story9135.xml
Title
story9135.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-03-07
911DA Story: Story
September 11, 2001, Manchester, England. I had 4 days to finish my master's degree thesis and was holed up in a box-room, cut off from the outside world with the intention of finishing my work on time.The phone rang. My friend & housemate Iain had called from work to tell me a plane had hit the World Trade Centre. Ive been there. I was lucky enough to visit New York City as an 18 year old. I stood at the bottom of the World Trade Centre and looked up in awe.I'll never, ever forget the sight. You can't explain to someone who hasn't seen it, just how those great buildings soared into the sky. endless and truly, truly breathtaking. I had tv pirctures on in the box room, along with radio comment.We've an excellent talk radio station here called "radio 5 live". A DJ called Simon Mayo was on air at the time.Whenever I see Images of that day on TV now, I can still hear his voice. I didn't do any more work that day. Not a thing. I tried, but I couldn't stop listening, or watching. I heard testimony from an "expert" on the radio that the buildings couldn't collapse, they were protected against such attacks. But collapse they did.
I love New York. It changed my life, having visited the city as an impressionable 18 year-old, I feel cheated now seeing the skyline on tv without the towers. But I'll come back, as soon as my financial situation allows. I'm hoping to become a police officer here in Britain. It's my life's ambition. When I imagine myself doing the job, I sometimes think about how I would have reacted in such a situation. The truth is that I dont think I would have coped at all. The officers of the NYPD demonstrated courage that should make the people of America proud, and should be used as a benchmark for all police officers all over the world to demonstrate bravery in the face of adversty.
I wish your country well & I wish your people well, but I wont preach any further because the terms "your country" and "your people" dont do justice. we're with you. We love your attitude & resiliance, and we will live to tell our grandchildren about the events of september 11. But by that time, it will be a victorious tale.
God bless you, from your friends in Britain.
Lee Walker, Manchester, England
I love New York. It changed my life, having visited the city as an impressionable 18 year-old, I feel cheated now seeing the skyline on tv without the towers. But I'll come back, as soon as my financial situation allows. I'm hoping to become a police officer here in Britain. It's my life's ambition. When I imagine myself doing the job, I sometimes think about how I would have reacted in such a situation. The truth is that I dont think I would have coped at all. The officers of the NYPD demonstrated courage that should make the people of America proud, and should be used as a benchmark for all police officers all over the world to demonstrate bravery in the face of adversty.
I wish your country well & I wish your people well, but I wont preach any further because the terms "your country" and "your people" dont do justice. we're with you. We love your attitude & resiliance, and we will live to tell our grandchildren about the events of september 11. But by that time, it will be a victorious tale.
God bless you, from your friends in Britain.
Lee Walker, Manchester, England
Collection
Citation
“story9135.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed April 7, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/19600.