Fair warning: this is going to hit you straight in the feelings.

It’s long been one of the great mysteries of the Underground: why does the ‘Mind The Gap’ announcement sound so different at Embankment? The booming, extremely enunciated voice you hear on the Northern line platform has long been a source of amusement, one of those curiosities of the Tube we’d chalked up to an oversight, and an infamous counterpart to the cool, understated voice you hear across the rest of the network.

However, there’s actually an extremely heartwarming reason why Embankment’s announcement is so different, one which has actually provoked tears in the Secret London office. It’s been relayed over Twitter by London Reconnections editor John Bull, and since his knowledge of the Tube is matched only by his gift for storytelling, we’ll let him explain:

It is election season. The world is busy and rubbish. But it is also Christmas. So take a breather and let me tell you a story about London, trains, love and loss, and how small acts of kindness matter. I'm going to tell you about the voice at Embankment Tube station. — John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019

Just before Christmas 2012, staff at Embankment Tube station were approached by a woman who was very upset. She kept asking them where the voice had gone. They weren't sure what she meant. The Voice? The voice, she said. The man who says 'Mind the Gap' — John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019

Don't worry, the staff at Embankment said. The announcement still happens, but they've all been updated. New digital system. New voices. More variety. The staff asked her if she was okay. "That voice," she explained, "was my husband." — John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019

The woman, a GP called Dr Margaret McCollum, explained that her husband was an actor called Oswald Laurence. Oswald had never become famous, but he HAD been the chap who had recorded all the Northern Line announcements back in the seventies. And Oswald had died in 2007. — John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019

Oswald's death had left a hole in Margaret's heart. But one thing had helped. Every day, on her way to work, she got to hear his voice. Sometimes, when it hurt too much, she explained, she'd just sit on the platform at Embankment and listen to the announcements for a bit longer. — John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019

For five years, this had become her routine. She knew he wasn't really there but his voice – the memory of him – was. To everyone else, it had just been another announcement. To HER it had been the ghost of the man she still loved. And now even that had gone. — John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019

The staff at Embankment were apologetic, but the whole Underground had this new digital system, it just had to be done. They promised, though, that if the old recordings existed, they'd try and find a copy for her. Margaret knew this was unlikely, but thanked them anyway. — John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019

In the New Year, Margaret McCollum sat on Embankment Station, on her way to work. And over the speakers she heard a familiar voice. The voice of a man she had loved so much, and never thought she'd hear again. "Mind the Gap" Said Oswald Laurence. — John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019

Because it turned out a LOT of people at Embankment, within London Underground, within @TfL and beyond had lost loved ones and wished they could hear them again. And they'd all realised that with luck, just this once, for one person, they might be able to make that happen. — John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019

Archives were searched, old tapes found and restored. More people had worked to digitize them. Others had waded through the code of the announcement system to alter it while still more had sorted out the paperwork and got exemptions. And together they made Oswald talk again. — John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019

And that is why today, even in 2019, if you go down to Embankment station in London, and sit on the northbound platform on Northern Line, you will here a COMPLETELY different voice say Mind the Gap to ANYWHERE else on the Underground. It's Oswald. Merry Christmas everyone. — John Bull (@garius) December 11, 2019

You’re crying now, aren’t you? There is absolutely no shame, for this is honestly one of the sweetest things we’ve heard, and perfectly timed with Christmas on the horizon. So the next time you’re at Embankment station, take a moment to enjoy Oswald’s voice, and appreciate how much joy a small, simple act of kindness can bring to people. And if there’s a better message to spread this Christmas, I can’t think of it. Merry Christmas, you lovely lot! ❤️

Speaking of lovely stories, have you heard the one about the lady who raced Big Ben’s chimes and won?

Also published on Medium.