I would say that folk of our generation have seen the most changes in the world around us than any generation before us. I remember my young pupils being horrified and disbelieving when I told them we had no TV , no fridge, telephone, car, etc etc.
Michael, we were taken by our school as ten year-olds on a coach to see the London docks. We were herded onto (I think) HMS Daffodil for a tour of the river. I remember a forest of cranes, and huge ships docked everywhere. The dockside buildings and warehouses were black with smoke and pollution. There were barges, tugs, the river was swarming. (I was horribly sick, first on the coach and then on the boat. I never did travel well!)