What were the main events where you know exactly where you were when you heard?

[BrizzleMint]

Mine were the space shuttle explosion, Princess Diana dying and 9/11 plus the explosion at Mill Hill barracks and the Harrods bombing.

I was curious what they were for older/younger people so what events do you really remember.

[AlliKaneErikson]

The ones I remember most vividly are Diana’s death, 9/11 and Hillsborough. I knew people at the match at Hillsborough so that was particularly hard hitting at the time. I was watching it unfold on tv at my grandparents house and couldn’t believe what was happening.
I also remember lying in bed listening to the radio at the start of the war against Iraq, basically declaring we were officially ‘at war’ and I also remember where I was when the Falkland War ended; I was very little but my memory of it is vivid. I also remember seeing John Lennon’s death being announced on the telly. Although I was really young I must have realised it was a really ‘big’ thing. All sad events, unfortunately.

[YouBumder]

I remember quite a lot. Hillsborough I was studying for exams, I was nearly 16 and came downstairs for a coffee and saw the TV footage and the ambulances on the pitch

Lockerbie - my sister was at her school dance and I was home doing homework, went downstairs and it was on TV. 4 days before Christmas 😢

[12thofnever]

I’m 36. I remember where I was for Princess Diana, 9/11 and Robin Williams’ death (although that one is still fairly recent)
I remember Dunblane happening, and 7/7 but I don’t remember exactly where I was. I also remember watching the news on TV when Nelson Mandela was released from prison, I was pretty young then though.
All of these things were either pre social media/smartphones (apart from Robin Williams - I heard that on the radio in the car) so I wonder if now that I get a BBC news alert for major events that I might not be so aware of exactly where I was when the news broke

[RoseMartha]

Princess Diana
9/11

[Glitterblue]

Princess Diana - I got up and my mum was watching the news and I remember her first words being "there's been a tragedy in Paris"

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

7/7 I was in London with my parents and grandma, we were supposed to be going home that day and we heard on the news in the hotel and we had to stay another night. We went out in the afternoon, there was nobody to be seen and I was really scared being out

[user1463178569]

9/11 - I was working in a nursery and was outside with the children. The manager came out as he'd heard it on the radio & told us...we all instinctively looked at the sky, I have no idea why. I remember going home & it being on every channel & just watching shocked.

Princess Diana - I was only a teenager & was watching California Dreams. My mum came in and changed the channel saying that there had been an accident and that Princess Diana had died.

Michael Jackson - it was 5 days after I'd got married, I was glancing through social media before deciding what to do for the day with my 18 month old as me & my hubby were still off work and saw all the posts come up so turned on the tv for it to be on most news channels.

7/7 I don't remember as vividly where I was but think I was told by others.

Manchester bomb scare many years ago -
Was in primary school and on our way to a theatre performance in Manchester & coach was told to turn around. We weren't told until getting back to school why we were back at school, which looking back this was probably so they could check with senior staff what to tell us. In all honesty looking back, I'm not sure how that message got to them this was before mobile phones but then again, I was 9 maybe 10 so I wouldn't have paid that much attention.

[RugbyRugby]

Mrs Thatcher resigning
Death of Princess Diana
Death of Michael Jackson

[BikeRunSki]

7/7 - I was at a conference at York university., last day. We all stared at the TVs on the trade stands - there for showing promotional videos- Many trains out of York were cancelled. I got home on a series of local buses, but the university put up people who couldn’t get home for another night.

[toffee1000]

Early 20s here.
I remember 7/7, I was in year 5.
I remember my mum coming into my room to tell me about Michael Jackson’s death, I just said “you’re joking” I think, I wasn’t even a big fan of his or anything.
Brexit, I was on my university year abroad and my mother was my proxy vote.
I also remember seeing about Alan Rickman’s death, was waiting outside a classroom at the German university I was studying at. That was only the beginning of the Year of Celebrity Deaths. Bowie had been just a few days before, but knew more who Rickman was because of the Harry Potter connection.
Also Mandela’s death, was in my first-year room at university I think.

[mamaduckbone]

Diana dying
9/11
7/7
They are the only ones I can really place.
I heard that Diana had died on the radio before going to work in a Turkish restaurant and the owners were really insensitive and weird about it.
9/11 I was on a camp with my primary class - very surreal as we had to make the decision not to tell the children and only had snippets of information until we got home.
7/7 I was teaching and pregnant - really terrifying as my dh was working in London and I couldn't get hold of him for ages. His route to work from the train went past where the bus blew up, which I knew. He heard it, but was fine - just couldn't get home as his train went through Luton.

[NCKitten]

Bijlmerramp (El Al freight plane crashing into tower blocks in Amsterdam) - our house was being renovated so we had temporarily moved our kitchen and living room upstairs, my dad told me what happened.
Labour landslide - not understanding what was happening, nor why my parents were ecstatic with joy.
Princess Diana dying - my mother was rather pissed off one of her students had phoned at 6am to tell her.
Explosion in fireworks factory in Enschede (The Netherlands) - I'd heard about it earlier in the day and my dad told me off for not telling him, when the Eurovision live broadcast was cancelled.
NYE pub fire in Volendam (The Netherlands) - hearing it on the radio news in the early hours of New Year's Day
9/11 - coming home from school and my brother telling me before I could open the door.
7/7 - working on a French campsite and trying to understand what another employee was telling me.
Paris bombings - chilling out at home with now DH
Brexit - on a training residential. I'd woken up ridiculously early and thought I'd just check the news to see by what margin Remain had won

[MorganKitten]

Oh 7/7, at work, my ex’s sister was on the bus behind and told everyone she was ok

[MorganKitten]

Diana, getting ready to go out to a friends in the school holidays
9/11, At school
Heath Ledger, About to go to bed
David Bowie, just woke up, my friend who worked for him had text me
Brexit referendum, I was working in the USA and a family member did my by proxy vote

[lboogy]

Princes Diana and MJ. Also 7/7 bombing

[INeedToGetHealthy]

Challenger.
IRA bomb at Harrods, as my uncle worked in the tailors neighbouring it.
IRA bombing of RAF Uxbridge, as we heard it from nearby.
Freddie Mercury's death. I was 16 and absolutely devastated at the time.
Princess Di's death, as Bro-in-law phoned us to tell us.
9/11 as I was waiting indoors with a toddler and waiting for the NTL engineers to install the equipment. I was watching the tv at the time the news broke on the first plane attack.

[Spudlet]

When Trump was elected I was breastfeeding and reading the news, and texting a friend in the same boat. There were a lot of 'WTAF' style messages.

Then by the time I went to bed it was looking as though the Democrats might edge it, I remember... then woke up the next morning and immediately asked DH, and was once again plunged into a state of WTAF-ness.

I remember sitting and watching his inauguration and just feeling appalled by it all. And looking at DS and thinking 'Ooooh crap, sorry sunshine' at what he was going to grow up in

[BikeRunSki]

Trump election -heard results on radio alarm - looked at DH abd saud “oh bugger”.

Same for Brexit referendum and the last general election.


I slid remember very clearly

• the start of New Labour, the 1997 Labour landslide election and “Things Can Onmy Get Better”. Stayed up drinking whisky and watching the results come in all night.
  

• The end of New Labour, the 2010 general election when Gordon Brown lost to David Cameron, and the footage of Sarah Brown and her 2 young sons leaving Downing Street.

[Kazzyhoward]

Lockerbie explosion
9/11
Grenfell fire
Lambrigg Pendolino train crash

[BikeRunSki]

Freddie Mercury’s death

I had proper flu in bed in my student hovel. Housemate came in and told me. I said “I don’t like Queen much anyway”and went back to sleep.

[LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD]

When trump was elected I remember of chorus of ‘OH MY GOOOOOOOOD’ coming from surrounding flats as people tuned into the news. It felt rather consolidatory.

[LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD]

Princess Di - we were in our new house and it was our first night. The bloody wardrobe collapsed in the middle of the night and I put the radio on (to stop me having a heart attack) and the news was just coming through.

[ButtMuncher]

Mid 30s here too.

Princess Diana - turned on tv early as was always up around 6 (lucky parents) and wanted to watch Nickelodeon - all channels had this weird 'Turn to your News channel' type script at the bottom. So dutifully did so, and the news was chocker with her death. I woke my parents up who were in disbelief. My mum was crying. We watched it all day, and I painted a picture in the evening for her, not sure why to this day.

9/11 - was waiting for my then boyfriend to finish his music lesson. My mum rang me on my mobile, which in those days was quite expensive, so I knew it must have been serious. I didn't really understand the magnitude of what had happened as I wasn't very worldly and didn't even know what the twin towers were. Tried to convince mum that it was probably an accident but she saw the second plane hit live and told me. I had another half hour to wait for my ex to finish his lesson so remember sitting in the waiting room just unsure of what was going to happen. I remember the streets of the city feeling really weird when walking to the bus stop, people were talking and some were crying. When we got home we got fish and chips and stayed up all night to watch the coverage.

7/7 - was bunking off lectures - woke really late and went on a forum I used to frequent and people were talking about it. Turned on the news about an hour after it happened and just clued to the coverage again. My ex was in London the day before for a works conference and just felt that weird sense of what if, I think a lot of people felt that as it was so close to home.

There are quite a few more I remember, like Omagh bombing, tsunami on Boxing Day but most recent for me was when Trump was sadly elected. I was feeding my son very early in the morning and was watching coverage. Just felt so sad and despairing - remember looking at his cute little chubby face and hoping the world I'd brought him into wasn't going to end up shit.

[WoollyMummoth]

I was brushing my teeth when DH shouted up the stairs that Diana had died.
At work when the news about 9/11 started to come through. Very little work got done as we were all just glued to the crappy little office radio.
I’m of an age when I can remember most of the horrible events that pps have said.its just beyond sad😔

[callymarch]

Princess Dianas death
Michael Jacksons death
9/11
madeleine mccann going missing
Soham murders
The Internet appearing
Indian Ocean tsunami
the Great Storm of 1987

in my 50's so a lot more has happened that i remember obviously, however nothing else sticks in my mind that i remember exactly where i was or what i was doing

[Spudlet]

Grenfell - I was staying at my mum's again with DS. I think DH must have gone away for a weekend or something? He wasn't there anyway. DS woke me up early and I looked at my phone and saw the news. And cried and cried because I couldn't help but imagine the horror of those poor parents, knowing their children would die and that they couldn't save them. Just unbearable, even now. Those poor, poor people.