Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

355 replies

BrizzleMint · 17/02/2019 08:36

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.

OP posts:
thesnailandthewhale · 17/02/2019 15:59

Diana
Challenger space shuttle
Lockerbie
Maggie Thatcher losing power (had only ever had her as PM in my lifetime at that point)
James Bulger
Soham girls

On a brighter note:

When we were awarded the Olympics
Torvill & Dean winning Gold
Live Aid
Charles & Di's wedding

RavenousBabyButterfly · 17/02/2019 16:16

The Berlin Wall coming down
Lockerbie.
9/11
Tsunami on Boxing Day 2004
7/7

nocoolnamesleft · 17/02/2019 16:22

Herald of Free Enterprise: we were meant to have been on her, until my dad changed tickets to the following week. Sailing past the upturned hull was strange. Total silence on board.
Diana having been injured in a crash (I was working that night)
9/11
7/7
Tsunami on Boxing Day
Cumbrian shootings

MarmotMorning · 17/02/2019 16:33

Princess Diana, 7/7, 9/11, boxing Day tsunami

7/7 I was on a course. A couple of people (from Ireland incidentally) started getting texts asking if they were safe.

TheMadGardener · 17/02/2019 16:34

Princess Diana - I woke up to my radio alarm and fuzzily heard the radio talking about it and thought, "Wait, what??" and crawled out of bed into the living room and put on the TV and just watched black-tied newsreaders talking for several hours.

9/11 - I had just left work and went into a newsagents on the way home and they were talking about it, got home and turned TV on in time to watch second tower fall.

7/7 I was on a beach with a group of London 11 year olds during a residential trip. A stupid, stupid woman came running over to us and said (in front of all the kids) "Oh, your school's from London, isn't it, I just heard that London's been bombed and loads of people killed!" Cue a lot of hysterical children assuming their families were dead. Not fun. Angry

Queen Mother's death - we were in Sweden and hadn't been following news, got on the SAS flight to come home and they were handing out English Sunday papers with her death on the front page, so the whole plane was reading about it.

Evennow · 17/02/2019 16:37

Kennedy assassination (both)
John Lennon's shooting
Freddie Mercury's death
Diana's death
9/11

thecatneuterer · 17/02/2019 16:39

Elvis
Diana
Michael Jackson
9/11
7/7
Lockerbie
Chernobyl
Manchester Dogs Home fire

thecatneuterer · 17/02/2019 16:40

Oh and the Challenger space shuttle

Fiveredbricks · 17/02/2019 16:41

Princess Diana I was on a campsite. I remember my Mum sending me to the site shop to get the papers. Saw the headlines and cycled back so hard I hit the awning. My Mum loved Diana.

9/11 I was on the early bus home after leaving school for some reason and I thought someone was talking about a historical attack. I got home and put the TV on to watch the towers collapse live. I was horrified.

Fiveredbricks · 17/02/2019 16:42

7/7 I was at work and alone in the office all day. I couldn't reach my best friend who had moved to London andnused the tube 4 times a day for work. I was distraught for about 5hrs.

JacquesHammer · 17/02/2019 16:50

Bradford City Fire one of my earliest memories of all, my dad was there. Can pretty much remember the entire afternoon.

9/11 waiting for my mum at her work (a school) and someone calling us into the staff room. A friend had texted “something major going on in America”.

7/7 my then husband and brother-in-law were in London. I was at home with infant DD.

Paris attacks at home, in bed

Manc Arena attack again at home in bed

Stylinit · 17/02/2019 17:29

Diana, 9/11 and 7/7

theliverpoolone · 17/02/2019 17:40

Diana, 9/11, and Michael Jackson dying (I was in Majorca). 7/7 I was caught up in, so definitely know where I was Sad

dingdang · 17/02/2019 17:46

9/11 - was spaced out after having some major work done at the dentist and could quite believe my eyes

Princess Diana - was working in a pub and rolled in at 2am and heard the first reports on the radio whilst having a cup of tea

7/7 - watching on rolling news at some place I was temping on reception

Dunblane - sitting in student accommodation writing an essay and heard it on the radio

Brexit - lying in bed thinking -- Jesus!

Michael Jackson - working for the NZ gov and the lawyer opposite me said Michael Jackson dead!

David Bowie- kicked off a truly crappy year but was driving my daughter to childcare and heard on the radio

CheeseWheel · 17/02/2019 17:47

9/11 and 7/7 I remember the exact places due to the circumstances of both.

Other things like Dianas death I remember the news but not where I was.

dingdang · 17/02/2019 17:47

Oh and the London Bridge attacks my ex H - not ex at the time was out and about round that area... spent a frantic few hours trying to get hold of him

sunshineandshowers21 · 17/02/2019 17:50

the death of princess diana - my dad woke us up to tell us.

9/11 - i was at school and our headteacher wheeled in tvs and we sat in the hall and watched it unfold.

7/7 - also at school, lots of panic as there was a school trip to london at the time and the headteacher was desperately trying to reach the accompanying teacher.

pigsDOfly · 17/02/2019 17:52

When Kennedy was assassinated, it was a Friday evening when we heard and I was getting ready to go dancing, I was 15.

Freddy Mercury dying. I was driving home after dropping my DCs at school and it was announced on the radio news.

At the time there seemed to be a glut of talented young men being killed by this horrible disease and I remember feeling, probably illogically, incredibly angry at the unfairness of it.

Louiselouie0890 · 17/02/2019 17:54

911 o came home from school and m was watching it on then was. Didn't understand it completely and it terrified me for weeks after.

Gomyownway · 17/02/2019 17:59

Micheal Jackson dying, 7/7 bombing and the Manchester arena attack.

There the only ones where I can remember the exact moment I found out about it.

ALongHardWinter · 17/02/2019 18:05

I was only 3 weeks old when JFK was assassinated so obviously don't remember that!
I remember clearly John Lennon being murdered. I was 17 and at technical college,my first term,and I had just arrived at the college. It was about 20 to 9 in the morning,and one of the girls on my course came charging into the classroom and announced 'John Lennon's been shot and killed in New York!'.

Ginfizplease · 17/02/2019 18:07

Diane - parents' sofa
9/11 - on the sofa at parents' house again
7/7 - at uni

ALongHardWinter · 17/02/2019 18:10

I can also remember when Michael Jackson died. I was sitting at a bus stop at about 10pm,on my way home from visiting my DM. A woman came along and sat down near me and said 'Someone in the pub has just told me that Michael Jackson has died. Probably just a made up story'. Nonetheless,when I got home about half an hour later,I switched on the TV and sure enough,it was all over the news.

prettypossums · 17/02/2019 18:27

I remember a lot of the events others have already mentioned, including John Lennon’s Death, which always reminds me of the opening ceremony of the Moscow olympics and Bjorn Borg winning Wimbledon in 1980- probably because I was in the same room of the house we lived in then when each of these happened. It was a gorgeous luxe 70’s house my fathers company rented for us when he was transferred to an office abroad, and I used to love lying on the big bed in my parents room and watch the television there.

Slightly random - Michael Hutchence’s death - heard about it on the radio while visiting an ex boyfriend at his workplace

Peaches Geldof’s death - I was at Disneyland

Audrey Hepburn’s death - I was in the kitchen

stopdropandroll · 17/02/2019 18:32

diana - i woke up to watch cartoons and wondered why every channel was about her

9/11 - at a boyfriends house in the long summer before uni, put the tv on for lunchtime neighbours and saw the footage

MJ - on my way home from work, friend called me to tell me as i was getting off the bus

brexit - in a passport control queue coming back from berlin watching the results be finalised on the guardian website.

Swipe left for the next trending thread