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 1939 in the United Kingdom: |
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| World War II |
| UK during World War II |
Events from the year 1939 in the United Kingdom.
Incumbents
- Monarch - George VI of the United Kingdom
- Prime Minister - Neville Chamberlain, national coalition
Events
- 16 January - Irish Republican Army bombs explode in London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Alnwick.[1]
- 25 February - First Anderson shelter built in London.[2]
- 27 February - Borley Rectory, a reputed haunted house, destroyed by fire.[2]
- 31 March - Britain pledges support to Poland in the event of an invasion.[1]
- 27 April - Military Training Act introduces conscription; men aged 20 and 21 must undertake six months military training.[3]
- 17 May - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrive in Quebec City to begin the first-ever visit to Canada by British sovereigns.
- 7 June - George VI and Queen Elizabeth visit New York City on the first visit to the United States by a reigning monarch.[2]
- 30 June - The Mersey Ferry stops running to Rock Ferry.[2]
- 5 August - Weekly transatlantic flights scheduled by Imperial Airways; suspended in September.[1]
- 24 August - Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 gives full authority to 'defence regulations'.[1]
- 25 August - Irish Republican Army bomb explodes in Coventry, killing 25.[1]
- 30 August - Evacuation of children from major UK cities begins.[2]
- 1 September
- Blackout imposed across Britain.[1]
- The BBC Home Service begins broadcasting.[2]
- 3 September - World War II
- The UK declares war on Germany following the German invasion of Poland on September 1.[2]
- General mobilisation begins of the Armed Forces.
- National Service (Armed Forces) Act passed by Parliament introduces National Service for all men aged 18 to 41.[4]
- 4 September- First raid by Royal Air Force on German shipping takes place.
- 9 September - British Expeditionary Force crosses to France.[1]
- 18 September - Fascist politician William Joyce begins broadcasting Nazi propaganda under the name Lord Haw-Haw.[2]
- 19 September - Popular BBC radio show It's That Man Again first broadcast.[1]
- 24 September - Petrol rationing introduced.[1]
- 30 September - Identity cards introduced.[1]
- 14 October - HMS Royal Oak sunk by a German U-boat in Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands.[2]
- 21 October - registration of men aged 20 to 23 for National Service begins.[4]
- 8 November - Venlo Incident: Two British agents of SIS are captured by the Germans.
- 13 December- The Battle of the River Plate takes place between the Royal Navy and the German battleship, Admiral Graf Spee.[2]
- The Sutton Hoo treasure — an Anglo-Saxon ship burial — excavated.
Publications
- Agatha Christie's novels Murder is Easy and And Then There Were None.
- Henry Green's novel Party Going.
- Aldous Huxley's novel After Many a Summer.
- Richard Llewellyn's novel How Green Was My Valley.
Births
- 20 January - Chandra Wickramasinghe, British astronomer and poet
- 10 February - Peter Purves, British actor and television presenter
- 12 April - Alan Ayckbourn, playwright
- 31 May - Terry Waite, humanitarian, author and hostage
- 5 June - Margaret Drabble, novelist and biographer
- 11 June - Jackie Stewart, Scottish race car driver
- 4 August - Jack Cunningham, politician
- 19 August - Alan Baker, mathematician
- 30 August - John Peel, disc jockey and radio presenter (died 2004)
- 19 October - David George Clark, Baron Clark, politician
- 27 October - John Cleese, British actor
- 18 November - Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington, politician
Deaths
- 2 March - Howard Carter, archaeologist (born 1874)
- 26 June - Ford Madox Ford, novelist, poet, critic and editor (born 1873)
- 6 September - Arthur Rackham, illustrator (born 1867)
- 3 December - Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, daughter of Queen Victoria (born 1848)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Palmer, Alan & Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 385–386. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-141-02715-0.
- ^ "WW2 People's War Timeline, BBC". Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
- ^ a b "Conscription, Spatacus Educational". Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
See also
Related links