Your earliest memory

I was about 2 and a half, and had to go to big school with my mum who was a teacher. I remember being given nice new plasticine on a board at the start of the school year. The older children made clever animals, mine just all ended up in a big brown ball looking like poo. I cried so much and probably threw a fit.

I was two and my nine year old sister, who was very jealous of me, told me to show her friend how I could jump down the stairs, so I did - 12 steps! Mum said my siren suit, made out of an old Blanket, saved me.

When I was 3, mum, dad and I went to view a house. As we started up the stairs, the lady owner told me to stay downstairs.
I remember my parents disappearing up the stairs and it seemed so long until they came back down.

Children didn’t question or create a fuss in those days. Just did as I was told.

My earliest memory is being chased across the orchard by granny’s gander, I was about 4 and being eyeball to eyeball to an agressive gander was terrifying.

My earliest memory, and I have a very clear picture although I must have been very young in a cot, a door opening to let light into the room, and a voice, obviously Mum, saying 'come out, you'll wake the baby'. I have a brother who is four years older and it must have been him.

friendlygingercat in the 1970's I belonged to a group called Cheshire Books for Children. Your account of reading Where The Wild Things Are
brought back memories for me.
Cheshire Books used to invite the authors of children's books to speak to the group. One such author was Maurice Sendak who as you know wrote Where The Wild Things Are.
As a family we already had the book,which was loved by my two children.
I used to read to pre school children on Friday mornings at our local library.

Not my earliest memory but one of my fondest was the day I first met my grandmother, aged 4. There was a family rift (which I wont go into) so I was taken to see her by an aunt in an attempt to heal the breach.

She had not believed my aunt when told I could read so my gran bought an easy reader book - one of those where the words and illustrations go across both pages. She promised me a cream cake if I could read it. I more or less read the entire story right off, only needing a bit of help with the longer words. My grandmother was amazed I could "do sentences". Of course I enjoyed the cream cake but only ate half of it as it was too much. I took the remainder home in a brown paper bag.

Later I became a librarian and the book called "Where the wild things are" was in the children's section of my library. Its about a little boy who has a nightmare of wandering into the woods and meeting all kinds of ferocious creatures. Its a classic and still available,

Going next door to watch the Woodenttops on my elderly neighbours TV (we didnt have a TV) I was 3 years old

My mum taking me to a bedroom in a house and being presented to an old man in bed. He held out a Fry's chocolate cream bar for me. I don't recall taking it, I felt frightened.
The old man was my mum's father and he was dying. I must have been about two years old.

I recall my 3rd birthdayjj.j My uncle Jim had sent me a card. I remember opening it up nd seeing a picture of an elephant posting a letter in a post box. At that point I tore the card in half. No idea why I did that but I did get very upset.

I remember travelling to Ireland for my granddad’s funeral. It was 1943 and I was nearly 3. We were in a ship called Princess Maud. Back then there were no stabilisers and the crossing was very rough. I remember a wave sweeping onto the deck and making us wet. It was very crowded inside the boat, where lots of people were unwell, but because of the rough weather my mother took us inside. It was a horrible journey that I’ll never forget. Soon after that wartime episode the boats from Holyhead making that crossing all had stabilisers.

I was 18 months old and we were living with my grandparents. I was in bed one night and Grandad came home and brought me a fluffy toy dog, which he put in the bed with me. I had that dog for many years.

I was sitting on my Nan’s doorstep aged about 4, with a pink nylon sun bonnet on. I nice lady passed by and said, “What a pretty girl in your hat!”. Yes, I said, It’s my birthday. ( a lie).
I went indoors and 30 mins later there was a knock at the door. “ I bought some sweets for the little girl whose birthday it is!”
My Mum explained it wasn’t, but the lady left the sweets for me anyway. I ran and hid upstairs!

First birthday, I was in the bath and my paternal GM brought me a teddy.
I’ve still got him!
He did have to go to the Teddy Hospital a while ago, since our last dog chewed half his face off when she was a pup. But they did a great job.

I think I remember being on a ferry going to the Isle of Wight aged about 3, but I can't be sure whether that was a memory or whether I imagined it. I know we had a holiday there when I was very young. I also remember sitting in one of those big coach type prams which had some type of hatch/partition between the main body of it and the very bottom where a couple of squeaky toys lurked. My brother and I had a big 3 wheeler trike which I also have early memories of.

I can remember my hands on the table trying to reach something I could just about see and wanted.. must of been 2 at a guess. mum was outside seeing off her sister who had bought the item, I thought it was a drink but it was a liquid polish of some sort.

I was nearly three when we flew to Egypt to join my father who was stationed there with the RAF. The flight was turbulent and I was scared and air sick. When we got to our flat Dad made us tea with watered down evaporated milk. It would be two years before I tasted fresh milk again. I remember the pretty cups and saucers he served it in were decorated with purple violets.
Nearly all my memories that followed were of the French convent I went to. English was the second language but I got on alright until it was bombed at the start of the revolution and we were evacuated to Port Said.
Scary times for children but we trusted our parents to keep us safe.

I remember waking up one morning in my cot. Looking through the bars of the cot at my parents sleeping in their bed. I was moved to my own room and a "big girl's bed" when I around two and a half, once I was out of nappies (I asked my mum when I was a teenager as it was always a very clear memory and I wanted to know how old I might have been.)

I've thought about this a lot, listening to the "Rosebud" podcast.

We moved from our home in North London when I was 4 and I have lots of memories from there. I don't know what order they were in. I had always been a good sleeper but my sister, when a baby, cried all night. I remember waking up just the once to see one of my parents (it was dark) lift her out of bed cot.

I do clearly remember sitting in the neighbour's garden when she and our mother were having a cup of tea. Her son Graham who was sitting with us wore a checked shirt - he was a little older than me. My mother was holding my baby sister and I was sitting on the neighbour's lap. I had just learned to undo buttons and was practising on her blouse - I had managed to undo them all before she looked down and saw what I'd been up to! Of course, in those days (1958-9) this was quite scandalous and caused much embarrassment, even though she had a vest and slip on underneath! I like to think the two ladies had a giggle about it too though.

When we lived in Stockport I remember going to Picadilly Square in Manchester with my sisters and mum. I recall being in my pram and seeing all the big statues around the square. If I ever go to Manchester it always reminds me of then when I see the statues.

I remember lying in my pram, the smell and feel of the shawl wrapped around me and the rocking motion. It is a very brief sensory memory and must have been in my first year.
The first "active" memory I have is having a paddy because my mum wouldn't let me get out of the pram and show the workmen making the pavement at the bottom of our road (a new build council estate) that I could walk. I was sitting in the pram and was strapped in. As an adult I told my parents about it and they reckoned I was just over a year old when that path was finally done.

crazyH what is a ‘d’ ?

I remember being carried from my pram and being put into my highchair. Then mum went to get the shopping or the pram in, and I sat in the half dark and watched the flames reflected in the brass railing of the fire guard, coming from the coal range we had in the kitchen. I was probably about two, as the pram was given to my aunt who had my cousin who was born in the August two years after me, and I was born in the October. The high chair had a set of large coloured beads on a wire across the tray.

I remember making mud pies in the back garden but nothing more.

I think there are 2 similar threads running. Caleo, you could ask GNHQ to remove one.