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.

[Ithinkmycatisevil]

Princess Diana's death and 9/11.

[sashh]

Hillsborough, I was doing something in my kitchen and the radio said there was a pitch invasion, then that it was more serious. I went into the living room and put the TV on then.

When I see the families on TV I think about the life I have had and those people didn't. I think it's probably the Hicks sisters that hits me, I was only a couple of years older than them and I have relatives with their names, quite common names for girls that age.

Zeebrugge I remember but not when I first heard.

Princess Diana, I woke up early and put the TV on, the credits were rolling on a documentary and then at the end it gave the dates and I think RIP. Initially I thought it was an OU programme, some sort of social studies but then the news came on. I think I was probably expecting the OU as that was on a lot early morning.

9/11 I woke up from a nap (I took pills that made me drowsy), put the TV on in my bedroom and I can't remember if I saw the second plane hit or whether that has been put in my memory by seeing the news in the days after.

[RuthW]

Elvis dying - i was in the bedroom early morning as a child when my dad came in to tell my mum.

zebrugge- I was babysitting for my cousins.

Diana dying - I was doing the early morning feed with my four month old.

9/11- I was at someone else's desk at work.

[fancynancyclancy]

These are only ones I can actually remember what I was doing at the time;

Princess Di - I couldn’t sleep that night so my dad had put a radio in my room to keep me company. I was drifting in & out of sleep & unsure of the time (it was very early) when they interrupted the broadcast to say that Diana had been hurt in a crash but was still alive. I went into my parents room & woke them up to tell them. My mum was a bit wtf but turned her tv on & I think we watched tv for the entire day. I remember going back to my bedroom later (by then the news had reported her death) & the radio was playing everybody hurts. It seemed like everyone was in shock.

9/11- I had come back to uni a bit early & was in my friends room watching the TV whilst attempting an essay (she had better reception). The programme was interrupted by a news bulletin showing the first plane hit. Loads of confusion as obviously people thought it was an accident & no one expected the 2nd plane or the towers to fall. Again glued to the screen & one by one my flat mates came home & we just sat there shocked & watched tv for days.

7/7- Should have been at work but had called in sick. Remember trying to phone all my family & friends & the network was down. I wasn’t shocked in the same way as 9/11 but admittedly I found it hard to get on the tube the next couple of days & it was certainly easier to get a seat.

[SlaaartyBaaardFaaast]

Kurt Cobain's Death
Princess Diana's Death
911 WTC
EU Referendum Brexit Result

[MadisonAvenue]

I'm in my 40s

John Lennon's death
Lockerbie
Bradford football ground fire
Hillsborough
Dunblane
Diana's death
9/11
London bombings
Bowie's death
Prince's death
George Michael's death

[Evilspiritgin]

I can remember The Falklands, the Bradford fire the Brighton bombing (plus numerous ira atrocities here and abroad) herald of free enterprise, Lockerbie (they disrupted tv asking for off duty nurses and doctors to go back to work border tv), dunlaine , hungerford, kegworth hillsbrough, first gulf war (sky news announced it) plus most of the others that have been mentioned above

[TattiePants]

9/11 - someone at work mentioned it during my lunch break then everyone trying to get the BBC news site to work for more information.

Boxing Day tsunami - at my Nana’s house for Christmas.

Michael Jackson - at a blur concert for my 35th birthday and towards the end a rumour started to go round that he’d died.

Princess Diana - turning on the tv on a Sunday morning in my new flat. It was obvious someone very famous had died but it seemed to take ages before they actually said who it was.

Madeleine McCann - walking down the Main Street in Praia da Luz and seeing her picture everywhere. We asked in a shop if she was a local child and how long she had been missing (we’d travelled through the night so hadn’t seen any news).

[JenniferJareau]

I remember waking up and looking at my phone to see a message from a former friend. I could only see a preview but it had the word George in it and I knew instantly that George Michael was dead. I didn't cry then because my thoughts went to feeling that at last he would be reunited with his Mum and Anselmo.

For Prince I saw a story relaying that TMZ was reporting he was dead. I didn't want to believe it at first but then it was confirmed. While I was waiting for confirmation I had a food delivery and I told the young man what had happened. I then sat down and cried. I've loved Prince for over 30 odd years and thought he'd still be rocking away at 90. I miss him.

[Babyroobs]

Elvis dying, princess Diana's death and 9/11. My most vivid memory is watching the Bradford stadium fire unfolding live on TV at my grandparents house. I was a teenager, it had a bad effect on me watching people running onto the pitch on fire.

[PivotPivotPivottt]

Pricess Diana - I was about 6 and was staying at my aunt's caravan and remember the adults discussing it. I got home to my parents and my mum was really upset about it.

9/11 - I came home from school and my mum was watching it on the news. I remember her being really worried as my grandparents were in America at the time. They tried to go to the Pentagon the next day and were rightly told to do one by a guard.

7/7 - Was at a friend's when it came on the news. I remember being really worried as my mum was travelling my train that day. We live in a small town in Scotland!

I have a slight memory from when Dunblane happened although I was very young. All I can remember is my mum lighting a candle and sitting it on the window and saying that's what it was for.

[deadliftgirl]

I was around 10 years old or below that when I found out Diana had died. I was in my living room with my parents sitting on the floor and my parents were crying so much watching the TV.

When 9/11 happened I was 12 and I was actually on a cruise ship going to Amsterdam from the UK and everyone was in some lobby shocked watching the twin towers being hit on TV!

[LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD]

911, Paris attacks, 7/7, London Bridge attacks, Gracechurch street bomb, Canary Wharf bomb

Bastards

[CryptoFascist]

Princess Diana dying, I was on holiday with my parents. 9/11, waking up with a friend after our one night stand. I'm late 30's for context.

[Rapidmama]

Dunblane (came home from school and my mum was in tears watching the news)

Princess Diana, I woke my parents up to tell them and they didn’t believe me

9/11 I was at work

[Whereareyouspot]

Brighton bombing at Tory conference I remember really clearly and can picture the exact scene (I was 8 and came into my parents bedroom before school and it was on the telly)

The other events mentioned above I can remember watching unfold but not where I was or what I was doing when I heard.

[Redact]

Lockerbie, Piper Alpha, Dunblane, Princess Diana, 9/11, 7/7 and one of my colleagues desperately trying to get a hold of her son who was travelling in London that day

[Lllot5]

Same as most people I think. Interesting that hardly anyone remembers good things just horrific disasters and untimely deaths.

[Bluelonerose]

9/11 came home from school to find my dm and 2 blokes from virgin media watching it unfold on tv. I honestly thought they were watching a film till my dm explained.

7/7 was at home with youngest 2 dc and a tv show had been cancelled to show live news.

Boxing day tsunami I didn't find out about until I was packing my shopping and they were collecting at the end of the tills.

[strangerthongs]

space shuttle explosion - I won't say which one as it's very outing but we knew one of those killed.

Dunblane - my mum told me when she collected me from school. I will never forget watching it on the news and never forget the absolute grief and horror on Lorraine Kelly's face as she reported from the scene. I believe she said she had a similar aged daughter and lived not too far from there.

9/11 - I remember this as it was the day we got engaged (obviously before the news announcement)

Diana - coming downstairs and switching on the news and crying as William and Harry are simliar ages to me and my DSis

Manchester concert bombing - we were on holiday and DD is an ariana fan

[ManonBlackbeak]

Princess Diana. I was in bed fast and my brother woke me up to tell me. I didn't believe him, then went downstairs and my mum was sat there reading the News of The World and it had 'Diana Dead' in massive letters on the front.

9/11 I was at work in my first proper job. One of the bossss came in and told is there had been a bad plane crash in New York, then a client rang up and told one of our colleagues about what was going on. We tried to get on the internet and none of the news sites would load, because the internet had crashed. Even then I didn't realise how bad it was until I got home and saw it on the news. I can still remember exactly what I had for tea that night, I sat eating it off my knee as I watched the rolling news. You just knew it was a massive, world changing event.

When the Queen Mother died I'd just got back from work and was watching Aunties Bloomers when the screen went blank and the news flash came on.

7/7 I was at home and it came up as a newflash on BBC1as a power surge intitially. I remember thinking it was fairly obvious it was a terror attack from the off, and then when the bus exploded it confirmed it.

I was online when Michael Jackson died. My brother was huge fan and I remember shouting him to tell him.

More recently when the Manchester Arena bombing happened I was on here. They said that it was an amp exploding originally and I went off to bed thinking nothing of it, then woke up to the awful truth,

[TildaKauskumholm]

John lennon
Princess Diana
9/11

[BlueJava]

Princess Diana
9/11
Heisel Stadium Disaster 1985

[allthegoodusernameshavegone]

I woke up to the news of Freddie Mercury & Diana
I was at work when I heard about 9/11, we all went into a room with a tv only to watch live the second plane hit the towers, still hard to comprehend.