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Early tv memories

(93 Posts)
Poppyjo Thu 23-Apr-26 04:24:34

I can remember The Appleyards, the first soap and whirligig. I remember the late Queen‘s Coronation seen on a 9“ rented Television and spent the day trying to fathom how the people got inside the box.

Happy days.

What early memories do you have?

BlueBelle Thu 23-Apr-26 05:11:22

We didn’t have a tv till after I left home but my Nan and Grandad had one when I was about 16, so what I remember, was watching wrestling, and the various cowboy series on Saturday afternoons, with my granddad, and Sunday evenings watching What’s my Line and Sunday night at the Palladium

BlueBelle Thu 23-Apr-26 05:11:46

Black and white by the way

Calendargirl Thu 23-Apr-26 06:49:30

A Western on every evening around teatime.

Champion The Wonder Horse, The Lone Ranger, The Range Rider, Roy Rogers, Rin Tin Tin,….

Watch With Mother, Sooty And Sweep, Torchy The Battery Boy…

To name just a few.

Cossy Thu 23-Apr-26 07:04:33

Andy Pandy, Watch with Mother, The Wooden Tops, Tales of the Riverbank (one of my favourites), Animal Magic (another favourite, Blue Peter.

Cossy Thu 23-Apr-26 07:05:46

Oooh and Black Beauty, Champion the Wonder Horse and White Horses. (Bit of a theme here, but I loved all three)

Grandmabatty Thu 23-Apr-26 07:32:54

Our first tv was rented from DER, I think. I recall watching the funeral of Winston Churchill. I loved The Wooden Tops but wasn't keen on Tales of the River Bank. I remember watching Noggin the Nog and of course, The Magic Roundabout.

ferry23 Thu 23-Apr-26 07:35:31

The Grove Family
Watch with Mother
Muffin the Mule....

....Emergency Ward 10
Billy Cotton Bandshow
Pinky & Perky
Torchy

Magenta8 Thu 23-Apr-26 07:45:52

Mr Turnip and HL from Whirligigs

Rag, Tag and Bobtail; The Woodentops; Bill and Ben; Andy Pandy and Picture Book with Patricia Driscoll who also played Maid Marian in The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Greyduster Thu 23-Apr-26 07:46:10

I remember The Appleyards, and the Groves too. We didn’t have a tv but I used to watch at my next door neighbour’s. Muffin the Mule was a great favourite; Animal Magic and Zoo Quest. When my grandson was young, they re-ran Noggin the Nog on BBC and he was besotted with it. Me too, I have to say, having watched it with his mum when she was young, though her favourite was The Moomins!

Mamie Thu 23-Apr-26 07:49:00

We had television when I was born in 1949. My earliest memories are:
The Groves and The Appleyards.
For small children: Picture Book. Andy Pandy, The Flower Pot Men, Rag, Tag and Bobtail, The Woodentops defined the week from Monday to Friday.
Interludes!

Sarnia Thu 23-Apr-26 07:51:18

Prudence Kitten is my first TV memory. I think she had a seafaring uncle who wore big boots.
Watch with Mother. Muffin the Mule, Andy Pandy and Looby Lou, Rag. Tag and Bobtail, The Woodentops, Johnny Morris with his many voices and Crackerjack. This was a big favourite of mine and my friend Sue who lived across the road. They didn't have a TV in their house, so once a week she would come to tea, boiled egg and soldiers and a slice of my Mum's home-made cake and we would giggle away at Leslie Crowther and Peter Glaze. They used to say 'Don't get your knickers in a knot' which we thought was very funny and very rude.

Greyduster Thu 23-Apr-26 07:52:32

Grandmabatty I was on route lining duty with my platoon the day of Winston Churchill’s funeral. Our day had started at five o’clock and then hours of standing still in the bitter cold - I would much sooner have been watching it on tv but was proud to have been there.

ViceVersa Thu 23-Apr-26 07:53:52

Cossy

Oooh and Black Beauty, Champion the Wonder Horse and White Horses. (Bit of a theme here, but I loved all three)

As a horse-mad child, those were mine too - the first single I ever bought was the theme to White Horses.

sixandahalf Thu 23-Apr-26 08:48:21

I remember Christopher Trace from Blue Peter.

Having a nervous breakdown and sobbing for weeks when Heidi finished.

Maggiemaybe Thu 23-Apr-26 09:01:16

Watch With Mother at home, and I remember my mother hating Bill and Ben because she thought I’d end up talking like them. I loved Torchy the Battery Boy. I’ve a memory of watching Old Mother Riley while my grandmother made Sunday dinner. And all the Westerns. They seemed to be always on at the Saturday morning matinee at the local pictures too, which all the village children walked to in a big gang. I thought they were great.

Grandmabatty Thu 23-Apr-26 09:03:55

Greyduster a solemn but proud occasion for you.

M0nica Thu 23-Apr-26 09:05:12

We didn't have a tv until I was about 14, but when, in the early 1950s, my father was stationed on an army base in the wilds of Yorkshire, as a very special treat and as it was a small base with only a few children living there, all the children were allowed into the Officers Mess, which had a tv, a small black and white one, on Sunday afternoons to watch Muffin the Mule and another children's programme and then we were ushered out again.

Magenta8 Thu 23-Apr-26 09:30:23

Sarnia Prudence Kitten is my first TV memory. She had a sister called Primrose. I had glove puppets of Pru and Prim and a Muffin the Mule string puppet.

Does anyone remember Hank the Cowboy and Mexico Pete?

twiglet77 Thu 23-Apr-26 09:34:08

We had a black and white tv, my parents didn’t get a colour one until after I’d left home in 1975 and my father retired in 1977.

The first programmes I remember watching were Watch With Morher: Andy Pandy, The Woodentops, The Flowerpot Men. A little older, Champion The Wonder Horse, The Lone Ranger and Bonanza.

My mother always watched Coronation Street, and Crossroads. My father spent all Saturday afternoon watching sport, any sport but especially horse racing, while my mother checked the football pools. I don’t think they won much!

BoggledMind Thu 23-Apr-26 09:34:11

I'm going to be lazy here - I remember most of the tv shows mentioned above. My earliest memory is probably a very early episode of Dr Who. A fella tried to fight off a rather hairy creature with a pitchfork. That's all I can remember of it. I reckon I was under 5 years old at the time.
The OP mentioned a rented tv. We had a rental black and white tv from Rediffusion. Later on, early 70s, we got a colour one, again rented, but I think that one was from Rumbelows.

Just remembered something. We used to watch Alias Smith And Jones, the western series (Pete Duel & Ben Murphy I think) as young kids. It was during the power cuts and it had just started when the electricity went off. We were most upset!

Grandma70s Thu 23-Apr-26 09:45:25

My first TV memory is the Coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953. I was 13. We didn’t have TV ourselves, so we went next door. I also went next door to watch a production of Swan Lake, so I’m told, but I don’t remember that at all.

We got a set ourselves when I was about 17. I used to be frantic because my mother was such an addict that she no longer listened to me!

Calendargirl Thu 23-Apr-26 11:25:42

I have a Prudence Kitten jigsaw.

4 different ones in the same (now very tatty) box.

Only about 16 pieces in each one, thick wooden pieces, lovely colours.

I hate jigsaws, my Prudence one is just about my level of puzzle competence.

Calendargirl Thu 23-Apr-26 11:27:55

And who else remembers Bengo the Boxer Pup?

A sweet little cartoon dog with an adorable face, back in the 50’s.

grumppa Thu 23-Apr-26 12:00:55

The Queen's Coronation, lots already mentioned, Billy Bean and his Funny Machine.