Earliest Memory of Seminal News

The Cuban Missile Crisis: it was all over the news and I was terrified that we would die in a nuclear war. I was 9 at the time.

Don’t often post but when I saw this thread, Aberfan was my first thought jocork. I was 16 then and do remember other events earlier in the 60s. I remember I was cross with my Mum as she hadn’t heard the awful news about Aberfan and couldn’t tell me what had happened. Not many radios in those days, or 24 hour TV news, but I picked it up on my tiny transistor in my bedroom. A couple of weeks later, DM went into Royal Marsden Hospital and she died a few months later. So, lots of sad memories intertwined.

fiorentina51

The Suez Crisis. I hadn't a clue what a Suez was or who was Nasser but can recall it being on the radio and TV.
I was 5 at the time.

I did know who Nasser was and were the Suez canal was, but this was definitely my earliest memory of the News too. I was coming up for 5 at the time. I remember the petrol rationing at it caused too, mainly because Daddy was a GP and his allowance of petrol was for a town practise, but a third of his patients were farmers around the neighbouring villages, so he never had enough petrol and frequently had to siphon some out of my uncle's car!

Simple for me. I remember the announcement on the wireless that we were at war with Germany in 1939. Our lives changed irrevocably as my father joined up as soon as he could,leaving my mother who was not in good health to look after my sister who was not quite 10 and me aged 5. We lived in Liverpool which was heavily bombed although we weren’t.

GrandmaSeaDragon

Coming home from secondary school and hearing about Aberfan, October 1966.

My earliest memory too. I seem to be the same age as you!

My first memory was my parents saying rationing was ending. That was 1954, I was 7 years.

Teacheranne

nadateturbe
Yuri Gagarin going into space 1961 I think.
Same for me, but made more momentous by watching him drive past my school in Manchester on his way to the University I think. We all lined up in the grounds of the school waving Russian flags as he drove past in an open top car.

DH also has this as his most exciting memory and being impressed that the car reg was YG 1

JFK. I was 8 at the time. I can even visualise the front room of our house as it looked at that time and it was early evening. Very vivid memory of this. I don’t remember my parents’ reactions, funnily enough, but I felt shocked enough to remember it.

JFK's assassination is my first major event. I was at Girls Brigade and one of the older girls came in and told us.
I have vague memories of the cuban missile crisis and threats of nuclear war but no details.
I do remember asking what the Profumo scandal was about and was told I was too young to know.
We had friends round for Churchill's funeral and we all had to sit and watch it. The youngest, aged around 7, was bored and said "bring on the coffin scene" - one of those silly things you never forget.

I think it was 1970, Musicgirl.
I was married about two weeks before the changeover and was just accustoming myself to being in charge of budgeting.

You would definitely win the prize if there was one Bijou.

…..but the one that sticks in my mind forever is Aberfan.. I was about 14 or so and was chosen to write a piece for morning assembly and read it. I have never forgotten that day!

Death of Elvis. I remember where I was and how I felt.

The general strike 1936. My Dad worked on the Star newspaper and he got a bonus for continuing to work.
Death of King George V. Radio played nothin but solemn music all day instead of Henry Hall and his dance band. Have hated bagpipes ever since because they played so much on his funeral.

Unfortunately the Cuban missile crisis…. and having instructions on the ‘four minute warning’ ….that’s my first experience of the news. I was 11.

TerriBull I was from a Catholic family too, and my mother was also distraught at the death of JFK. I remember coming home from Brownies to find her bawling her eyes out in front of the TV. She had a picture of him hung our living room until she died in 2014!

My mom being very upset at Marilyn Monroe’s death. Then again upset at Jane Mansfield’s death, my mom was very filmy

Yuri Gagarin going into space is my first memory of anything that made world news. I thought it was so exciting!
My next clear memory of anything momentous was JFK's assassination. I remember my Mum being really upset.
The one that's stuck in my head though is Aberfan, it was just after my ninth birthday, and some of those poor children were a similar age to me. My parents were very upset, and later terribly angry that something so awful had been so preventable, but the 'Powers That Be' had just not cared at all!
I still can't watch footage of Aberfan, without lots of tears, it just brings it all back so clearly

I was 6 and in the greengrocers with Kit and heard the women saying how the last memory of war was now gone. Rationing on sweets had ended.
Think everyone I knew about my own age always had some sweets in their pockets( in my case the pocket in my knickers) for weeks to come.

I remember the death of King George VI. It was announced during the "Music and Movement" broadcast at school. I was 9. I also remember seeing film coverage of of the Flying Enterprise sinking.

The Suez crisis in 1956 😮

Winston Churchill dying. I never even really knew who he was at the time but I knew many adults were upset by it.

The Queen’s Coronation 1952.First time I remember watching television. Gathered in a neighbour’s house. TV was like a walnut bedside cupboard with square 10 inch screen at top.

boheminan

I remember King George V1 death being announced on the radio. I was 4 years old.

Yes this is my first real memory of a big news event, I too was 4 years old.

Winston Churchills funeral in 1964 and I was only 3. I remember watching it on our black and white TV. I remember crying even though I'd no idea what was going on.