Modern

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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,…