1955 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Events from the year 1955 in the United Kingdom
. The year is marked by changes of leadership for both principal political parties.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The year is marked by changes of leadership for both principal political parties.
Incumbents
- Monarch – Elizabeth II
- Prime Minister – Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and Anthony EdenAnthony EdenRobert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
, Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Events
- 23 January – Sutton Coldfield rail crashSutton Coldfield rail crashThe Sutton Coldfield train crash took place at about 16:13 on 23 January 1955 in Sutton Coldfield, a town now within the City of Birmingham, when an express passenger train traveling from York to Bristol, England, derailed due to excessive speed on a sharp curve.- Accident circumstances :Headed by...
: an express train takes a sharp curve too fast and derails at Sutton Coldfield railway stationSutton Coldfield railway stationSutton Coldfield railway station is the main railway station for the town of Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands. It is situated on the Redditch-Birmingham New Street-Lichfield Cross-City Line 7½ miles north east of Birmingham New Street....
: 17 killed, 43 injured. - 24 February – A big freeze across Britain results in more than 70 roads being blocked with snowSnowSnow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
, and in some parts of the country rail services have been cancelled for several days. The Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
works to deliver food and medical supplies to the worst affected areas. - 25 February – Aircraft carrierAircraft carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
HMS Ark RoyalHMS Ark Royal (R09)HMS Ark Royal was an Audacious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy and, when she was decommissioned in 1978, was the Royal Navy's last remaining conventional catapult and arrested-landing aircraft carrier...
completed. - 29 March – Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and FiremenAssociated Society of Locomotive Engineers and FiremenThe Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen is the trade union representing railway workers in Great Britain who are train drivers or in the line of promotion to train driver....
calls a strikeStrike actionStrike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
which continues until 14 June, leading to a State of emergencyState of emergencyA state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
being declared on 31 May. - 2 April - Duncan EdwardsDuncan EdwardsDuncan Edwards was an English footballer who played for Manchester United and the England national team. He was one of the Busby Babes, the young United team formed under manager Matt Busby in the mid 1950s, and one of eight players who died as a result of the Munich air disaster.Born in Dudley,...
, the 18-year-old Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
left-half, becomes the youngest full EnglandEngland national football teamThe England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
international in a 7-2 win over ScotlandScotland national football teamThe Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
at Wembley. DudleyDudleyDudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
-born Edwards is already being tipped by many observers to become the next England captain upon the eventual retirement of Billy WrightBilly WrightBilly Wright may refer to:* Billy Wright , Wolverhampton Wanderers and England football captain* Billy Wright , Everton and Birmingham City centre-half...
. - 5 April – Resignation of Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
as Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
due to ill-health at the age of 80. - 6 April - Foreing Secretary Anthony EdenAnthony EdenRobert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
is named as the new prime minister. - 16 April – Release of Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
's film of ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Richard IIIRichard III (1955 film)Richard III is a 1955 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's historical play of the same name, also incorporating elements from his Henry VI, Part 3. It was directed and produced by Sir Laurence Olivier, who also played the lead role. The cast includes many noted Shakespearean actors,...
. - 21 April – National newspapers published for the first time after a month-long strike by maintenance workers.
- 23 April – Chelsea F.C.Chelsea F.C.Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
are Football League First DivisionFootball League First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
champions for the first time in their history. - 5 May – American virologist Dr Jonas SalkJonas SalkJonas Edward Salk was an American medical researcher and virologist, best known for his discovery and development of the first safe and effective polio vaccine. He was born in New York City to parents from Ashkenazi Jewish Russian immigrant families...
promotes a polio vaccine in Britain, with the 500,000th person receiving a vaccine against the disease. - 7 May – Newcastle UnitedNewcastle United F.C.Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
secure the FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
for the sixth time with a 3-1 win1955 FA Cup FinalThe 1955 FA Cup Final was contested by Newcastle United and Manchester City at Wembley. Newcastle won 3–1, with goals from Jackie Milburn in the first minute , Bobby Mitchell and George Hannah. Bobby Johnstone scored City's goal...
over Manchester CityManchester City F.C.Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
at Wembley Stadium. - 24 May – Film The Dam BustersThe Dam Busters (film)The Dam Busters is a 1955 British Second World War war film starring Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd and directed by Michael Anderson. The film recreates the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams in Germany with Wallis's...
released. - 25 May – Joe BrownJoe Brown (climber)Joseph Brown, CBE is an English climber, born the seventh and last child of a family in the Manchester suburb of Ardwick. He became famous for climbing during the 1950s, and was a member of the Valkyrie climbing club and founding member of the Rock and Ice climbing club. An early climbing partner...
and George Band are the first to attain the summit of Kanchenjunga, as part of a British team led by Charles Evans. - 27 May – Anthony Eden wins the general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1955The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...
for the Conservative Party with a majority of 31 seats, an improvement on the 17-seat majority gained by his predecessor Sir Winston Churchill four years ago. - 28 May – Philip LarkinPhilip LarkinPhilip Arthur Larkin, CH, CBE, FRSL is widely regarded as one of the great English poets of the latter half of the twentieth century...
makes a train journey from HullKingston upon HullKingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
to LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
which inspires his poem The Whitsun WeddingsThe Whitsun Weddings (poem)"The Whitsun Weddings" is one of the best known poems by British poet Philip Larkin. It was written and rewritten and finally published in the 1964 collection of poems, also called The Whitsun Weddings. It is one of three poems that Larkin wrote about train journeys.The poem comprises eight verses...
. - 6 June – Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) ActChildren and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1955The Children and Young Persons Act 1955 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament that prohibited comics that were thought to be harmful to children...
comes into effect, with intention of protecting children from horror comicsHorror comicsHorror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. Horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the imposition of the self-censorship Comics Code Authority contributed to...
. - 16 June – SubmarineSubmarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
HMS SidonHMS Sidon (P259)HMS Sidon was a submarine of the Royal Navy, launched in September 1944, one of the third group of S-class submarines built by Cammell Laird & Co Limited, Birkenhead...
sinks in Portland HarbourPortland HarbourPortland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, off Dorset, on the south coast of England. It is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. Grid reference: .-History:...
with the loss of thirteen crew following an explosion caused by a faulty torpedoTorpedoThe modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
onboard. - July - Unemployment stands at a modern low of just over 215,000, meaning that a mere 1% of the workforce is currently jobless.
- 9 July – Bertrand RussellBertrand RussellBertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
issues the Russell-Einstein ManifestoRussell-Einstein ManifestoThe Russell–Einstein Manifesto was issued in London on July 9, 1955 by Bertrand Russell in the midst of the Cold War. It highlighted the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and called for world leaders to seek peaceful resolutions to international conflict...
highlighting the dangers posed by nuclear weaponNuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s. - 13 July – Ruth EllisRuth EllisRuth Ellis , née Neilson, was the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom. She was convicted of the murder of her lover, David Blakely, and hanged at Holloway Prison, London, by Albert Pierrepoint.-Biography:...
becomes the last woman to be hanged in the UK. - 17 July – Stirling MossStirling MossSir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
becomes the first English winner of the British Grand Prix1955 British Grand PrixThe 1955 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Aintree on 16 July 1955. It was the sixth round of the 1955 World Drivers' Championship.- Classification :- Notes :* Lap Leaders:** Juan Manuel Fangio 10 laps...
. - 18 July – Winterborne St Martin enters the UK Weather RecordsUK Weather RecordsThe UK Weather Records note the most extreme weather ever recorded in the United Kingdom, such as the most and fewest hours of sunshine and highest wind speed.-Temperature:-Rainfall:...
with the highest 24-hour total rainfall at 279 mm – a record which stands until November 2009. - 25–27 July – 'Operation SandcastleOperation SandcastleOperation Sandcastle was a British Ministry of Defence operation conducted in 1955-56 to dispose of chemical weapons at sea. It was the third of four 'phases' to dispose of unwanted chemical ordnance by the British government....
': The first load of deteriorating captured Nazi GermanNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
bombs filled with Tabun (nerve agent)Tabun (nerve agent)Tabun or GA is an extremely toxic chemical substance. It is a clear, colorless, and tasteless liquid with a faint fruity odor. It is classified as a nerve agent because it fatally interferes with normal functioning of the mammalian nervous system...
is shipped from CairnryanCairnryanCairnryan is a small Scottish village in Dumfries and Galloway on the eastern shore of Loch Ryan. The village has been of vital importance in maritime history.-Ferry Port:...
on the for scuttlingScuttlingScuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull.This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives...
in the Atlantic OceanAtlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. - 3 August – English languageEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
premiere of Samuel BeckettSamuel BeckettSamuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
's play Waiting for GodotWaiting for GodotWaiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's...
, directed by Peter Hall, opens at the Arts TheatreArts TheatreThe Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It now operates as the West End's smallest commercial receiving house.-History:...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - 26 August – Hammer Film ProductionsHammer Film ProductionsHammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
' The Quatermass XperimentThe Quatermass XperimentThe Quatermass Xperiment is a 1955 British science fiction horror film. Made by Hammer Film Productions, it was based on the 1953 BBC Television serial The Quatermass Experiment written by Nigel Kneale. It was directed by Val Guest and stars Brian Donlevy as the eponymous Professor Bernard...
released. - 27 August – Guinness Book of Records first published.
- 4 September – Richard BakerRichard Baker (broadcaster)Richard Baker OBE is a British broadcaster best known as a newsreader for the BBC News from 1954 to 1982. He was a contemporary of Kenneth Kendall and Robert Dougall and was the first person to read the BBC Television News in 1954. At one time he lived in Barnet, North London...
and Kenneth KendallKenneth KendallKenneth Kendall is a retired British broadcaster. He was a contemporary of Richard Baker and Robert Dougall...
become the first BBC TelevisionBBC TelevisionBBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
newsreaders to be seen reading the news. - 14 September – AirfixAirfixAirfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer....
produce their first scale modelScale modelA scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
aircraft kit, of the Supermarine SpitfireSupermarine SpitfireThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
at 1/72 scale. - 21 September – United Kingdom annexes RockallRockallRockall is an extremely small, uninhabited, remote rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. It gives its name to one of the sea areas named in the shipping forecast provided by the British Meteorological Office....
. - 22 September – First ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
franchises of Independent Television AuthorityIndependent Television AuthorityThe Independent Television Authority was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" , the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom...
begin broadcasting the UK's first commercial televisionBritish televisionPublic television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
ending the 18-year monopoly of the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. The first advertisement shown is for Gibbs SR toothpaste. On the same day, the popular BBC RadioBBC RadioBBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
serial The ArchersThe ArchersThe Archers is a long-running British soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. It was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", but is now described on its Radio 4 web site as "contemporary drama in a rural setting"...
kills off the character Christine Archer. - 26 September – Clarence BirdseyeClarence BirdseyeClarence Frank Birdseye II was an American inventor who is considered the founder of the modern method of freezing food.- Early work :...
begins selling fish fingerFish fingerFish fingers, known as fish sticks in North America, are a processed food made using a whitefish such as cod, haddock or pollock which have been battered or breaded....
s in Britain. - October – Dame Evelyn SharpEvelyn Sharp, Baroness SharpEvelyn Adelaide Sharp, Baroness Sharp of Hornsey was a British civil servant and the first women to hold the position of Permanent Secretary, the most senior civil servant in a Ministry.-Early life:...
appointed Permanent SecretaryPermanent SecretaryThe Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
at the Ministry of Housing and Local GovernmentMinistry of Housing and Local GovernmentThe Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed after the Second World War, covering the areas of housing and local government....
, the first woman Civil Servant to attain this most senior position within a UK MinistryMinistry (government department)A ministry is a specialised organisation responsible for a sector of government public administration, sometimes led by a minister or a senior public servant, that can have responsibility for one or more departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions or other smaller executive, advisory, managerial or...
. - 31 October – Princess MargaretPrincess Margaret, Countess of SnowdonPrincess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI....
calls off her proposed marriage to Group Captain Peter TownsendPeter Townsend (Group Captain)Group Captain Peter Wooldridge Townsend, CVO, DSO, DFC and Bar, RAF was Equerry to King George VI 1944–1952 and held the same position for Queen Elizabeth II 1952–1953.-RAF career:...
. - 19 November – C. Northcote ParkinsonC. Northcote ParkinsonCyril Northcote Parkinson was a British naval historian and author of some sixty books, the most famous of which was his bestseller Parkinson's Law, which led him to be also considered as an important scholar within the field of public administration.-Early life and education:The youngest son of...
first articulates "Parkinson's LawParkinson's lawParkinson's law is the adage first articulated by Cyril Northcote Parkinson as the first sentence of a humorous essay published in The Economist in 1955:...
", the semi-serious adageAdageAn adage is a short but memorable saying which holds some important fact of experience that is considered true by many people, or that has gained some credibility through its long use....
Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. - 20 November – Milton rail crashMilton rail crashIn the Milton rail crash a passenger train took a crossover too fast and derailed. 11 were killed, and 157 were injured.- Overview :The crash occurred at about 13:15 on Sunday 20 November 1955, at Milton, between and on the line from on the Western Region of British Railways...
: an excursion train takes a crossoverRailroad switchA railroad switch, turnout or [set of] points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another at a railway junction....
too fast and derails at Milton, near DidcotDidcotDidcot is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire about south of Oxford. Until 1974 it was in Berkshire, but was transferred to Oxfordshire in that year, and from Wallingford Rural District to the district of South Oxfordshire...
: 11 killed, 157 injured. - 2 December – Barnes rail crashBarnes rail crashThe Barnes rail crash occurred at Barnes railway station late in the evening of 2 December 1955 in which 13 people were killed and 41 injured....
, Barnes, South LondonSouth LondonSouth London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
: collision due to signal error and consequent fire: 13 killed, 35 injured. - 7 December – Clement AttleeClement AttleeClement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
resigns as leader of the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
after twenty years. - 8 December – Ealing ComedyEaling ComediesFor the film Ealing Comedy, see Ealing Comedy .The Ealing Comedies were a series of film comedies produced by Ealing Studios during the period 1947 to 1957....
film The LadykillersThe LadykillersThe Ladykillers is a 1955 British black comedy film made by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, it stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner and Katie Johnson...
released. - 9 December – CumbernauldCumbernauldCumbernauld is a Scottish new town in North Lanarkshire. It was created in 1956 as a population overspill for Glasgow City. It is the eighth most populous settlement in Scotland and the largest in North Lanarkshire...
, ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, designated as a New townNew townA new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
. - 12 December – Christopher CockerellChristopher CockerellSir Christopher Sydney Cockerell CBE FRS was an English engineer, inventor of the hovercraft.-Life:Cockerell was born in Cambridge, where his father, Sir Sydney Cockerell, was curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum, having previously been the secretary of William Morris. Christopher Cockerell was...
patentPatentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s his design of hovercraftHovercraftA hovercraft is a craft capable of traveling over surfaces while supported by a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air which is ejected against the surface below and contained within a "skirt." Although supported by air, a hovercraft is not considered an aircraft.Hovercraft are used throughout...
. - 14 December – Hugh GaitskellHugh GaitskellHugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell CBE was a British Labour politician, who held Cabinet office in Clement Attlee's governments, and was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955, until his death in 1963.-Early life:He was born in Kensington, London, the third and youngest...
becomes leader of the Labour Party. - 16 December – The Queen opens a new terminal at London AirportLondon Heathrow AirportLondon Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
. - 20 December – CardiffCardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
becomes the official capital of WalesCapital of WalesThe Capital of Wales is a de facto designation usually applied to Cardiff since 1955. In that year, the Minister for Welsh Affairs Gwilym Lloyd-George commented in a Parliamentary written answer that "no formal measures are necessary to give effect to this decision".Cardiff is also the current seat...
.
Undated
- Summer heat wave1955 United Kingdom heat waveThe UK drought of 1955 and associated heatwave were a set of severe weather events that occurred over all parts of the country. The drought was the 7th worst drought in Yorkshire, and worse than the famous 1976 drought and heatwave in the region. The drought followed a period of extremely wet...
and associated droughtDroughtA drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
. - Ministry of Housing and Local GovernmentMinistry of Housing and Local GovernmentThe Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed after the Second World War, covering the areas of housing and local government....
issues Circular 42/55 inviting local planning authorities to establish green belts. - MeldMeld (horse)When Meld completed the British Fillies Triple Crown by defeating Nucleus in the 1955 St. Leger, she was only the fourth filly to do so in the 20th century...
wins the Fillies Triple Crown by finishing first in the 1,000 Guineas Stakes, Epsom OaksEpsom OaksThe Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early June....
and St. Leger StakesSt. Leger StakesThe St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
. - Lonnie DoneganLonnie DoneganAnthony James "Lonnie" Donegan MBE was a skiffle musician, with more than 20 UK Top 30 hits to his name. He is known as the "King of Skiffle" and is often cited as a large influence on the generation of British musicians who became famous in the 1960s...
's 1954 skiffleSkiffleSkiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly...
recording of Rock Island LineRock Island Line (song)"Rock Island Line" is an American blues/folk song first recorded by John Lomax in 1934 as sung by inmates in an Arkansas State Prison, and later popularized by Lead Belly. Many versions have been recorded by other artists, most significantly the world-wide hit version in the mid-1950s by Lonnie...
is released: it becomes a major hit in 1956.
Publications
- Henry CecilHenry Cecil LeonHenry Cecil Leon , who wrote under the pen-names Henry Cecil and Clifford Maxwell, was a judge and a writer of fiction about the British legal system. He was born near London in 1902 and was called to the Bar in 1923. Later in 1949 he was appointed a County Court Judge, a position he held until 1967...
's comic novel Brothers in Law. - Agatha ChristieAgatha ChristieDame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's Hercule PoirotHercule PoirotHercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...
novel Hickory Dickory DockHickory Dickory Dock (novel)Hickory Dickory Dock is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on October 31, 1955 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in November of the same year under the title of Hickory Dickory Death...
. - Ian FlemingIan FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
novel Moonraker. - Graham GreeneGraham GreeneHenry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
's novel The Quiet AmericanThe Quiet AmericanThe Quiet American is an anti-war novel by British author Graham Greene, first published in United Kingdom in 1955 and in the United States in 1956. It was adapted into films in 1958 and 2002. The book draws on Greene's experiences as a war correspondent for The Times and Le Figaro in French...
. - W. G. HoskinsW. G. HoskinsWilliam George Hoskins CBE FSA was a British local historian who founded the first university department of English Local History. His great contribution to the study of history was in the field of landscape history...
' study The Making of the English Landscape. - Aldous HuxleyAldous HuxleyAldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
's novel The Genius and the GoddessThe Genius and the GoddessThe Genius and the Goddess is a novel by Aldous Huxley. It was published by Chatto & Windus in the UK and by Harper & Row in the US. It is the fictional account of John Rivers, a student physicist in the 1920s who was hired out of college as a laboratory assistant to Henry Maartens.-Plot...
. - Philip LarkinPhilip LarkinPhilip Arthur Larkin, CH, CBE, FRSL is widely regarded as one of the great English poets of the latter half of the twentieth century...
's poetry collection The Less DeceivedThe Less DeceivedThe Less Deceived, first published in 1955, was Philip Larkin's first mature collection of poetry, having been preceded by the derivative North Ship from The Fortune Press and a privately printed collection...
. - C. S. LewisC. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
' novel The Magician's NephewThe Magician's NephewThe Magician's Nephew is a fantasy novel for children written by C. S. Lewis. It was the sixth book published in his The Chronicles of Narnia series, but is the first in the chronology of the Narnia novels' fictional universe. Thus it is an early example of a prequel.The novel is initially set in...
. - Alistair MacLeanAlistair MacLeanAlistair Stuart MacLean was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers or adventure stories, the best known of which are perhaps The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare, all three having been made into successful films...
's novel HMS UlyssesHMS Ulysses (novel)HMS Ulysses was the first novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, and ultimately, one of his most popular. Originally published in 1955, it was also released by Fontana Books in 1960...
. - J. J. MarricJohn CreaseyJohn Creasey MBE was an English crime and science fiction writer. The author of more than 600 novels, he published them using 28 different pseudonyms, including Anthony Morton, Michael Halliday, Kyle Hunt, J.J. Marric, Jeremy York, Richard Martin, Peter Manton, Norman Deane, Gordon Ashe, Henry St...
's novel Gideon's DayGideon's DayGideon's Day is the first in a series of police procedural novels by John Creasey writing as J.J. Marric. Published in 1955, it features a day in the professional life of Detective Superintendent George Gideon of the C.I.D., Scotland Yard. In later books in the series, Gideon has been promoted to...
. - J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the KingThe Return of the KingThe Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.-Title:...
, third and final part of The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
. - A. Wainwright's first hand-drawn guidebook A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Book 1: The Eastern Fells.
- Evelyn WaughEvelyn WaughArthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
's novel Officers and Gentlemen, second of the Sword of HonourSword of HonourThe Sword of Honour trilogy by Evelyn Waugh is his look at the Second World War. It consists of three novels, Men at Arms , Officers and Gentlemen and Unconditional Surrender , which loosely parallel his wartime experiences...
trilogy. - John WyndhamJohn WyndhamJohn Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris was an English science fiction writer who usually used the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his names, such as John Beynon and Lucas Parkes...
's novel The ChrysalidsThe ChrysalidsThe Chrysalids is a science fiction novel by John Wyndham, first published in 1955 by Michael Joseph. It is the least typical of Wyndham's major novels, but regarded by some people as his best...
.
Births
- 6 January – Rowan AtkinsonRowan AtkinsonRowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
, comedian and actor - 15 January – Nigel BensonNigel BensonNigel C. Benson is a British author and illustrator.Nigel Benson was born in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, son of Ralph H. Benson, a fine artist specializing in oils and pastels, and Heather M. Benson. He grew up in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, and was educated at Dunstable Grammar School...
, author and illustrator - 19 January – Simon RattleSimon RattleSir Simon Denis Rattle, CBE is an English conductor. He rose to international prominence as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic ....
, conductor - 25 January – Terry ChimesTerry ChimesTerry Chimes was the original drummer of punk rock group The Clash. He originally played with them from July 1976 to November 1976, January 1977 to April 1977, and again from May 1982 to February 1983. He was the drummer for Hanoi Rocks in 1985, before the band broke-up that same year...
, drummer (The ClashThe ClashThe Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
) - 27 January – Alexander Stuart, author
- 3 February – Kirsty WarkKirsty WarkKirsteen Anne Wark is a British journalist and television presenter best known for fronting the BBC Two's news and current affairs programme Newsnight since 1993, and its weekly arts annexe Newsnight Review which is now relaunched as "The Review Show".-Biography:Wark was born in Dumfries to Jimmy...
, television presenter - 10 February – Chris Adams, professional wrestler (died 20012001 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 2001 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch - HM Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - Tony Blair, Labour Party-Events:...
) - 23 February – Howard JonesHoward Jones (musician)Howard Jones is a musician, singer and songwriter. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, "Jones is an accomplished singer-songwriter who was a regular chart visitor in the mid 1980s with his brand of synthpop. Jones, who was equally popular in the U.S., appeared at Live...
, musician - 5 April – Janice LongJanice LongJanice Long is an English radio broadcaster currently working on BBC Radio 2. Her show is on Sunday to Thursday nights from midnight to 02:00. She is the older sister of TV and radio personality Keith Chegwin.-Early career:...
, radio disc jockey - 23 April – Tony MilesTony MilesAnthony John Miles was an English chess Grandmaster.- Early achievements in chess :Miles was born in Edgbaston, a suburb of Birmingham...
, chess player (died 2001) - 2 May – Willie MillerWillie MillerWilliam Ferguson Miller, MBE is a former professional football player who made a club record 558 league appearances for Aberdeen. He is currently the club's Director of Football...
, footballer - 6 May – John HuttonJohn Hutton (Labour MP)John Matthew Patrick Hutton, Baron Hutton of Furness is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Barrow and Furness in Cumbria from 1992 to 2010, and has served in a number of Cabinet offices, including Defence Secretary and Business Secretary...
, politician - 16 May – Hazel O'ConnorHazel O'ConnorHazel O'Connor is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of a soldier from Galway who settled in England after World War II to work in a car plant...
, singer - 21 May – Paul BarberPaul Barber (field hockey player)Paul Jason Barber is a former field hockey player, who won the gold medal with the British squad at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul...
, field hockey player - 30 May – Topper HeadonTopper HeadonHeadon was extensively interviewed for the Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten documentary film about the late Clash frontman. He related his experiences during this period, how he became addicted to heroin and how there were problems before his dismissal...
, drummer (The ClashThe ClashThe Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
) - 8 June – Tim Berners-LeeTim Berners-LeeSir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...
, inventor of the World Wide Web - 12 June – Paul O'GradyPaul O'GradyPaul James Michael O'Grady MBE is an English comedian, television presenter, actor, writer and radio DJ. He is best known for presenting the daytime chat television series, The Paul O'Grady Show and, more recently, Paul O'Grady Live, as well as his drag queen comedic alter ego, Lily Savage, as...
, talk show host and comedian - 14 June – Gillian BaileyGillian BaileyGillian Bailey or Gilli Bush-Bailey is a British academic and former actress.She was mainly known as a child actor. Her best known role was Billie in Here Come the Double Deckers...
, actor - 26 June – Mick JonesMick Jones (The Clash)Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Jones is the former lead guitarist, secondary vocalist and co-founder for the British punk rock band The Clash until his dismissal in 1983. He went on to form the band Big Audio Dynamite with Don Letts before line-up changes led to the formation of Big Audio Dynamite II and...
, guitarist (The ClashThe ClashThe Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
and Big Audio DynamiteBig Audio DynamiteBig Audio Dynamite are a British musical group formed in 1984 by the ex-guitarist and singer of the Clash, Mick Jones. The group are noted for their effective mixture of varied musical styles, incorporating elements of punk rock, dance music, hip hop, reggae, and funk...
) - 29 July – Stephen TimmsStephen TimmsStephen Creswell Timms is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for East Ham since 1994. He is a former Cabinet Minister having served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2006 to 2007...
, politician - 1 September – Bruce FoxtonBruce FoxtonBruce Foxton is an English rock and roll musician who is best known as the bass player in punk rock bands The Jam and Stiff Little Fingers.-Biography:...
, musician - 3 September – Steve JonesSteve Jones (musician)Stephen Philip "Steve" Jones is an English rock guitarist, singer and actor, best known as guitarist and founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols.-Childhood:...
, guitarist (Sex PistolsSex PistolsThe Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
) - 5 September – John Bentley, rugby footballRugby footballRugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
player - 9 October – Steve OvettSteve OvettStephen Michael James "Steve" Ovett OBE , is a former middle distance runner from England. He was gold medalist in the 800 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, U.S.S.R., and set world records for 1500 metres and the mile run...
, athlete - 15 October – Kulbir BhauraKulbir BhauraKulbir Singh Bhaura is a former field hockey player, who was a member of the gold medal winning British squad at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul...
, field hockey player - 18 October – Timmy MallettTimmy MallettTimmy Mallett is a TV presenter and broadcaster in the UK. He achieved cult status on BBC Radio Oxford and Manchester's Piccadilly Radio and later on TV-am...
, television presenter - 9 November – Karen DotriceKaren DotriceKaren Dotrice is an English actress known primarily for her role as Jane Banks in Walt Disney's feature film adaptation of the Mary Poppins book series. Dotrice was born in Guernsey to two accomplished stage actors...
, actress - 24 November – Ian BothamIan BothamSir Ian Terence Botham OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. He was a genuine all-rounder with 14 centuries and 383 wickets in Test cricket, and remains well-known by his nickname "Beefy"...
, cricketer - 30 November – Billy IdolBilly IdolWilliam Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
, singer - 15 December – Paul SimononPaul SimononPaul Gustave Simonon is an English musician and artist best known as the bass guitarist for punk rock band The Clash. Recent work includes his involvement in the album The Good, the Bad & the Queen with Damon Albarn, Simon Tong and Tony Allen, released in January 2007...
, bassist (The ClashThe ClashThe Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
) - 23 December – Carol Ann DuffyCarol Ann DuffyCarol Ann Duffy, CBE, FRSL is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at the Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Britain's poet laureate in May 2009...
, poet
Deaths
- 29 January – Sir Rhys Rhys-WilliamsRhys Rhys-WilliamsSir Rhys Rhys-Williams, 1st Baronet DSO QC DL , born Rhys Williams, was a British Liberal Party politician from Wales. He later left the Liberal Party for the Conservatives.-Family:...
, politician (born 18651865 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1865 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Viscount Palmerston, Liberal , Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:...
) - 11 March – Sir Alexander FlemingAlexander FlemingSir Alexander Fleming was a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. He wrote many articles on bacteriology, immunology, and chemotherapy...
, scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
(born 18811881 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1881 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* 1 January — Postal orders issued for the first time in Britain....
) - 22 April – Herbert MacNairHerbert MacNairJames Herbert MacNair , was a Scottish artist, designer and teacher whose work contributed to the development of the "Glasgow Style" during the 1890s....
, artist (born 18681868 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1868 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Earl of Derby, Conservative , Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative , William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal...
) - 27 April – Ambrose BebbAmbrose BebbWilliam Ambrose Bebb was a Welsh author and politician.Ambrose Bebb was the son of diarist Edward Hughes Bebb, and the father of noted Welsh rugby international Dewi Bebb...
, author (born 18941894 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1894 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal , Earl of Rosebery, Liberal-Events:...
) - 11 May – Gilbert JessopGilbert JessopGilbert Laird Jessop was an English cricket player, often reckoned to have been the fastest run-scorer cricket has ever known, he was Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1898.Relations...
, cricketer (born 18741874 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1874 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal , Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative-Events:...
) - 13 July – Ruth EllisRuth EllisRuth Ellis , née Neilson, was the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom. She was convicted of the murder of her lover, David Blakely, and hanged at Holloway Prison, London, by Albert Pierrepoint.-Biography:...
, murderer (born 19261926 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1926 in the United Kingdom. The year is dominated by the General Strike.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George V*Prime Minister – Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
); last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom - 18 July – Billy McCandlessBilly McCandlessWilliam "Billy" McCandless was an Irish international football player and manager. As a player McCandless normally played at left-back, most notably at Rangers where he won 8 league titles with the side...
, footballer (born 18941894 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1894 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal , Earl of Rosebery, Liberal-Events:...
) - 16 September – Leo Amery, politician (born 18731873 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1873 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:...
) - 28 September – Lionel ReesLionel ReesGroup Captain Lionel Wilmot Brabazon Rees VC OBE MC AFC RAF was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
, Victoria Cross recipient (born 18831883 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1883 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* January 1 — Augustus Pitt Rivers takes office as Britain's first Inspector of Ancient Monuments....
) - 11 October – Hector McNeilHector McNeilHector McNeil PC was a Scottish Labour politician.McNeil was educated at Woodside School and the University of Glasgow, trained as an engineer and worked as a journalist on a Scottish national newspaper. He was a member of Glasgow Town Council 1932-8...
, politician (born 19071907 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1907 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal-Events:* January - The steamship Pengwern founders in the North Sea: crew and 24 men lost....
) - 14 October – Harry Parr DaviesHarry Parr DaviesHarry Parr-Davies was a Welsh composer and songwriter.He was born Harry Parr Davies in Briton Ferry, Neath, South Wales and was a musical prodigy, having composed whole operettas by the time he was in his teens. He came to the attention of composer Sir Walford Davies, who encouraged him to study...
, songwriter (born 19141914 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1914 in the United Kingdom. This year sees the start of World War I.-Incumbents:* Monarch - King George V* Prime Minister - H. H...
) - 15 October – Thomas Jones (T. J.), founder of Coleg HarlechColeg HarlechColeg Harlech is a further education college for mature students in Harlech, Gwynedd.It is Wales' only long-term, mature students education college and was established in 1927 by Thomas Jones , Cabinet Secretary to both David Lloyd George and Stanley Baldwin, to continue the work of Workers'...
(born 18701870 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1870 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* 28 January — General Post Office takes over business of private telegraph companies....
) - 27 December – Alfred CarpenterAlfred CarpenterVice-Admiral Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.He was born in Barnes, south west London, the son of Commander...
, soldier (born 18811881 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1881 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal-Events:* 1 January — Postal orders issued for the first time in Britain....
) - date unknown – Jacob Moritz BlumbergJacob Moritz BlumbergJacob Moritz Blumberg was a German Jewish surgeon and gynaecologist and inventor and namesake of the Blumberg sign.-Biography:...
, German (later British) surgeon (b. 18731873 in Germany-National level:* Kaiser — William I* Chancellor — Otto von Bismarck-Kingdoms:* King of Bavaria — Ludwig II of Bavaria* King of Prussia — Kaiser William I* King of Saxony — John of Saxony to 29 October, then Albert of Saxony...
)