AS the anniversary of the first moon landing approaches, we asked for your memories of that historic day.

Here we publish a selection of those memories and if you would like to add your recollections, add your comments below or email News Shopper

Moon landing overshadowed 10th birthday

I READ your request for stories about the moon landing in the News Shopper and couldn’t believe it, I was only telling my partner about my recollection of it two days ago, as I was 10 years old that day.

Well, it wasn’t funny at the time for me but I do laugh now.

As usual at my school, the headmistress would take morning assembly and, as usual, anything other than my birthday wasn’t important.

We all sat for morning assembly and normally anything like birthdays for that day would be announced. In excitement, as she said we have something very important to announce today, I nudged my friend and next-door neighbour David Cook and said: “She’s going to tell everyone it’s my birthday!”

But, to my horror, just as I was about to leap up and smile, she announced that we were going to watch some man called Neil Armstrong walk on the moon.

What!?! I couldn’t hide my embarrassment as the neighbour proudly announced to everyone he could: “Ha, ha – she thought they were going to announce her birthday.”

I could only remember that day for being told off for talking in assembly and for harassing the neighbour, who was no longer my friend, all day.

All joking aside, I did get a mention after we had watched the whole thing in the big hall when the headmistress said: “Angela Hills shares her birthday with this historic event.”

That showed my neighbour.

Angela Hills, Gravesend

Watching history unfold on TV

I REMEMBER vividly all the coverage on TV. Obviously it was in grainy black and white and sometimes it was difficult to see much of anything but we all felt part of history, unfolding before our very eyes.

I was 16 years old and I remember at first the whole of our front room being filled with various family members – my father, mother, brother and grandmother who lived with us. Three generations avidly watching and waiting for this amazing event – and waiting and waiting.

The landing was delayed for reasons and explanations that went way above my young head. I just wanted to see the landing and watch as someone actually set foot on the moon! The moon for goodness’ sake! It seemed to me to be totally unbelievable.

For a long evening and into the small hours we waited. Gradually, the room held fewer and fewer people as they staggered off to bed. Eventually, only my father and myself were left. I was lying on the sofa fighting to stay awake. My night owl father was ensconced in his usual chair. I was falling asleep.

Suddenly my father said: “If you want to see this, you’d better open your eyes.”

I sat up and there was a man climbing very slowly and carefully down the ladder. When he reached the bottom rung he seemed to sort of jump rather than step on to the moon’s surface.

I looked at my father – it was too amazing a moment to say anything. We heard Armstrong’s momentous words: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Then we watched the funny hopping-style walking which the commentator explained was necessary because of gravity or something.

We watched as the astronauts moved the camera to get and send home better pictures.

Nowadays we take instant pictures and communications from anywhere for granted. But then, telephoning abroad was difficult enough. No wonder people thought it was faked.

After a short time, the transmissions ended. My father said: “That’s it then, we’ve watched history, now bed.”

As I looked at the moon from my bedroom window it was almost impossible to think they were up there, but they were. It was a special moment I shared with my father. He’s been gone 15 years now but that was a memory to treasure.

Jo Boorman, St Pauls Cray

In labour at historic moment

MY mum remembers July 20, 1969, very well. She endured a 24-hour labour before giving birth to me on the July 21, 1969.

I was born shortly after Neil Armstrong placed his left foot on the moon which was at 2.56 UTC on July 21 and uttered his famous words: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Andrea Mattin

In America to welcome astronauts back to Earth

IN July 1969 I was in New York State, working as a camp counsellor at the first ‘Camp America’.

I had just finished my teacher training and eight students from my college were accepted to work in different camps all over America. I was sent to a private Jewish camp where the ‘campers’, eight to 16-year-olds, attended the summer camp for eight weeks.

The day of the landing fell on one of the two days that the parents were allowed to visit their children. I have never seen, before or since, such wealth! The campers had so many clothes, including dozens of jeans, in varying lengths. Money was no object but the girls said resignedly, that they attended summer camp while their parents played golf or ‘did Europe’!

All the mothers were walking around with their own portable TV sets watching the landing on the moon! Yes, handheld TV sets in 1969.

They kept telling me that I was so lucky to be in America that day to witness history in the making, adding you will be talking about this day 40 - 50 years from now! How right they were!

I had quickly realised that an English counsellor was a real status symbol with the parents and any request was granted. So I immediately asked for the day off to go to New York to watch the ticker tape parade.

What an experience, tonnes of paper raining down on us, thousands of people lining the streets, it was really amazing. I just managed to see the cavalcade and the tops of the three astronauts’ heads!

It was well worth the trip just to be there. At the time, it never occurred to me that it wasn’t genuine and even today I still have no doubts.

Joy Ginn

Sitting up late to watch landing

AT THE time of man first landing on the moon I was living in south-west London. My husband worked nights, delivering newspapers to newsagents. I was expecting our first child in August.

I sat up all night and watched the moon landing on the television. When my husband came home we sat and watched all over again. It was fantastic and I’ve never doubted it was for real.

I eventually gave birth to a baby boy on August 12 so look forward to celebrating his 40th birthday.

EJ Mills, Swanley