Modern

  • 1914: Britain declares war on Germany

    On 4 August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany after a British ultimatum concerning Belgian neutrality expired without an acceptable reply. German troops had crossed into Belgium that morning. Germany’s war plan required its armies to move through Belgian territory to attack France from the north. The Belgian government had rejected a German demand for…

  • 1915: Quintinshill rail disaster kills more than 200 people

    On 22 May 1915, a troop train carrying men of the 1/7th Battalion Royal Scots crashed near Quintinshill Junction, near Gretna. A second collision and fire followed. The disaster killed 230 people and became Britain’s worst railway accident. The men on the troop train were part of Britain’s war effort. They were being moved by…

  • 1915: HMS Princess Irene explodes off Sheerness

    HMS Princess Irene exploded off Sheerness on 27 May 1915 while being loaded with mines. The ship was destroyed and sank. The disaster killed 352 people. Princess Irene had been a Canadian Pacific passenger liner before the Admiralty took her into service during the First World War. She was being used as an auxiliary minelayer.…

  • 1916: The Battle of Jutland begins

    On 31 May 1916, the Battle of Jutland began in the North Sea. The Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet met Germany’s High Seas Fleet in the largest naval battle of the First World War. Britain depended on sea power. The Royal Navy kept Germany contained and maintained the blockade meant to weaken the German war effort.…

  • 1916: Roger Casement is executed for high treason

    On 3 August 1916, Roger Casement was hanged at Pentonville Prison in London for high treason. Five years earlier, he had been knighted for his work as a British consular official. Casement had spent more than twenty years in British government service. In 1903, he investigated conditions in the Congo Free State, which was controlled…

  • 1917: The Third Battle of Ypres begins

    On 31 July 1917, British and French troops attacked German positions east and north-east of Ypres in Belgium. The assault began the Third Battle of Ypres, later widely known as Passchendaele. British forces had occupied the Ypres Salient since the early part of the First World War. The salient projected into German-held territory and was…

  • 1918: The Battle of Amiens begins

    On 8 August 1918, British Empire and French forces attacked German positions east of Amiens. The offensive began at 4.20 am and achieved one of the largest Allied advances on the Western Front during the First World War. The main attack was made by General Sir Henry Rawlinson’s British Fourth Army, with the Australian and…

  • 1919: Eddington’s eclipse observations support Einstein’s theory

    On 29 May 1919, British-led teams observed a total solar eclipse from Príncipe, off the west coast of Africa, and Sobral in Brazil. The eclipse gave astronomers a rare chance to photograph stars close to the Sun. The test came from Einstein’s general theory of relativity. His theory predicted that the Sun’s gravity would bend…

  • 1929: Peter Higgs is born in Newcastle upon Tyne

    Peter Higgs was born in Newcastle upon Tyne on 29 May 1929. His name later became attached to one of the best-known ideas in modern physics. Still, the story began with theoretical work that was not public in any ordinary sense. Higgs studied physics and became closely linked with the University of Edinburgh. In 1964,…

  • 1935: The compulsory driving test begins in Great Britain

    The compulsory driving test began in Great Britain on 1 June 1935. It came as motor traffic was becoming a normal part of British life. Roads carried cars, buses, lorries, bicycles, pedestrians and older forms of traffic. More vehicles meant more risk, and road safety became a public concern rather than a private worry. The…

  • 1940: Operation Dynamo begins at Dunkirk

    Operation Dynamo began on 26 May 1940 because the British Expeditionary Force and other Allied troops were running out of ground to hold. The German advance through France and Belgium had pushed Allied forces back towards the Channel. Dunkirk became one of the few remaining exits. The operation would later be remembered as a rescue,…

  • 1940: Royal Navy attacks the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir

    On 3 July 1940, the Royal Navy opened fire on French warships at Mers-el-Kébir in Algeria. Britain and France had fought as allies against Germany, but France had signed an armistice less than two weeks earlier. The French Navy was one of the largest in the world. Its modern battleships could alter the balance of…

  • 1940: The Battle of Britain officially begins

    On 10 July 1940, the Battle of Britain officially began with concentrated German attacks on shipping in the English Channel. Air fighting and attacks on convoys had already taken place, but 10 July became the recognised starting date of the main campaign. Britain’s position had changed sharply during the previous two months. German forces had…

  • 1940: Hitler Orders Preparations to Invade Britain

    On 16 July 1940, Adolf Hitler issued Directive No. 16, ordering preparations for a possible German invasion of Britain. The operation was given the codename Sea Lion. France had agreed an armistice with Germany the previous month. British forces had withdrawn from Dunkirk, but the British government had refused to seek peace. Germany controlled much…

  • 1941: HMS Hood is sunk by Bismarck

    On 24 May 1941, HMS Hood was sunk during the Battle of the Denmark Strait. Hood was one of the Royal Navy’s best-known ships. It had been launched during the First World War and had spent years as a public symbol of British sea power. By 1941, it was more than a warship in service.…

  • 1941: Bismarck is lost after Royal Navy pursuit

    Bismarck was lost on 27 May 1941 after a Royal Navy pursuit across the Atlantic. Three days earlier, the German battleship had sunk HMS Hood during the Battle of the Denmark Strait. Only three men from Hood survived. That loss gave the pursuit public force, but the problem was also practical. Bismarck was still at…

  • 1941: The Allied evacuation from Crete is completed

    By 1 June 1941, the Allied evacuation from Crete was complete. The battle had begun with a German airborne invasion in May. British, Australian, New Zealand, and Greek troops fought on the island, but the Allied position collapsed. Once Crete could no longer be held, the aim changed. It was no longer possible to win…

  • 1942: RAF Bomber Command launches Operation Millennium

    On the night of 30–31 May 1942, RAF Bomber Command launched Operation Millennium against Cologne. The raid was planned as a mass attack. Air Chief Marshal Arthur Harris wanted to send more than 1,000 aircraft over Germany in a single night. To reach that number, Bomber Command used front-line bombers, training aircraft and crews drawn…

  • 1945: Heinrich Himmler dies in British custody

    Heinrich Himmler killed himself in British custody on 23 May 1945 after his identity had been confirmed. Germany had surrendered earlier that month, but the end of the war in Europe did not bring an orderly end to Nazi power. Allied forces were dealing with prisoners, fugitives, displaced people and the remains of a collapsed…

  • 1947: The Indian Independence Act Receives Royal Assent

    On 18 July 1947, the Indian Independence Act received Royal Assent. It provided for British India to be divided into the independent dominions of India and Pakistan in August. The legislation passed through Parliament under a compressed timetable. Prime Minister Clement Attlee had announced in February that British rule would end no later than June…

  • 1948: The National Health Service begins operating

    On 5 July 1948, the National Health Service began operating across England and Wales. For the first time, most healthcare was available without direct payment when treatment was needed. The NHS was created under the National Health Service Act 1946 and introduced by the Minister of Health, Aneurin Bevan. It brought together voluntary hospitals, municipal…

  • 1948: The first Stoke Mandeville Games are held

    On 29 July 1948, sixteen injured servicemen and women took part in a wheelchair archery competition at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire. The event became known as the first Stoke Mandeville Games. It was held on the day the London Olympic Games opened at Wembley. The connection was deliberate. Dr Ludwig Guttmann wanted competitive sport…

  • 1948: The British Nationality Act receives Royal Assent

    On 30 July 1948, the British Nationality Act received Royal Assent. It created citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies and reorganised a nationality system developed across the British Empire. Before the Act, British nationality rested mainly on the status of British subject. The category covered people connected with Britain, its colonies and the self-governing…

  • 1949: Britain becomes a founding member of NATO

    Britain became a founding member of NATO on 4 April 1949, when the North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington. On paper, it was a diplomatic agreement between twelve states. In practice, it marked something Britain had to accept. The country had won the war, but it could no longer expect to defend its interests…

  • 1953: Hillary and Tenzing reach Everest’s summit

    Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Everest on 29 May 1953. They were part of a British expedition led by John Hunt. Hillary was from New Zealand. Tenzing Norgay was a Sherpa climber with long experience on Himalayan expeditions. Their final climb followed weeks of preparation. Camps had been set up, supplies…

  • 1953: Elizabeth II is crowned at Westminster Abbey

    Elizabeth II was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. She had been queen since 6 February 1952, when George VI died. Still, the coronation gave the reign its formal public and religious shape. The coronation followed a ceremony that had developed over many centuries. It was held at the Abbey, where English and…

  • 1954: Food rationing ends in Britain

    On 4 July 1954, food rationing ended in Britain. Meat came off ration at midnight, bringing an end to the last major food restriction left from the wartime and post-war years. Food rationing had begun in January 1940, a few months after the start of the Second World War. Britain depended heavily on imported food,…

  • 1955: Ruth Ellis is executed at Holloway Prison

    Ruth Ellis was hanged at Holloway Prison on 13 July 1955. She was the last woman executed in Britain. Ellis had been convicted of murdering her partner, racing driver David Blakely. On 10 April 1955, she waited outside the Magdala public house in Hampstead and shot him several times. She did not deny the killing.…

  • 1956: Egypt nationalises the Suez Canal Company

    On 26 July 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser announced that Egypt was nationalising the Suez Canal Company. Egyptian officials immediately began taking control of its offices and operations. The canal crossed Egyptian territory but was operated by a company dominated by British and French interests. It provided a short shipping route between the Mediterranean…

  • 1961: Amnesty International begins with ‘The Forgotten Prisoners’

    On 28 May 1961, Peter Benenson’s article ‘The Forgotten Prisoners’ appeared in *The Observer*. The appeal helped begin Amnesty International. Benenson was a British lawyer. His article focused on people jailed for their beliefs, politics or religion, provided they had not used or advocated violence. He called them ‘prisoners of conscience’, a phrase that gave…

  • 1962: Coventry Cathedral is consecrated

    The new Coventry Cathedral was consecrated on 25 May 1962, more than twenty years after the old cathedral had been destroyed in the bombing of November 1940. The old building was not simply cleared away. Its ruins were left beside the new cathedral, keeping the evidence of war in view. That choice gave Coventry a…

  • 1962: Jamaica becomes independent from Britain

    On 6 August 1962, Jamaica became independent from Britain. The British government ceased to have responsibility for governing the island, and a new Jamaican constitution came into force. British rule had begun in 1655, when English forces took Jamaica from Spain. The island later became a Crown colony, governed through institutions in which political power…

  • 1963: Britain signs the Partial Test Ban Treaty

    On 5 August 1963, Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union signed a treaty in Moscow banning nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, outer space and underwater. The signatories were British Foreign Secretary Alec Douglas-Home, United States Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. The agreement became commonly known as the…

  • 1978: Louise Brown is born after IVF treatment

    Louise Brown was born at Oldham and District General Hospital at 11.47 p.m. on 25 July 1978. She was the first child born after being conceived through in vitro fertilisation. Her mother, Lesley Brown, had been unable to conceive because her Fallopian tubes were blocked. This prevented an egg from travelling towards the womb and…

  • 1982: HMS Coventry and Atlantic Conveyor are lost in the Falklands War

    On 25 May 1982, HMS Coventry was sunk during the Falklands War after being hit by Argentine bombs. The same day, Atlantic Conveyor was struck by Exocet missiles and was later lost. The two attacks belonged to the same phase of the campaign. British troops had landed around San Carlos, on East Falkland, and the…

  • 1988: Piper Alpha explodes in the North Sea

    On 6 July 1988, the Piper Alpha oil and gas platform exploded in the North Sea. The disaster killed 167 men and became the deadliest offshore oil and gas accident. Piper Alpha stood in the UK sector of the North Sea, north-east of Aberdeen. It was operated by Occidental Petroleum and had become a major…

  • 1998: Northern Ireland approves the Good Friday Agreement

    On 22 May 1998, voters in Northern Ireland approved the Belfast Agreement, better known as the Good Friday Agreement. The agreement had been signed the previous month. The referendum gave it democratic force. The vote came after decades of violence, failed political efforts and mistrust. The Troubles had left Northern Ireland with bombings, shootings, funerals,…