Your stories

As Neil Armstrong put his left foot down on the moon's surface and declared: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," the people of Nottinghamshire, along with the rest of the world, stopped to watch the historic event.

Chris in Bestwood carted his TV upstairs to watch it in bed, a 16-year-old Helena Lord from Mansfield wrapped herself up in a sleeping bag on her living room floor while Martin Thorne from Sutton in Ashfield was woken by his brother for the 'first step'.

"I sat in my pyjama's with him. As a boy of 13 it was an amazing event."

Your memories

Bob Renshaw spent the evening of 20 July 1969 with half dozen friends at the Yew Tree public house in Mansfield. After closing time, they all returned to a friend's house in the woods north of Newstead Abbey.

"He made us fried egg sandwiches. [My] outstanding memory of the landing is the way Neil Armstrong fluffed his carefully prepared speech." 

The Apollo mission had been followed by millions for months. Martin Thorne recalls the time fondly:

"We were all buzzing with it at school and collected all the press cuttings."

Eileen Bond from Mansfield Woodhouse was 21 in 1969.

"I was absolutely in awe at what had been achieved. Nothing since has really matched the experience."

Helena Lord describes the occasion as 'fabulous'.

"Everyone was talking about it for weeks afterwards." 

Phil Randall is a member of the Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society. He was 16:

"The pictures may have been grainy and unclear, but they kept a boys attention and it cemented my interest in the subject."

Not all right on the night

But at least he got to see it. Not all Nottinghamians were so fortunate. David Faulkner was holidaying with his grandmother in north Scotland at the time.

"As Neil Armstrong was descending the ladder from the Lunar Module, Eagle... the shilling went on the electricity meter. Not the sort of problem the Apollo astronauts had to face!"

Mansfield's Ian Turner found himself on a walking holiday in Yorkshire. The Youth Hostel he was staying at didn't have a TV. He ended up listening to the broadcast through the Hostel warden's door.

"I was still very moonstruck."

Nottingham's Trevor Fisher found himself in Chapel St Leonard's.

"My mates and I were at a chip shop getting our suppers when it came on the radio. We went and sat on the promenade looking up at the moon, thinking how marvelous it was that there were men on the moon."

Lasting impression

For some the event had a lasting impact. None more so than Michael Merrifield who was only four years old at the time.

"My strangest abiding memory is that I was convinced I saw colours on the pictures, even though we were watching in black-and-white -- very weird! It must all have had some lasting impact, as twenty years later I became a professional astronomer."

Professor Michael Merrifield now spends his time exploring even further reaches of space at the University of Nottingham.

Martin Thorne believes it influenced a generation.

"It made us aware of what could be achieved."

We want to hear your memories of the moon landing. Where did you watch it and how did it affect you?

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