Kennedy. Where were you?

[JimTidmarsh]

If I remember correctly, BBC or ITV had just started broadcasting a play at 7.00pm and interrupted it for the announcement and then restarted the play 5 minutes later. After that, I don't know since I had to go to church choir practice!

[JimN]

If I remember correctly, BBC or ITV had just started broadcasting a play at 7.00pm and interrupted it for the announcement and then restarted the play 5 minutes later. After that, I don't know since I had to go to church choir practice!

It won't have been ITV. At least, not in the north.

In the Granada/ABC region (the whole north of England at the time, including Lancashire and Yorkshire), the announcement was made during the local news magazine programme (see above). Granada Television had Friday evenings and were autonomous of any general ITV network suite in London. They wouldn't have stopped interrupted two consecutive programmes to make the same emergency announcement. I can't remember what Granada used to show at 19:00 on Fridays. Probably a filmed half-hour adventure series from ITC or similar. [Edit: Of course, it was Friday, and it was ITV. That means that it was time for "Take Your Pick" from London.]

BBC? Maybe, but a play at 19:00 doesn't ring true. the 18:30 - 19:30 time range tended to be filled on BBC with inconsequential stuff (some of it regional).

On either channel, serious peak-time programming never started (just like now) until at least 19:30 (and that was mainly soap opera - perhaps "Compact"); proper plays were unlikely before 20:00. The dynamic of the evening was different in those days when both channels showed their main news at 21:00.

A quick addition, which confirms my own memories of that early Friday evening:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/how-the-kennedy-assassination-caught-the-bbc-on-the-hop-78973.html

The Independent article also identifies the BBC newsflash as broadcast at a programme junction, between "Points Of View" (that little in-house joke where the BBC still takes the piss out of mere viewers resulting in much mirth and merriment at the Corporation) and "Tonight" (the Cliff Michelmore early evening magazine programme).

[George Geddes]

I have vague memories of watching Harry Worth that Friday night...

(Meanwhile, Russian State Radio had cancelled their programmes and were broadcasting "solemn music"...)

George

[Peter K]

I was listening to the German program of Radio Luxemburg when the music was interrupted by the sad news of Kennedy's dead.

Peter K

[JimN]

I was listening to the German program of Radio Luxemburg when the music was interrupted by the sad news of Kennedy's dead.

Peter K

Interesting.

My parents kept a pub in Liverpool at the time (we weren't living over the shop) and whereas I, at home, heard the news from Mike Scott on Granada television at about 18:45, the pub staff and customers, with the English language version of Radio Luxembourg playing on the pun's radio, heard nothing about the incident until a customer came in after 9pm and made the announcement. The English programmes on Luxembourg were mainly pre-recorded, of course.

[Didier]

I was back from work in my car and listened to the radio when the news was given that President Kennedy had been shot in Dallas and was taken to hospital. It wasn't yet known he was dead.

Didier

[Martin Page]

I'd been playing with my group, Tony Burns and The Democrats at the Hassenbrook School, Stanford-le-Hope. When we got back to our drummer's house in Elm Park his mother told us the news.

Martin.

[GoldenStreet]

I have vague memories of watching Harry Worth that Friday night...

(Meanwhile, Russian State Radio had cancelled their programmes and were broadcasting "solemn music"...)

George

Spot on, George!

11-22.JPG

(119.08 KiB) Downloaded 3946 times

Bill

[drakula63]

I was three days away from emerging into the world...

[Arpeggio]

My memories are pretty vivid.....but are they correct? I had two fairly long walks, punctuated by a 20 minute bus ride - this being my usual journey home from grammar school in the 1960s. The first part definitely happened. We'd recently acquired a young dog, but there was seldom anyone around to walk it during the day. Result (accidental boisterousness)....it had knocked over and wrecked the family christmas tree, decorations and such like. After a few minutes attempting to clear up and repair some of the damage, I changed out of my school uniform and took the dog out for a c. 20 - 30 minute walk. By now it was past 5 O'clock and I had to make & light a coal fire (no central heating) from scratch. Now...my memory is that I then switched the television on - expecting to find "Crackerjack" or something similar on BBC - but there was.....nothing....just the spinning globe with solemn classical music in the background. I can't remember if I switched channels to ITV & what was on (or not) there. This would be c. 5.30pm. I was puzzled. 11 years old...I knew that, if there had been a technical problem...the Test Card would be showing & the music would be 'poppy' or lively or easy listening. The music (after a few minutes) was interrupted by a formal announcement that president Kennedy had been shot by an assassin and that he was in a critical condition. Like everyone at the time....I was shocked. So...my memory is that the BBC had cancelled the pre - main news programmes, partly as a mark of respect & partly to bring any news directly - as & when. Later that evening - I seem to recall hearing the awful news that Kennedy was dead on the BBC news (extended programme?). This was in Nottinghamshire. What a weekend. News of JFK's death on Friday 22nd and the first episode of Dr Who (which I did indeed watch) on Saturday 23rd. Even at the time I do recall the Radiophonic Workshop theme music and weird visual FX (opening & closing title sequences) being faintly weird and slightly disturbing. But.....did the BBC halt the transmission of children's programmes (c. 4.00pm - c. 6.00pm) that Friday evening?? Jim?? Anyone??

Rob