a broader shift towards situational awareness and towards what I call situational heroism. As it is less about being a hero and more aboutacting heroically in particular situations, situational heroism is less elitist and more inclusive than many historical forms of heroism. However, it also raises new ethical questions.