1945 in the United Kingdom explained
Events from the year 1945 in the United Kingdom. This year sees the end of World War II and a landslide general election victory for the Labour Party.
Incumbents
Events
- 8 May – eight days after the suicide of Adolf Hitler in Berlin and the collapse of Nazi rule in Europe, V-E Day is celebrated throughout the UK. Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a victory speech and appears on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. Street parties take place throughout the country.[6]
- 9 May – German forces in the Channel Islands, the only occupied part of the British Isles, surrender.[7]
- 23 May – Churchill forms a "caretaker" Conservative Party administration, pending an election, officially ending the wartime Coalition government.[7]
- 28 May – American-born Irish-raised William Joyce, known as "Lord Haw-Haw" is captured on the German border. He is later charged with high treason in London for his English-language wartime propaganda broadcasts on German radio. He is hanged in January 1946.
- 1 June – the UK takes over administration of Lebanon and Syria.
- 4 June – Churchill, in a broadcast election speech, claims that a future socialist government "would have to fall back on some form of Gestapo".
- 7 June – Benjamin Britten opera Peter Grimes is first performed at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London with Peter Pears in the title role.[8]
- 13 June – Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts renamed Arts Council of Great Britain.
- 15 June – Parliament passes:
- 18 June – demobilisation of the wartime armed forces begins.
- 5 July – polling day for the first general election to be held since 1935; a few constituencies delay polling due to local Wakes weeks and the vote count is not made for another three weeks (see below) so that votes from service personnel overseas can be added to the total.[7]
- 17 July – Potsdam Conference – the three main Allied leaders begin their final summit of the war. The meeting will end on 2 August.
- 26 July – general election results are announced; Winston Churchill resigns as prime minister after his Conservative Party is soundly defeated by the Labour Party, who have a majority of 146 seats, and Clement Attlee becomes the new Prime Minister. However, Churchill will remain as Leader of the Conservative Party, in opposition. It will be the first time that a Labour government with a majority in the House of Commons has governed Britain.[6] Among the new Labour members of parliament is 29-year-old Harold Wilson, MP for Ormskirk in Lancashire, who will become the next Labour Prime Minister in 1964.[10] A notable casualty of the election is Harold Macmillan, who has now lost the Stockton-on-Tees seat twice for the Conservative Party.[11] Ernest Brown, leader of the National Liberal Party, loses his seat at Leith to Labour and Sir Archibald Sinclair, leader of the Liberal Party, comes third in the poll at Caithness and Sutherland, while their parties are reduced to 11 and 12 seats respectively. Robert McIntyre loses his newly won Scottish National Party seat. On 27 July, Alfred Dobbs, newly elected as Labour MP for Smethwick, near Birmingham, is killed in a car crash. (Two other Labour MPs die before the end of the year.)
- 29 July – the BBC Light Programme radio station is launched, concentrating on the broadcasting of mainstream light music and entertainment, superseding the BBC General Forces Programme within the UK using its longwave frequency from the Droitwich Transmitting Station.[6]
- 2 August – Clement Davies replaces Sir Archibald Sinclair as leader of the Liberal Party.
- 5 August – the Giles family cartoon first appears in the Sunday Express.[12]
- 13 August – Zionist World Congress approaches the British government to talk about the establishment of the state of Israel.
- 14 August
- 15 August – V-J Day is celebrated in the UK as the first of two days of national holiday, marking the end of World War II.
- 16 August – in the House of Commons, Leader of the Opposition Winston Churchill speaks of an "Iron Curtain" descending across Europe.
- 17 August – George Orwell's political allegory Animal Farm is published.
- 30 August – British sovereignty of Hong Kong restored following the end of the Japanese occupation of the territory.[2]
- 2 September
- Press censorship ends.
- Lend-Lease from the United States terminates.
- September – J. B. Priestley's drama An Inspector Calls is premièred (in Russian translation) in Leningrad.[14]
- 2 October – Piccadilly Circus tube station becomes the first to be lit by fluorescent light.[2]
- 24 October – the British government signs the United Nations Charter.
- 14 November – Harold Macmillan begins his third term as a Conservative MP, after winning the by-election in Bromley, Kent.[15]
- 15 November – Gainsborough Pictures releases the period melodrama The Wicked Lady starring Margaret Lockwood, Patricia Roc and James Mason.
- 26 November – J. Arthur Rank releases David Lean's film of Noël Coward's Brief Encounter starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard.
- 28 November – British fascist John Amery pleads guilty to treason and is immediately sentenced to hang.
- December
- 10 December – forced repatriation of Liverpool Chinese seamen begins.[20]
- 31 December – Britain receives its first shipment of bananas since the beginning of the war.[6]
- Undated – the grammar school at Windermere reorganises itself to become Britain's first comprehensive school.[21]
Publications
Births
- 3 January – David Starkey, English historian
- 6 January – Barry John, Welsh rugby union footballer (died 2024)
- 10 January
- 15 January – Princess Michael of Kent, German-born wife of Prince Michael of Kent
- 18 January – Rocco Forte, hotelier
- 21 January – Martin Shaw, English actor
- 23 January – Richard Dearlove, English intelligence officer
- 25 January – Dave Walker, rock musician
- 26 January
- Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist (died 1987)
- Ashley Hutchings, folk rock musician
- 29 January – Jim Nicholson, Northern Irish Unionist politician and MEP for Northern Ireland
- 30 January – Mike Kenny, paralympian swimmer
- 31 January – Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
- 3 February – Roy 'Chubby' Brown, born Royston Vasey, stand-up comedian
- 5 February – Charlotte Rampling, English actress
- 7 February – Gerald Davies, Welsh rugby player
- 13 February
- 14 February – Martin Sorrell, businessman
- 15 February – John Helliwell, English saxophonist and keyboard player
- 16 February – Jeremy Bulloch, actor (died 2020)
- 20 February – Alan Hull, English folk rock singer-songwriter (died 1995)
- 25 February – Elkie Brooks, English singer
- 26 February – Michael Marmot, English epidemiologist
- 22 March – Peter Williams, English physicist and academic
- 30 March – Eric Clapton, English rock guitarist
- 2 April – Roger Bootle-Wilbraham, 7th Baron Skelmersdale, politician (died 2018)
- 6 April – Rodney Bickerstaffe, English trade union leader (died 2017)
- 7 April – Gerry Cottle, English circus owner (died 2021)
- 14 April – Ritchie Blackmore, English rock guitarist (Deep Purple)
- 20 April – Alistair Cooke, Baron Lexden, historian and author
- 21 April
- 29 April – Hugh Hopper, English rock guitarist (died 2009)
- 6 May – Hilary Dwyer, actress, businessperson and film producer (died 2020)
- 9 May
- 12 May
- 14 May – George Nicholls, English rugby league footballer
- 16 May – Nicky Chinn, English songwriter (Sweet and Suzi Quatro)
- 19 May
- 29 May
- 1 June – Ray Harford, footballer and manager (died 2003)
- 2 June – Lord David Dundas, musician and actor
- 3 June
- 8 June
- 10 June – Benny Gallagher, Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (Gallagher and Lyle)
- 12 June – Pat Jennings, Northern Irish football goalkeeper
- 14 June – Rod Argent, singer and keyboardist
- 15 June – Nicola Pagett, actress (died 2021)
- 17 June – Ken Livingstone, politician
- 19 June – John Hind, English bishop and theologian
- 28 June
- 3 July – Iain MacDonald-Smith, English racing yachtsman
- 4 July – David McWilliams, Northern Irish singer-songwriter (died 2002)
- 7 July – Michael Ancram, Conservative politician and MP for Devizes
- 10 July
- 16 July – Barry Dudleston, English first-class cricketer and umpire
- 19 July – Richard Henderson, Scottish molecular biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 20 July – John Lodge, English rock singer/songwriter (The Moody Blues)
- 21 July
- 24 July – Martin Edwards, football executive
- 26 July
- 1 August – Laila Morse, English television actress
- 5 August – Martin Lambie-Nairn, production designer (died 2020)
- 6 August – Ron Jones, television director (died 1993)
- 8 August – Tom O'Carroll, paedophilia advocate
- 9 August – Posy Simmonds, English cartoonist and illustrator
- 13 August
- 14 August – Jennifer d'Abo, entrepreneur (died 2003)
- 19 August – Ian Gillan, English hard rock singer (Deep Purple)
- 24 August – Ken Hensley, singer-songwriter (Uriah Heep) (died 2020)
- 31 August – Van Morrison, Northern Irish singer-songwriter
- 4 September – Bill Kenwright, English theatre producer (died 2023)
- 8 September – Kelly Groucutt, English rock guitarist (Electric Light Orchestra) (died 2009)
- 14 September – Martin Tyler, sports broadcaster
- 18 September – John McAfee, British-American computer programmer and businessman (died 2021)[23]
- 21 September – Shaw Clifton, General of The Salvation Army
- 24 September – John Rutter, choral composer
- 26 September – Bryan Ferry, pop rock singer and musician
- 27 September – Bob Spiers, television director (died 2008)
- 5 October
- 15 October – Dave Hill, actor
- 19 October – Angus Deaton, Scottish-born economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 23 October
- 31 October – Al Jones, folk singer (died 2008)
- 10 November – Terence Davies, English film director and screenwriter (died 2023)
- 14 November – Louise Ellman, academic and politician
- 17 November – Gordon Phillips, English football player and manager (died 2018)
- 25 November – Bobby Knutt, English actor and comedian (died 2017)
- 26 November – John McVie, English rock bass guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
- 30 November
- 7 December – Clive Russell, English actor
- 16 December – Tony Hicks, guitarist and singer (The Hollies)
- 17 December
- 19 December – Ron Hunt, English footballer (died 2018)
- 24 December – Ian "Lemmy" Kilminster, bassist and singer (Motörhead) (died 2015)
- 25 December
- 30 December – Davy Jones, English-born pop singer and actor (died 2012)
Deaths
- 2 January – Sir Bertram Ramsay, admiral; killed on active service (born 1883)
- 6 January – Herbert Lumsden, general; killed in action (born 1897)
- 9 January – Dennis O'Neill, Welsh child manslaughter victim (born 1932)
- 30 January – William Goodenough, admiral (born 1867)
- 21 January – Archibald Murray, Army general (born 1860)
- 31 January – Les Adams, rugby league player (born 1909)
- 21 February – Eric Liddell, athlete and missionary; died in Weixian Internment Camp (born 1902)
- 5 March – Albert Richards, war artist; killed on active service (born 1919)
- 7 March – Daniel Everett, RAF pilot; killed in action (born 1920)
- 8 March – Frederick Bligh Bond, architect, archaeologist and psychical researcher (born 1864)
- 20 March – Lord Alfred Douglas, poet and former lover of Oscar Wilde (born 1870)
- 23 March – Sir Napier Shaw, meteorologist (born 1854)
- 26 March – David Lloyd George, former Prime Minister (born 1863)
- 29 March – Jack Agazarian, spy; executed (born 1916)
- 7 April – Elizabeth Bibesco, writer and socialite (born 1897)
- 11 April – Cecil Griffiths, athlete, winner of gold medal in 4 × 400 m relay at the 1920 Summer Olympics (born 1901)
- 18 April – Sir John Ambrose Fleming, electrical engineer and physicist (born 1849)
- 3 May – Herbert Farjeon, man of the theatre (born 1887)
- 15 May
- 27 July – Alfred Dobbs, politician (born 1882)[25]
- 6 September – Maximilian von Herff, Waffen-SS officer and Knight's Cross recipient (born 1893 in Germany)
- 18 September – C. H. Middleton, gardening broadcaster (born 1886)
- 22 September – Thomas Burke, fiction writer (born 1886)
- 31 October
- 20 November – Francis William Aston, chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1877)
- 4 December – Arthur Morrison, writer (born 1863)
- 5 December – Cosmo Gordon Lang, former archbishop of Canterbury (born 1864)
- 14 December – Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk, granddaughter of Edward VII (born 1893)
- 26 December
See also
Notes and References
- Book: Postan, M. M.. M. M. Postan. An Economic History of Western Europe, 1945–1964. 122. London. Methuen. 1967.
- Book: Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 0-14-102715-0. 2006.
- News: Hull Blitz's last victims remembered 70 years on. BBC News. 2015-03-17. 2020-03-25.
- Web site: Hughes Mansions, Stepney. Flying Bombs and Rockets. 2016-07-11.
- News: Foster. Vicki. 65th anniversary of the V2 rocket landing in Orpington. News Shopper. Orpington. 2010-04-02. 2016-07-11.
- Web site: The Lost Decade Timeline. BBC. 19 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20060821133044/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/lostdecade/timeline_html.shtml. 21 August 2006. dead.
- Book: Palmer. Alan. Palmer . Veronica. 1992. The Chronology of British History. Century Ltd. London. 394–395. 0-7126-5616-2.
- Book: The Hutchinson Factfinder. Helicon. 1999. 1-85986-000-1 .
- http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/8-9/28/contents/enacted Text as enacted.
- Web site: Harold Wilson. Number10. Prime Minister's Office. London. 2008-08-18. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080825211328/http://www.number10.gov.uk/history-and-tour/prime-ministers-in-history/harold-wilson. 2008-08-25.
- Web site: Harold Macmillan (1894–1986). History – Historic Figures. BBC. London. 2014. 2018-02-24.
- News: Max. Blain. 6–7. Cartoon collection scoops originals from the hilarious world of Giles: Laughter Box. 3 March 2006. Canterbury Adscene.
- The Times, 14 August 1945, p. 4.
- News: Valerie. Grove. How JB Priestley's Inspector first called on the USSR. The Guardian. London. 2015-08-29. 2019-11-12.
- Web site: Mr Harold Macmillan. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 2012-03-08.
- http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1945/ The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1945
- Book: Marr, Andrew. Andrew Marr. A History of Modern Britain. London. Macmillan. 2007. 978-1-4050-0538-8. 12.
- Book: Lovell, Bernard. Story of Jodrell Bank. 1968. Oxford University Press. 0-19-217619-6. registration. 3.
- News: Gilliland. Ben. Science & Discovery. Metro. 2009-01-16.
- Web site: Liverpool and its Chinese Seamen. 2011-03-24. 2 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111002184856/http://www.halfandhalf.org.uk/. dead.
- Book: Berry, George. Discovering Schools. Tring. Shire Publications. 1970. 0-85263-091-3.
- Web site: Ruggieri . Melissa . Procol Harum singer Gary Brooker, the voice of 'A Whiter Shade of Pale,' dies at 76 . USA TODAY . 23 February 2022.
- News: Obituary: John McAfee, antivirus software designer, dies aged 75 . The Times . 24 June 2021 . 24 June 2021 . 24 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210624144408/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/john-mcafee-computer-programmer-and-antivirus-manufacturer-found-dead-in-prison-cell-lqcxtgz6j . live . subscription.
- Web site: Ferguson . Donna . My parents at war: Jacqueline Wilson opens up about unhappy early life . The Observer . 23 September 2020 . 24 September 2016.
- Web site: Smethwick. https://web.archive.org/web/20090810231510/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Scommons3.htm. 10 August 2009. The House of Commons Constituencies. dead. 2012-03-08.