Major events - where were you?

[Raffles1981]

After watching The Crown and seeing Aberfan and now The Irishman and the shooting of Kennedy. Just curious as to which major event you remember that stopped you in your tracks. Made you take stock. For me, it was Diana. I was 16 and it was quite a shock and I remember the day being still and her funeral - no one seemed to be getting on with life. What was a major day for you?

Oh and 7/7

Elvis dying - my mum was having a cry in the living room.
John Lennon - heard it on R1 as I was getting ready for school.
First Space Shuttle - watched it at school.
US planes taking off from the UK to bomb Libya - I thought WW3 might kick off.
Diana - I had been out, was a bit drunk, heard the news and woke up the next morning thinking I'd dreamt it.
9/11 - in the office and DH was overseas.

9/11 - Still remember the day really clearly. Unbelievable to this day.

Diana - was so utterly shocked. I spent the next week in a bit of a daze. You went out for a drink and strangers started to chat to you about Diana.

Challenger - I remember seeing the report on the explosion on Newsroud. A few years ago I went to Arlington National Cemetery to pay my respects at the memorial.

Elvis - it was my birthday (very young) and I didn't understand why people were so sad.

Hillsborough - seeing what was going on and nothing seemed to be being done for those poor people

John Lennon's murder
Hillsborough
Diana
9/11

First one I remember - Elvis dying.

First one that stopped me in my tracks - 9/11. XH texted me to tell me to watch BBC News on tinternet, I was at work. Nothing more got done that day, we were all just stood around watching it unfold on the screen.

I remember many major events between these two and after 9/11 obviously; but I must be a hard person, as none of them stick out as strong memories. My only memory of Diana's death was how annoying it was that everybody else was so distraught, everybody else was mourning her passing, everybody else was obsessed with it. And I honestly couldn't give a.

Neednewwellies

I remember with the Diana thing I spent all week thinking the country had gone mad.

Oh, me too.

I knew a couple who'd had their wedding planned for ages (as you do) and the date happened to be the day for which Diana's funeral was arranged.
People actually asked them if they were going to cancel it!

Diana's death...we were on holiday and DD was about 3 at the time. She came into our bedroom (we were in a caravan in Cornwall), upset that Sesame Street wasn't on because "some princess had died"

Dunblaine..I was at home with DD as she had not yet stared school..gave her the biggest hug ever.

9/11..I was at work and heard it on the radio

The one that really sticks though is Hillsborough. I remember watching it on t.v and seeing my Uncle in the upper tier lifting people out of the crush. He was always a smiley man and never saw the bad in people but from that day on he became haunted. The day he got told his brain tumour was terminal (10 years later),his reply was."good I won't have to see their faces or hear the screams anymore".

Diana, i think i was about 8 and i was most put out that the childrens tv wasnt on, then i realised why and went to wake up my parents. They didnt believe me and wouldnt get up!

9/11 i was 13 so in school that day, i got home to my mum frantic as my uncle was meant to be in the towers that day (he took and unexpected day off thankfully!) and no one could get hold of him

7/7 happened the day after my year 11 prom , the day before i had watched us get the Olympics while i was getting ready.'i just couldnt believe how much had changed in 24 hours

The first big thing I remember was a ferry sinking? There were lots of diagrams I seem to remember.

Dunblane, my sister came over to watch as she was so shocked.

Princess di, I remember seeing the news flash saying she was injured at about 4am.

9/11 I was asleep my mam came tearing up the stairs saying the world was ending (slightly dramatic)

I remember watching news all day when the Japanese tsunami happened too

I was at work (In a hospital) for 7/7 only saw snatches, we were on high alert in case of spill over cases

For some reason I've just realised that I seem to remember major events by the way other people reacted (inappropriately) and trivialised it.

Diana - I heard from my then boss in a corner shop I worked in. I overheard on the radio something about a princess being killed and asked him what it was. He said 'ohhhh, bloody Lady Di's been killed' and all day long kept saying to customers 'I always said it would end in tears...'. I remember that my mum came in at one point and said 'isn't it awful?' and I said 'what?'. I think the response of my boss had caused me to consider it to be less significant than it was.
*
Dunblane* - I was in a school play that night and we had a minutes silence before the play. Two teenage girls were holding in giggles all the way through and burst into loud laughter as soon as the minute was over. 😡

9/11 - I was at work in a call centre without internet access. We were getting dribs and drabs of news all day. I was training a new employee and she kept joking about how 'we could do with a few less Yanks'. She came in the next day quite shamefaced and admitted that she hadn't really appreciated the awfulness of the situation.

First gulf war, I was only young & remember being terrified
Dunblane
Lockerbie
Jamie Bulger
9/11
Bataclan concert shootings
MEN arena bombings (I live in mcr)
Tunisian beach shootings
Also I don’t remember it at the time but also Ben Needham, the little boy who went missing in Kos has stuck with me.

Just far too many.

9/11 - I was at work in a call centre without internet access.

I don't think I knew about the internet at the time of 9/11

The assassination of Kennedy. My parents were at a parent-teacher meeting at my school and I knew I'd be in deep doodoo when they got home. I was thirteen, sitting watching the TV and the announcement about John F Kennedy being shot came on. It was quite a shock.

My parents walked in and I immediately told them, they were so shocked they saved the tellings off for the next day.