Events

  • 1934: The Gresford Colliery Disaster Kills 266

    An explosion tore through the Dennis section of Gresford Colliery, near Wrexham, at about 2 a.m. on 22 September 1934. It started an underground fire and trapped hundreds of men. Six escaped from the affected workings. Most did not. The Friday night shift was particularly busy. Wrexham were due to play Tranmere Rovers on Saturday…

  • 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…

  • 1936: The Jarrow Crusade begins its march to London

    Two hundred unemployed men left Jarrow for London on 5 October 1936, beginning a march intended to bring the town’s unemployment crisis directly to Parliament. Jarrow had been badly affected by the decline of its heavy industries. Palmer’s shipyard, once the town’s main employer, had closed, while other industrial employment had also disappeared. The marchers…

  • 1939: Britain’s mass evacuation begins

    Britain’s mass evacuation of children and other vulnerable civilians began on 1 September 1939, the day Germany invaded Poland and two days before Britain declared war. The government had prepared for the possibility that war would bring rapid bombing of British cities. Its evacuation scheme was intended to move people considered particularly vulnerable from densely…

  • 1939: HMS Courageous is sunk by U-29

    On 17 September 1939, the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-29 while conducting an anti-submarine patrol in the Western Approaches. Britain had been at war with Germany for only two weeks. The Royal Navy was using aircraft carriers and their aircraft to search large areas of sea…

  • 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…

  • 1940: The Battle of Britain reaches its ‘Hardest Day’

    On 18 August 1940, the Luftwaffe launched major attacks against RAF airfields and radar installations in southern England. The fighting became known as the ‘Hardest Day’ of the Battle of Britain because of the losses both sides suffered. The Germans aimed to damage Fighter Command’s ability to defend British airspace. Targets included Kenley, Biggin Hill,…

  • 1940: The Blitz Begins with a Major Attack on London

    On 7 September 1940, the German Luftwaffe launched a major attack on London, beginning the sustained bombing campaign known as the Blitz. On a Saturday afternoon, a large force of German aircraft approached the capital. Around 350 bombers, escorted by roughly 600 fighters, took part. The Port of London, the docks and the industrial districts…

  • 1940: German bombs strike Buckingham Palace

    Buckingham Palace was bombed on 13 September 1940, less than a week after the sustained German bombing of London known as the Blitz began. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were inside the Palace when the attack started. The King recorded the incident in his diary that day. He and the Queen heard an aircraft…

  • 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…

  • 1944: The First V-2 Rocket Strikes London

    At about 6.43 p.m. on 8 September 1944, a German V-2 rocket struck Staveley Road in Chiswick, west London. It was the first V-2 to fall on British soil. Three people were killed. Three-year-old Rosemary Clarke was in her family’s house at number 1 Staveley Road. Ada Harrison, aged 68, lived at number 3. Sapper…

  • 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…

  • 1945: Britain marks VJ Day as the war against Japan ends

    Britain marked Victory over Japan Day on 15 August 1945 after Japan accepted the Allied terms for surrender. Three months after VE Day ended the war in Europe, the fighting of the Second World War was finally coming to an end. For British and Commonwealth forces serving in Asia, the war had continued after Germany’s…

  • 1945: *Animal Farm* is published in Britain

    George Orwell’s Animal Farm was published in Britain by Secker & Warburg on 17 August 1945. The first printing consisted of 4,500 copies. Getting that far had taken Orwell through a series of rejections in which politics mattered as much as publishing judgement. Orwell wrote most of Animal Farm during 1943 and 1944. He called…

  • 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…

  • 1947: Pakistan celebrates independence as British rule ends

    Pakistan celebrated its independence on 14 August 1947 as British rule over the Indian subcontinent came to an end. The new country was created through the partition of British India during the final weeks of Britain’s withdrawal. After the Second World War, Clement Attlee’s Labour government accepted that British rule in India would end. The…

  • 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…

  • 1952: Britain tests its first atomic weapon

    Britain tested its first atomic weapon on 3 October 1952, detonating a device during Operation Hurricane at the Montebello Islands off Western Australia. The explosion had an estimated yield of about 25 kilotons. It made Britain the third country, after the United States and the Soviet Union, to develop and test a nuclear weapon. Britain…

  • 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,…

  • 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…

  • 1964: Britain carries out its last executions

    At 8 a.m. on 13 August 1964, Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans were hanged at separate prisons in Liverpool and Manchester. They became the last people executed in Britain, although there had been no decision that morning to end capital punishment. Allen was executed at Walton Prison in Liverpool and Evans at Strangeways Prison in…

  • 1964: Labour Wins the General Election

    On 15 October 1964, voters in the United Kingdom went to the polls in a general election that ended 13 years of Conservative government. Labour, led by Harold Wilson, won 317 of the 630 seats in the House of Commons. The Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home, took 304 and the Liberals nine.…

  • 1965: Harold Wilson opens the Post Office Tower

    Prime Minister Harold Wilson opened the Post Office Tower in central London on 8 October 1965. At 620 feet high, including its mast, it was Britain’s tallest building. Wilson marked the opening by calling the Lord Mayor of Birmingham using the tower’s new microwave equipment. The General Post Office had built the tower to increase…

  • 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…

  • 1982: The Mary Rose Is Raised from the Solent

    On 11 October 1982, divers raised the surviving hull of the Mary Rose from the Solent near Portsmouth, 437 years after the ship sank. The recovery followed years of searching, excavation and planning. The Mary Rose served in Henry VIII’s fleet. She sank on 19 July 1545 during the Battle of the Solent, when English…

  • 1984: IRA Bomb Explodes at Brighton’s Grand Hotel

    At approximately 2.54 a.m. on 12 October 1984, a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb exploded at the Grand Hotel in Brighton. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and several Cabinet ministers were staying there during the Conservative Party conference. The explosion destroyed part of the building and caused several floors to collapse. Five people died as a…

  • 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,…

  • 1999: A total solar eclipse crosses Cornwall

    On 11 August 1999, a total solar eclipse crossed Cornwall and part of South Devon. At about 11.12 a.m. British Summer Time, the Moon completely covered the Sun along a narrow path across the South West. Elsewhere in Britain, the eclipse was partial. It was the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Britain since…