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Original poster

Where were you for 9/11

359 replies

Chickenkeev · 12/08/2023 09:33

I was in France, i hadn't a clue what was happening. Didn't fully have the language, it was like a film. Watching a doc now, bringing it all back.

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Original poster
Chickenkeev · 12/08/2023 15:35

Theroom · 12/08/2023 15:29

I was a child, and I don't know how much my parents just said to protect me, but no. My Dad was a policeman in the City of London and was involved working for several explosions. My memories are that:

  1. my parents told me the IRA tended to target weekends and have special warnings so although buildings blew up, not many people in the city died.
  2. he warned a journalist looking for a scoop not to go down a certain road because a bomb was about to go off, but he did it anyway and got buried under a wall.
  3. he tried to quit smoking but the stress of one of the bomb experiences made him start again.

That's all tbh.

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But that's loads when you think about it! I never had to worry, i saw it on the news, but it was nowhere near me iyswim

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onlymyselftoanswerto1 · 12/08/2023 15:38

@Chickenkeev at the time yeah it was a bit 'whatever' as it was something we had no control over - there was fear for sure, but there was also the attitude of "they aren't going to beat us" - if we didn't get on with our lives what was the point? Looking back on it shocks me as it was horrific - I lost people to the troubles, I was not immune, I only hope we don't go back to those dark days. Anyhoo I've derailed your thread a bit sorry!

notimagain · 12/08/2023 15:44

@MuskyCarbolicSmokeBallCo

, I actually lived very close to an RAF base at the time.
I can't remember the planes being scrambled but I suppose they must have been

No reason to suppose they did, it might have made sense to scramble the very small number of air defence aircraft kept on stand-by at a couple of RAF bases across the UK but I'm not sure even that was done.

Original poster
Chickenkeev · 12/08/2023 15:49

onlymyselftoanswerto1 · 12/08/2023 15:38

@Chickenkeev at the time yeah it was a bit 'whatever' as it was something we had no control over - there was fear for sure, but there was also the attitude of "they aren't going to beat us" - if we didn't get on with our lives what was the point? Looking back on it shocks me as it was horrific - I lost people to the troubles, I was not immune, I only hope we don't go back to those dark days. Anyhoo I've derailed your thread a bit sorry!

Not at all! It's so very worth talking about imo. I look forward to the day when i can go back to Belfast with my (loud, dublin accented) husband and not feel quite so uncomfortable. Saying that tho, years before i went to Belfast, i had my 21st in Galway and a friend from Belfast that i had met in France came down for the party. Her parents came down for the craic. They were protestants, the da was called Billy 🤣. They were the loveliest people you could ask to meet, it was a real education for me. I was young in my defence, but i would have been suspicious of protestants before that.

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tothesea · 12/08/2023 15:50

The documentary about the firefighters that a PP mentioned has never left me. The instant that they hear the plane and you can see their confusion like ‘how is that plane so close’ then they look up and we see the first plane hit. One guy just going Holy Shit over and over. Everything changed in that instant. It’s a harrowing watch.

Original poster
Chickenkeev · 12/08/2023 15:51

Just reading 'suspicious of protestants' back and i can't believe how ridiculous it sounds!

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Original poster
Chickenkeev · 12/08/2023 15:52

tothesea · 12/08/2023 15:50

The documentary about the firefighters that a PP mentioned has never left me. The instant that they hear the plane and you can see their confusion like ‘how is that plane so close’ then they look up and we see the first plane hit. One guy just going Holy Shit over and over. Everything changed in that instant. It’s a harrowing watch.

I have it on DVD somewhere. It's awful but utterly compelling at the same time.

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onlymyselftoanswerto1 · 12/08/2023 15:56

Chickenkeev · 12/08/2023 15:51

Just reading 'suspicious of protestants' back and i can't believe how ridiculous it sounds!

🤣🤣those pesky Protestants up to no good 🤣 I know what you mean tho, the suspicion of the "other side" was instilled in us. But you shouldn't feel uncomfortable coming up here now, it's so multicultural these days nobody bats an eyelid and it's lovely 😊

Itsnamechange · 12/08/2023 16:01

I was in college sitting in a classroom watching the news. Watched the second plane hit. Our lecturer finally appeared after lunch and told us class was cancelled. She had a family member who worked on Wall St and was frantically trying to reach them.

Ibizafun · 12/08/2023 16:01

Offering my 18 month old ds raisins to distract him from his haircut whilst watching it up on the tv, thinking it was a film and not knowing that my brother had been making his way to the building next to the towers but diverted to the passport office instead.

Movingnextweek · 12/08/2023 16:01

I was at work in a college. My colleague called out that a plane had hit the WTC and we all squeezed into his tiny office to watch the newsfeed on his desktop. It was horrific and unbelievable.
Then someone put their head around the door saying that prayers were being said in the Abbey, so a number of us set off for there. I remember that I kept looking up at the very blue sky and feeling very fearful.

Original poster
Chickenkeev · 12/08/2023 16:03

onlymyselftoanswerto1 · 12/08/2023 15:56

🤣🤣those pesky Protestants up to no good 🤣 I know what you mean tho, the suspicion of the "other side" was instilled in us. But you shouldn't feel uncomfortable coming up here now, it's so multicultural these days nobody bats an eyelid and it's lovely 😊

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Maybe i'm just uncomfortable everywhere bc H is SO FCKIN LOUD! (tbf not his fault)

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Spanielsarepainless · 12/08/2023 16:05

Hanging out my washing. The neighbour called over the fence and I went indoors in time to see the second 'plane hit.

Bin85 · 12/08/2023 16:05

Teaching 9-10 year olds.
The caretaker told me but I didn't really understand the significance until I got home and watched TV.

Echobelly · 12/08/2023 16:06

A few months into my first job at a small publishing house. I remember the finance lady coming in and saying 'A jet plane has hit the World Trade Center' and for some reason I read that as just being a light aircraft and not a passenger jet. I kept up with all the news live via a web forum I was on.

AHugeTinyMistake · 12/08/2023 16:07

I was in a mountain refuge way out of civilization. An American guy who was also there had a little radio, he turned it on after dinner & heard it on the news

BrindleAbyssinianGuinea · 12/08/2023 16:08

Seeing the people jumping out of the open out of the towers has never left me.

Original poster
Chickenkeev · 12/08/2023 16:11

BrindleAbyssinianGuinea · 12/08/2023 16:08

Seeing the people jumping out of the open out of the towers has never left me.

You can hear it on the DVD i mentioned earlier. It's bone chilling.

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Phos · 12/08/2023 16:12

I was at school. We had French all afternoon on a Tuesday (I was doing A-level) so except a quick trip to get drinks/snacks from the vending machines half way through, whilst everyone else was in class, we hadn't really left the room or seen anyone else.

After the bell went, a lot of people were talking about it but I didn't really grasp the details nor did it really register with me they were talking about the twin towers. I knew that was the world trade centre, but my brain hadn't quite computed it if that makes sense. Anyway my mum was picking me up so I asked "has there been a plane crash in America or something?" and she said "Oh its all over the TV, its awful"

We were going to my gran's for tea so ended up watching it there. By this time both towers had been hit but hadn't yet collapsed.

Daisy523 · 12/08/2023 16:15

I was 4 in 2001, so I was more than likely at home, finished nursery for the day. Probably waiting for my siblings to get back from school if the time difference is as I think it is.

I don’t remember seeing anything on the news, or hearing anything but I must have been told something, because my teacher the next day did mention it, and I knew what she was talking about. Then, a few years later (2004?), a helicopter crashed into a skyscraper (accidental), and I remember watching that on the news thinking it was another 9/11, so I definitely knew a bit about it at the time, just not too many details. I don’t think I truly learned much about it until I was around 10.

I’m mad into history, and I’ve heard so many stories of wars, tragedies, etc. 9/11 is still one that no matter how many times I read about it, or watch documentaries, I cry.

Such a horrific day in history, showing the very worst (the terrorists) and very best (firefighters, police, doctors, and civilians all coming together to help where possible, and save lives of strangers) of civilization, and I consider myself lucky that I don’t remember much, but just as lucky to have heard the amazing stories of the heroes who emerged that day.

ymemanresu · 12/08/2023 16:20

In my University library on the computer

ThreeKneeRepeater · 12/08/2023 16:20

I was driving home from work and my elder son rang me and told me to put the news on. He said ‘ America is on fire, mum.’ I remember his words so clearly. I was meeting a friend that evening and we were so subdued. I think we drank too much.

Original poster
Chickenkeev · 12/08/2023 16:23

Daisy523 · 12/08/2023 16:15

I was 4 in 2001, so I was more than likely at home, finished nursery for the day. Probably waiting for my siblings to get back from school if the time difference is as I think it is.

I don’t remember seeing anything on the news, or hearing anything but I must have been told something, because my teacher the next day did mention it, and I knew what she was talking about. Then, a few years later (2004?), a helicopter crashed into a skyscraper (accidental), and I remember watching that on the news thinking it was another 9/11, so I definitely knew a bit about it at the time, just not too many details. I don’t think I truly learned much about it until I was around 10.

I’m mad into history, and I’ve heard so many stories of wars, tragedies, etc. 9/11 is still one that no matter how many times I read about it, or watch documentaries, I cry.

Such a horrific day in history, showing the very worst (the terrorists) and very best (firefighters, police, doctors, and civilians all coming together to help where possible, and save lives of strangers) of civilization, and I consider myself lucky that I don’t remember much, but just as lucky to have heard the amazing stories of the heroes who emerged that day.

It's kind of mad to read your perspective tbh. You were essentially a baby when it happened. You're a post 9/11 person. My daughter is young, she sees it very much as history, same as looking at WW2 or something. Whereas for me, it's contemporary.

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VariantHela · 12/08/2023 16:26

itsamedicalmystery · 12/08/2023 12:53

The London bombers did a trial run a few weeks before and my mum is stood next to one of them in the CCTV footage we once watched on a documentary. We had no idea before then. Thankfully she wasn't in London on the actual day.

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That is terrifying.

VicSynix · 12/08/2023 16:43

On holiday in a remote bit of the UK, with no TV or mobile phone signal. One of us was listening to the radio after lunch and said something about a commuter plane flying into a building in New York. I just thought, oh that's a bit odd, and wandered off.

By supper time we all knew what had happened though, but I never saw most of the TV footage.